Best draft picks in Toronto Raptors 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 Toronto Raptors 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.
#21. Quincy Acy
- Stacker score: 1.1
- 37th overall pick in 2012
- Played two seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 4.9 PTS, 3.5 REB, 0.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 8.7 win shares, -2.0 box plus/minus, -0.1 VORP
#20. Scottie Barnes
- Stacker score: 2.7
- Fourth overall pick in 2021
- Played two seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 15.3 PTS, 7.1 REB, 4.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 11.6 win shares, 0.6 box plus/minus, 3.5 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2021-22 ROY
#19. Andrea Bargnani
- Stacker score: 2.9
- First overall pick in 2006
- Played seven seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 14.3 PTS, 4.6 REB, 1.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 18.9 win shares, -1.6 box plus/minus, 1.5 VORP
#18. Charlie Villanueva
- Stacker score: 4.5
- Seventh overall pick in 2005
- Played one season with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 10.4 PTS, 4.6 REB, 0.8 AST
- Advanced statistics: 22.6 win shares, -0.6 box plus/minus, 4.7 VORP
#17. Terrence Ross
- Stacker score: 4.8
- Eighth overall pick in 2012
- Played five seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 11.0 PTS, 2.8 REB, 1.3 AST
- Advanced statistics: 25.0 win shares, -1.0 box plus/minus, 4.5 VORP
#16. Norman Powell
- Stacker score: 4.8
- 46th overall pick in 2015
- Played six seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 12.0 PTS, 2.6 REB, 1.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 23.0 win shares, -0.1 box plus/minus, 5.3 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.0%
- Accolades
--- 2019 NBA Champ
#15. OG Anunoby
- Stacker score: 4.8
- 23rd overall pick in 2017
- Played six seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 11.6 PTS, 4.3 REB, 1.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 22.2 win shares, 0.2 box plus/minus, 5.8 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2019 NBA Champ
--- 2022-23 STL Champ
--- 2022-23 All-Defensive
#14. Delon Wright
- Stacker score: 7.1
- 20th overall pick in 2015
- Played four seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 7.2 PTS, 3.2 REB, 3.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 26.5 win shares, 2.3 box plus/minus, 10.6 VORP
#13. Morris Peterson
- Stacker score: 7.2
- 21st overall pick in 2000
- Played seven seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 10.7 PTS, 3.5 REB, 1.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 35.7 win shares, -0.4 box plus/minus, 7.6 VORP
#12. Jakob Pöltl
- Stacker score: 7.3
- Ninth overall pick in 2016
- Played three seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 8.1 PTS, 6.5 REB, 1.6 AST
- Advanced statistics: 34.9 win shares, 1.2 box plus/minus, 8.3 VORP
#11. Ed Davis
- Stacker score: 7.7
- 13th overall pick in 2010
- Played three seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 5.9 PTS, 6.4 REB, 0.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 43.3 win shares, -0.2 box plus/minus, 6.2 VORP
#10. P.J. Tucker
- Stacker score: 7.8
- 35th overall pick in 2006
- Played two seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 6.8 PTS, 5.5 REB, 1.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 42.6 win shares, -0.9 box plus/minus, 6.7 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.1%
- Accolades
--- 2021 NBA Champ
#9. Matt Bonner
- Stacker score: 8.4
- 45th overall pick in 2003
- Played two seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 5.8 PTS, 3.0 REB, 0.7 AST
- Advanced statistics: 38.5 win shares, 1.0 box plus/minus, 10.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
#8. Pascal Siakam
- Stacker score: 10.4
- 27th overall pick in 2016
- Played seven seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 17.0 PTS, 6.5 REB, 3.5 AST
- Advanced statistics: 41.0 win shares, 2.0 box plus/minus, 14.6 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.7%
- Accolades
--- 2019 NBA Champ
--- 2x All-NBA
--- 2x All Star
#7. Damon Stoudamire
- Stacker score: 12.9
- Seventh overall pick in 1995
- Played three seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 13.4 PTS, 3.5 REB, 6.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 55.4 win shares, 0.3 box plus/minus, 16.8 VORP
- Accolades
--- 1995-96 ROY
#6. Jonas Valančiūnas
- Stacker score: 14.6
- Fifth overall pick in 2011
- Played seven seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 13.5 PTS, 9.5 REB, 1.2 AST
- Advanced statistics: 73.2 win shares, 1.0 box plus/minus, 15.1 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 0.0%
#5. Marcus Camby
- Stacker score: 21.3
- Second overall pick in 1996
- Played two seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 9.5 PTS, 9.8 REB, 1.9 AST
- Advanced statistics: 81.6 win shares, 2.3 box plus/minus, 31.3 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2006-07 Def. POY
--- 4x BLK Champ
--- 4x All-Defensive
#4. DeMar DeRozan
- Stacker score: 27.6
- Ninth overall pick in 2009
- Played nine seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 21.0 PTS, 4.4 REB, 4.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 92.2 win shares, 0.8 box plus/minus, 25.3 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 42.4%
- Accolades
--- 3x All-NBA
--- 6x All Star
#3. Chris Bosh
- Stacker score: 40.9
- Fourth overall pick in 2003
- Played seven seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 19.2 PTS, 8.5 REB, 2.0 AST
- Advanced statistics: 106.0 win shares, 1.9 box plus/minus, 31.1 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x NBA Champ
--- 2006-07 All-NBA
--- 11x All Star
--- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
#2. Tracy McGrady
- Stacker score: 47.6
- Ninth overall pick in 1997
- Played three seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 19.6 PTS, 5.6 REB, 4.4 AST
- Advanced statistics: 97.3 win shares, 5.2 box plus/minus, 55.7 VORP
- Accolades
--- 2x Scoring Champ
--- 7x All-NBA
--- 7x All Star
--- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
#1. Vince Carter
- Stacker score: 51.8
- Fifth overall pick in 1998
- Played seven seasons with Toronto Raptors
- Career averages: 16.7 PTS, 4.3 REB, 3.1 AST
- Advanced statistics: 125.3 win shares, 3.0 box plus/minus, 57.9 VORP
- Hall of Fame probability: 94.5%
- Accolades
--- 1998-99 ROY
--- 2x All-NBA
--- 8x All Star
