A Fan’s View of Basketball

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He chose a different path

Marcus Spears Sr. spent the majority of his National Football League career with the Dallas Cowboys, and also played one season with the Baltimore Ravens. As a 6-foot 4, 315-pound defensive end, he was selected as the Cowboys’ first-round draft pick in 2005. Currently retired, Spears Sr. serves as an NFL analyst on the ESPN network. His son has emerged as a highly promising basketball prospect, with indications that his future is more likely to be in the NBA over the NFL were his father competed. 

Spears Jr. stands 6-foot 7 and weighs 195 pounds, he’s a power forward although he might slide in at the small forward position. He’s a 5-star prospect in the Class of 2027 and is rated the number 2 prospect by 247Sports and the top prospect in ESPN’s Recruiting Data base. Home for Spears Jr. is Dynamic Prep in Dallas Texas. My first thought on hearing this was the Hill family, there might be others but they came to mind first. If you remember the father Calvin Hill played in the NFL (1969-1981) while son Grant Hill was a career NBA athlete and played from 1994-2013.

Conspiracy theorists

I read an ESPN headline regarding potential 2026 NBA Rookie of the Year candidates. The photo of Cooper Flagg an several others reminded me of a single fact, many of us have become skeptical of stuff. “How could the Mavs trade their franchise player Luka Doncic and later win the draft lottery, very suspicious.” You’ve read those statements made by the media and fans alike hinting the NBA draft lottery is fixed, of course we’ve heard that story since the “bent card” that allowed the Knicks to draft Patrick Ewing in 1985. We’ve read the card was either bent or frozen to distinguish it from the others in the hopper. It’s not just the draft it’s one NBA record in particular that has continued to be greeted with skepticism over the years. It was the 100 point game recorded by Wilt Chamberlain March 2, 1962, against the Knicks, as stated previously, no film exists and only a 4th quarter radio tape exists.

I almost forgot this one, the Big Market bias that exists in the NBA. Many contend the NBA only wants the Lakers and Celtics or Knicks playing for the NBA Championship i.e., Big Market teams. In 2002 the Lakers shot a record 27 free throws in the 4th quarter of Game Six in the Western Conference Finals. Of course this emphasis on Big Market teams is quickly quashed if we look at 2025 which had Oklahoma City winning the championship while playing Indianapolis…two small market teams. Rigged Games, periodically disgraced NBA official Tim Donaghy’s name surfaces once again. He manages to spin one more story about the outcome of selected NBA games being “controlled” by game officials. This one is new, Michael Jordan’s retirement and later the brief period he played baseball. “David Stern had received word organized crime individuals were after MJ due to his reported gambling activities.” Of course that makes little sense since MJ was certainly not hiding while playing baseball. That account and others listed make little sense however that’s common place with many of these conspiracy theories.

A trade which became the future

99% of the time it is impossible to predict the future, we have no idea what might unfold. That was the case for the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers in 2018. The Hornets chose Shai-Gilgeous Alexander with the 11th pick in the first round but then traded his draft rights to the Clippers. After playing a reserve role for the Clippers SGA and a host of draft picks plus Danillo Gallinari was traded to the Thunder for Paul George. George was an NBA All Star, at that time Gallinari had more NBA credibility than SGA having been in the NBA for a time. The Clippers believed paring George with Kawhi Leonard they were on the road to a championship, of course it never arrived.

July 6, 2024, free agent George would sign a contract with the Sixers ending the goal of a Clipper championship with him in the lineup. In the intervening years SGA would become an NBA All Star and this most recent season lead his Thunder team to the 2025 NBA championship. In fairness to the Clipper brain trust they had no idea SGA would become the dynamic force he would eventually become. Adding the talented George to the crew assembled by the Clippers appeared to be a sure fire winner. The Clippers are not totally at fault, they gambled on what they believed was a future NBA championship. I use a baseball analogy for basketball, “You cannot steal second base if your foot is planted firmly on first.” In other words one must be willing to take a risk which the Clippers did.

The second round

It can’t be helped, we concentrate on the Top 10 or so picks in each year’s draft. We pay attention to the second round of the draft but not with the intent of the first round, we tend to forget there are “hidden” gems in even the second round. Want an example, how about Jordan Clarkson as proof! Clarkson arrived in the NBA in 2014 as pick 46 in the second round, NBA All-Rookie Team, NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2021). Clarkson now playing for the Jazz has managed to carve out an 11-year career in the association.

Think about this fact, there are a large number of players who are no longer in the NBA picked ahead of Clarkson at 46. At the top of this brief look has got to be Nikola Jokic a.k.a. The Joker, also in that 2014 draft. Jokic was pick 41 in the draft. Since then he’s helped make the Nuggets an NBA Championship team and from a personal perspective has been the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2021, 2022 and 2024. Next up Draymond Green, he stirs up emotion whenever his name is mentioned, hopefully this time it’s a little different. Emerging from Michigan State he was pick 35 in the second round by the Warriors, since then he’s been a four time NBA Champion, 2017 Defensive Player of the Year need I say more? Manu Ginobili formerly of the Spurs was drafted in 1999 as the 57th pick in the second round of that year’s draft. Do you realize the significance, there are at most 60 players drafted into the NBA each year. As for Ginobili, he’s earned Naismith Hall of Fame enshrinement.

The 2025 playoffs witnessed Jalen Brunson lead his Knicks team to a great deal of success although they came up short. Brunson arrived in the NBA from Villanova in 2018 with the Mavs, in 2022 he signed a free agent deal with the Knicks where his career has grown to great heights. As for positioning, Brunson was the 33rd pick by the Mavs in 2018. This is my look at what is believed to be some of the NBA’s most successful second round draft picks. Next time someone claims “There’s little talent in the second round” remind them of this exercise.