Best draft picks in Brooklyn Nets history
The draft is a seminal moment for many incoming players. Putting aside competitive stakes, each young athlete's life is irreversibly altered by the fame and fortune that comes with being an NBA player. The exorbitant contract values ensures these players almost never have to worry about personal finances. Plus, these young guns get to play alongside some of their basketball idols for a living. With these high stakes, it's easy to see why the draft is so revered.
Likewise, the fortunes of a city and franchise can be completely transformed by a draft pick. LeBron James, for instance, brought Cleveland its first sports championship in 52 years and was also reportedly worth hundreds of millions to the city's downtown economy. It almost goes without saying that Michael Jordan built the Chicago Bulls from the ground up into a championship team whose dynamic would reverberate through the decades.
With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of the best draft picks in Brooklyn Nets history using data from Basketball-Reference.com. Players were ranked according to a formula that approximates their career achievements, career value, and play quality. The formula encompasses Basketball-Reference.com's Hall of Fame probability, career win shares, and value over replacement player, aka VORP. For players drafted before data is available for VORP, half of the player's win shares were used in its place to calculate their Stacker score.
Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were given a minimum of 60% for their Hall of Fame probability, indicating a worthy résumé for their time but not up to par with some modern players. Scores were normalized to 100 based on the scoring leader. Keep reading to see where your favorite players fall on the list.
#30. Dennis Hopson
- Stacker score: 1.2
- Third overall pick in 1987
- Played three seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 10.9 PTS, 2.8 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 7.1 win shares, -1.7 box plus/minus, 0.7 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1991 NBA Champ
#29. Josh Boone
- Stacker score: 1.2
- 23rd overall pick in 2006
- Played four seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 5.2 PTS, 4.9 REB, 0.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 9.1 win shares, -2.0 box plus/minus, 0.0 VORP
#28. Nenad Krstić
- Stacker score: 2.2
- 24th overall pick in 2002
- Played four seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 10.0 PTS, 5.4 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 21.5 win shares, -2.6 box plus/minus, -1.5 VORP
#27. Albert King
- Stacker score: 2.5
- 10th overall pick in 1981
- Played six seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 12.1 PTS, 4.2 REB, 2.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 16.3 win shares, -1.7 box plus/minus, 1.1 VORP
#26. Mike O'Koren
- Stacker score: 2.9
- Sixth overall pick in 1980
- Played seven seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 8.2 PTS, 3.4 REB, 2.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 14.6 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 3.1 VORP
#25. Nicolas Claxton
- Stacker score: 3.3
- 31st overall pick in 2019
- Played four seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 9.7 PTS, 6.9 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 15.1 win shares, 1.9 box plus/minus, 3.9 VORP
#24. Jud Buechler
- Stacker score: 3.5
- 38th overall pick in 1990
- Played two seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 3.3 PTS, 1.8 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 16.5 win shares, -0.1 box plus/minus, 4.0 VORP
- Accolades
--- 3x NBA Champ
#23. Rory Sparrow
- Stacker score: 4.7
- 75th overall pick in 1980
- Played one season with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 9.0 PTS, 2.1 REB, 5.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 28.3 win shares, -1.5 box plus/minus, 3.0 VORP
#22. Cliff Robinson
- Stacker score: 6.3
- 11th overall pick in 1979
- Played two seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 17.2 PTS, 8.3 REB, 2.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 30.5 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 6.9 VORP
#21. Bojan Bogdanović
- Stacker score: 6.8
- 31st overall pick in 2011
- Played three seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 15.6 PTS, 3.6 REB, 1.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 36.5 win shares, -0.7 box plus/minus, 6.2 VORP
#20. Keith Van Horn
- Stacker score: 8.7
- Second overall pick in 1997
- Played five seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 16.0 PTS, 6.8 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 41.7 win shares, 0.1 box plus/minus, 9.6 VORP
#19. Jarrett Allen
- Stacker score: 9.5
- 22nd overall pick in 2017
- Played four seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 12.0 PTS, 8.9 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 44.4 win shares, 1.9 box plus/minus, 11.0 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.1%
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#18. Chris Morris
- Stacker score: 9.5
- Fourth overall pick in 1988
- Played seven seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 11.0 PTS, 4.7 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 37.4 win shares, 0.9 box plus/minus, 13.7 VORP
#17. Kenyon Martin
- Stacker score: 10.3
- First overall pick in 2000
