10 for 10: A brief history of the 10th overall draft pick

On Sunday afternoon, the Milwaukee Bucks found out they’d received the 10th overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, a pick that they absolutely cannot afford to mess up. Analysts have had their say on who they think should be taken, and you soon will too (more on that to come). Until then, franchise saviour, rotational piece, just how high should we get our hopes up? Here are 10 for 10—the six best league-wide picks at 10 and the four selections Milwaukee has made at this spot.

The six best at 10

The 10th overall pick has a mixed history (for a complete list click here). From superstars to busts and everything in between, it’s proven to be a volatile draft position, one that can offer franchises new hope—or keep them in the doldrums. These guys fit the former.

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1. Paul Pierce (1998)

A stud from day one, Paul Pierce is the gold standard for pick 10, becoming a 10-time All Star, four-time All-NBA member, NBA champion, and Finals MVP winner, leading to his selection as one of the NBA’s top 75 players of all time. His reputation has taken a bit of a hit in his post-playing days, but don’t let his questionable calls as analyst fool you, Pierce was the truth.

2. Paul George (2010)

One of the great two-way players of his generation, Paul George earned his stripes as a lockdown defender before blossoming into the go-to scorer on some rugged Indiana Pacers teams that just couldn’t get over the Miami “Heatles” hump. Smooth and explosive at 6’8”, George has made nine All Star appearances, six All-NBA teams, and four All-Defensive selections. He even finished third in MVP voting as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite this, George has often been criticised for underperforming (especially in the playoffs), being injury prone, and focusing on podcasting. Still, you’d take his career at 10 any day.

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3. Gus Johnson Jr. (1963)

Hall-of-Famer Gus “Honeycomb” Johnson Jr. was a force for the Baltimore Bullets—you don’t earn five All Star selections, four All-NBA team honours, and two All-Defensive team selections if you’re not. He also won an ABA championship as a role player in his final season as a pro with the Indiana Pacers. But I cannot profess to know his game, and direct you instead to our friends at Bullets Forever, who profiled Johnson back in 2007.

4. Paul Westphal (1987)

As with Johnson, I didn’t get to watch Paul Westphal play basketball, knowing him primarily as a head coach for the early-90s Phoenix Suns and later as an assistant for Avery Johnson’s Dallas Mavericks (and later again for Lionel Hollins’ Brooklyn Nets). But the history books will tell you that Westphal was a baller, especially after being traded from the Boston Celtics to the Phoenix Suns in 1975. In fact, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame website does just that:

In Phoenix, with the Suns, Westphal developed into one of the best all-around guards in the NBA, being named to four consecutive All-Star rosters. In 1977, the ambidextrous slasher earned his first of four straight all-league nods. He averaged better than 20 points per game for five straight seasons, one of the most efficient players in the game. Dynamic, sure-footed, and intelligent, he kept defenders off-balance as he twisted, faked, and weaved his way through traffic for acrobatic shots.

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5. Joe Johnson (2001)

Also drafted by the Boston Celtics—that’s three of the five best 10th picks ever—Iso Joe, like Westphal, started to bloom when he moved to the Phoenix Suns and was given freedom in Mike D’Antoni’s “Seven seconds or less” offence, which ushered in the type of NBA basketball that has become so prominent today. But it wasn’t until he became the number one option in Atlanta that his metamorphosis was complete. A big wing—were talking Lebron-like—with a premier handle—just ask Pierce—Johnson was a versatile scorer and playmaker, with one of the best clutch resumes on the planet. He was a winner too, helping transform the Hawks from a 13-win team before his arrival to a 53-win team five years later, but wasn’t quite good enough to lift his teams to championship contention.

6. Eddie Jones (1994)

Before Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers had another dynamic 6’6” two-guard who could stick a J in your eye or put you on a poster. A three-time All-Star and All-Defensive player, Jones was both a premier sniper and swiper, hitting 37% from three and averaging 1.7 SPG across his 14-year career (including leading the league with 2.7 SPG in the 1999–2000 season, where he finished third in DPOY and made the All-NBA third team). Jones played four years with the Lakers but was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in 1999—the year before LA started its three-peat—to make room for Bryant’s ascension.

