Barring a trade, the Toronto Raptors will select 23rd overall at Thursday’s draft. The 2017 prospect pool is deep, and, particularly at the forward positions, there is expected to be plenty of talent on the board once the Raps’ turn to pick comes around.
But what should expectations be if you’re a Raptors fan? Can Masai Ujiri & Co. hit pay dirt and find a diamond in the rough, a future franchise cornerstone and a steal of the draft? Well, it’s not likely. But it’s possible.
What’s more likely in a good-case-scenario, however, is that Toronto uses its pick to draft a solid role player who can contribute to a winning team in a supporting role. At least that’s what history says.
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To this point, the 23rd pick has yielded one Hall of Famer (Alex English), three all-stars (English, Tayshaun Prince, and A.C. Green), and a decent group of role players that includes names like Bobby Jackson, Devean George, Travis Outlaw, and Travis Best.
There are a handful of decent current pros, too, including Trevor Booker, Wilson Chandler, Omri Casspi, Solomon Hill and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Of course, there are also a handful of players who failed to make an impact at the NBA level whatsoever.
So as you prepare your expectations for the Raptors at the 2017 draft, Here’s a look at the top 20 players selected at No. 23, sorted by career win shares (a measurement of how much a player contributes to winning games):
| Player | Year | Pts | Reb | Ast | WS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex English | 1976 | 21.5 | 5.5 | 3.6 | 100.7 |
| A.C. Green | 1985 | 9.6 | 7.4 | 1.1 | 99.5 |
| Tayshaun Prince | 2002 | 11.1 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 63.1 |
| Wesley Person | 1994 | 11.2 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 44 |
| Terry Tyler | 1978 | 10.2 | 5.4 | 1.2 | 40.8 |
| Ervin Johnson | 1993 | 4.1 | 6.1 | 0.5 | 37.8 |
| Bobby Jackson | 1997 | 9.7 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 31.4 |
| Travis Best | 1995 | 7.6 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 30.9 |
| Mike Glenn | 1977 | 7.6 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 25.3 |
| Kosta Koufos | 2008 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 0.4 | 23.7 |
| Wilson Chandler | 2007 | 14 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 23.5 |
| Trevor Booker | 2010 | 7 | 5.6 | 1 | 23.3 |
| Tyronn Lue | 1998 | 8.5 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 19.7 |
| Greg Anderson | 1987 | 7.3 | 6.2 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| Devean George | 1999 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 18.2 |
| Francisco Garcia | 2005 | 7.9 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 18.2 |
| Travis Outlaw | 2003 | 8.5 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 16.5 |
| Omri Casspi | 2009 | 8.2 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 16.1 |
| Mitchell Wiggins | 1983 | 19 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 15.2 |
| Nikola Mirotic | 2011 | 10.8 | 5.3 | 1.2 | 13.4 |