- Played four seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 12.3 PTS, 6.8 REB, 1.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 48.0 win shares, 0.1 box plus/minus, 12.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#16. Ryan Anderson
- Stacker score: 10.4
- 21st overall pick in 2008
- Played one season with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 12.3 PTS, 5.3 REB, 0.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 46.7 win shares, 1.0 box plus/minus, 12.8 VORP
#15. Mike Gminski
- Stacker score: 11.6
- Seventh overall pick in 1980
- Played eight seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 11.7 PTS, 6.9 REB, 1.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 55.9 win shares, 0.1 box plus/minus, 12.9 VORP
#14. Mason Plumlee
- Stacker score: 11.7
- 22nd overall pick in 2013
- Played two seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 8.6 PTS, 6.9 REB, 2.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 52.1 win shares, 1.4 box plus/minus, 14.4 VORP
#13. Kerry Kittles
- Stacker score: 12.0
- Eighth overall pick in 1996
- Played seven seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 14.1 PTS, 3.9 REB, 2.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 44.8 win shares, 2.2 box plus/minus, 18.0 VORP
#12. Sleepy Floyd
- Stacker score: 12.2
- 13th overall pick in 1982
- Played two seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 12.8 PTS, 2.6 REB, 5.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 50.6 win shares, 0.5 box plus/minus, 16.6 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#11. Derrick Favors
- Stacker score: 12.6
- Third overall pick in 2010
- Played one season with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 10.6 PTS, 7.1 REB, 1.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 60.2 win shares, 0.9 box plus/minus, 14.0 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.0%
#10. Calvin Natt
- Stacker score: 12.6
- Eighth overall pick in 1979
- Played one season with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 17.2 PTS, 6.8 REB, 2.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 57.2 win shares, 1.2 box plus/minus, 15.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#9. Derrick Coleman
- Stacker score: 15.9
- First overall pick in 1990
- Played five seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 16.5 PTS, 9.3 REB, 2.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 64.3 win shares, 1.4 box plus/minus, 22.3 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1990-91 ROY
--- 2x All-NBA
--- 1x All Star
#8. Kenny Anderson
- Stacker score: 15.9
- Second overall pick in 1991
- Played five seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 12.6 PTS, 3.1 REB, 6.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 62.5 win shares, 1.4 box plus/minus, 21.9 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 2.2%
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#7. Kyle Korver
- Stacker score: 16.6
- 51st overall pick in 2003
- Career averages: 9.7 PTS, 3.0 REB, 1.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 73.4 win shares, 0.6 box plus/minus, 20.7 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1x All Star
#6. Richard Jefferson
- Stacker score: 17.3
- 13th overall pick in 2001
- Played seven seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 12.6 PTS, 4.0 REB, 2.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 83.0 win shares, 0.2 box plus/minus, 19.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2016 NBA Champ
#5. P.J. Brown
- Stacker score: 17.5
- 29th overall pick in 1992
- Played three seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 9.1 PTS, 7.7 REB, 1.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 89.8 win shares, 0.0 box plus/minus, 17.4 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2008 NBA Champ
--- 3x All-Defensive
#4. Brook Lopez
- Stacker score: 18.6
- 10th overall pick in 2008
- Played four seasons with Brooklyn Nets and five seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 16.4 PTS, 6.3 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 79.4 win shares, 1.4 box plus/minus, 24.2 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.3%
- Accolades
--- 2021 NBA Champ
--- 2x All-Defensive
--- 1x All Star
#3. Mookie Blaylock
- Stacker score: 23.8
- 12th overall pick in 1989
- Played three seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 13.5 PTS, 4.1 REB, 6.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 71.8 win shares, 3.0 box plus/minus, 39.2 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 6.0%
- Accolades
--- 2x STL Champ
--- 6x All-Defensive
--- 1x All Star
#2. Buck Williams
- Stacker score: 24.2
- Third overall pick in 1981
- Played eight seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 12.8 PTS, 10.0 REB, 1.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 120.1 win shares, 0.0 box plus/minus, 21.7 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 8.0%
- Accolades
--- 1981-82 ROY
--- 1982-83 All-NBA
--- 4x All-Defensive
--- 3x All Star
#1. Bernard King
- Stacker score: 29.0
- Seventh overall pick in 1977
- Played three seasons with Brooklyn Nets
- Career averages: 22.5 PTS, 5.8 REB, 3.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 75.4 win shares, 1.7 box plus/minus, 27.0 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1984-85 Scoring Champ
--- 4x All-NBA
--- 4x All Star
--- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
