A brief history of second-round success stories as Bronny James eyes NBA draft

Can a basketball player still find success if a team selects him after the first round of the NBA draft?

The 2024 NBA Draft is three weeks away, and much of the talk surrounding this year’s NBA draft has to do with Bronny James – son of LeBron James – and his draft projections. James (the younger) played just one year of college basketball at Southern California and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

With only that one year of performance on his résumé, will he be drafted in the first round? If he’s drafted in the second round, will he be able to find success at the pro level? Have there been many successful second-round players in the NBA?

Here’s what recent history has to say about it.

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Second-round success stories in the NBA draft

There have been 35 NBA drafts since it adopted its current, two-round format in 1989. In that time, 21 players have made an All-Star game as a second-round draft pick. They are (listed chronologically by draft year):

• Clifford Robinson, Portland Trail Blazers, 1989

• Cedric Ceballos, Phoenix Suns, 1990

• Antonio Davis, Indiana Pacers, 1990

• Nick Van Exel, Los Angeles Lakers, 1993

• Rashard Lewis, Oklahoma City Thunder, 1998

• Manu Ginóbili, San Antonio Spurs, 1999

• Michael Redd, Milwaukee Bucks, 2000

• Gilbert Arenas, Golden State Warriors, 2001

• Mehmet Okur, Detroit Pistons, 2001

• Carlos Boozer, Cleveland Cavaliers, 2002

• Mo Williams, Utah Jazz, 2003

• Kyle Korver, New Jersey Nets, 2003

• Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz, 2006

• Marc Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers, 2007

• DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers, 2008*

• Goran Dragić, San Antonio Spurs, 2008

• Isaiah Thomas, Sacramento Kings, 2011*

• Khris Middleton, Detroit Pistons, 2012*

• Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, 2012*

• Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets, 2014*

• Jalen Brunson, Dallas Mavericks, 2018*

Active players as of 2023-24 denoted by an asterisk (*).

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Of those 21 players, just Ginóbili is a Hall of Famer. Ten of them, or roughly half, were All-Stars more than one time. Seven of those multi-year All-Stars – including Arenas, Gasol, and Jokić – received an All-NBA nod at least one time as well.

As far as second-round picks go since 1989, Ginóbili and Jokić clearly stand above the rest. The former is a first ballot Hall of Famer and four-time NBA champion. The latter is a three-time NBA MVP – one of just nine players with so many – that brought a Denver franchise its first title and won Finals MVP along the way.

For Bronny James and any other prospective second-rounders, having some success in the NBA after falling out of the first round of the draft isn’t out of the question. There are many players drafted later that became starters, though not all of them All-Stars. Only a few second-round players have been among the NBA’s best since the two-round draft format that began in 1989.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As Bronny James eyes NBA draft, what history says about late picks