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The four Bucks at 10

While the six guys above all boomed, the same can’t be said for the players the Bucks have chosen with their 10th overall picks. Milwaukee has selected 10th just four times in its 58 years of NBA existence, with only two of those selections ever actually suiting up for the Bucks. In chronological order, here they are:

1. Danny Fortson (1997)

A bruising 6’7” and 260 pounds, Danny Fortson was immediately traded to the Denver Nuggets along with Johnny Newman and Joe Wolf for Ervin Johnson (no, not that one—check the spelling). Fortson had a 10-year career in the league, but struggled to consistently leave his mark on the court due to injury, excessive fouling, and attitude. In his best years, he’d give you 12 and 12, vacuuming in rebounds—he twice led the league in total rebound percentage—but he was mostly a backup big, especially after his age-25 season.

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2. Brandon Jennings (2009)

Of Milwaukee’s four picks at 10, this is the cream of the crop. Brandon Jennings burst onto the scene for the Bucks, dropping 55 points in just his seventh game, and it seemed like the franchise had found its cornerstone for years to come. While Jennings never lived up to those expectations, he had a quality four-year run with the Bucks, putting up 16.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 5.6 APG during his tenure. He was also part of the deal that brought Khris Middleton and Brandon Knight to the Cream City, and his 2013 “Bucks in six, that’s for the culture” rallying cry might just be the best in Bucks history, creating a cultural mythos that continues to symbolise loyalty, unity, and identity for the Milwaukee faithful.

3. Jimmer Fredette (2011)

In 2011, the Bucks selected Jimmer Fredette with their 10th pick but immediately traded him to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal including the Charlotte Hornets that netted Milwaukee Stephen Jackson, Tobias Harris, Shaun Livingston, and current Wisconsin Herd head coach Beno Udrih. Despite his shooting prowess, Fredette had an underwhelming NBA career, averaging just 6.0 PPG and 1.0 APG across 241 games.

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4. Thon Maker (2016)

The last time the Bucks picked 10th in the draft—after using recent first-round picks on Larry Sanders, then John Henson, then some kid from Greece—they took a swing on another skinny, long-limbed big. Maker was always a boom-or-bust prospect, but despite Kevin Garnett claiming that he would “be the MVP of the league one day,” Maker never lived up to the hype, averaging just 4.5 PPG and 2.6 RPG over three seasons with the Bucks before falling out of the league just two years later. He did, however, have some notable moments with Milwaukee, including a 14-point, five-rebound, five-block playoff performance in a Game 3 win against the Boston Celtics in 2018.

Honorary Inclusion

Brook Lopez (2008)

There are certainly other players who are just as worthy for this spot—Paul Silas, Horace Grant, Jeff Malone, and Caron Butler come to mind—but Brook Lopez’s longevity and impact on both sides of the ball cannot be overlooked (and yeah, neither can my Bucks bias). Still the all-time leading scorer in Brooklyn Nets history, Lopez made an All-Star team as a low-post scorer before transforming into the long-range bomber and DPOY candidate we came to know and love in Milwaukee. One of the great people in basketball, Lopez is a testament to the power of evolution—and deserves to have his jersey hung in the Fiserv rafters.

There you have it, a brief history of the 10th overall pick in the NBA Draft. In the best-case scenario, the Bucks draft their own Paul Pierce, who becomes the franchise cornerstone for nearly two decades and leads the city back to championship glory. But as Milwaukee’s own selections at 10 attest, the pick is anything but a lock for success—or even to stay in Milwaukee.

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So, how does this inform your wishes for June’s draft? Does it sway you in favour of a particular player and offer you excitement for what could be? Or does it make you fearful, ready to trade the pick for a proven commodity?