As strong as Jokic is only the No. 41 pick in the second round in 2014. Who are the top five in the same class? Tanhua became an MVP

When talking about the 2014 NBA Draft, the first thing that comes to mind is that the Nuggets selected Jokic in the 41st pick in the second round. At that time, no one noticed this "fat man" from Serbia, so no one would have thought that he would become the No. 1 player in the league one day. In the past five years, Jokic has won three regular season MVPs. In 2023, he led the Nuggets to win the first championship in team history. In the end, he was also elected as FMVP that season. At this time, he has firmly ranked as the first player in the active service.

In the 2024-2025 season, Jokic was still improving his strength. He averaged 29.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game in the regular season. He became the first player to average triple-double per game since Oscar Robertson and Westbrook, and he is also the only inside player among them.

Therefore, Jokic's performance now undoubtedly breaks people's previous perceptions. Before that, no center in the NBA has had such a comprehensive performance. Not only at the data level, but also in the game content, Jokic can hold the ball and leave the ball. When the team needs him to attack, he can both hold the ball and shoot at the low post. When his teammates feel full of touch, the selfless Jokic will also cover and pass the ball to his teammates. So it’s such a player, how did Jokic fall into the second round? Let’s review it together next!

became a talented star in European basketball at the age of 17, but NBA scouts are not optimistic about him

In Jokic's basketball career, he was officially involved in basketball at the age of 15, so from this we can see that his talent is undoubtedly very amazing. After two years of serious training, 17-year-old Jokic has already made a name for himself in the European League, so he was also named one of the "Top Ten Hope Stars" by EURO in the key European basketball league.

However, even so, many NBA scouts will still question whether his playing style can work in the NBA. This is because we mentioned earlier that there has never been a center like Jokic in the history of the NBA. In addition, his body fat percentage is too high. Although the weight of 116 kg is not very high for a big center, he is basically all "fat", which makes people worry about his physical strength and confrontation.

Another very critical point is Jokic's dynamic talent. From the perspective of NBA scouts, he is not only very slow on the court, but also bounces at ordinary people. Therefore, based on various factors, Jokic's scout report is also full of uncertainty. In the end, Jokic, who participated in the draft, was finally selected by the Nuggets. The team's gambling decision obviously made him look at his potential. Now, it is undoubtedly the right bet.

5.Dant Exam

Average of 6.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his career, As the No. 5 pick, Exam obviously failed to perform as expected. He averaged only 6.2 points and 2.3 assists in his career. As a Hyundai defender, he can only make 0.8 three-pointers per game, and his shooting percentage is only 34.3%. Because his offensive performance was so bad, Exam became a basic salary player early on, and this year he signed another basic salary contract with the Mavericks.

Exam last season was one of the best performances in his career, averaging 8.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in the regular season, and he averaged 1.2 three-pointers with a shooting rate of 43.4%. However, he only played 20 games due to injury, and he is already 30 years old, so his progress on the court has not increased his value.

4. Aaron Gordon, who averaged 13.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his career, was regarded as the core of the Magic at the beginning. His performance at that time could only be said to be average, but his upper limit obviously did not meet the requirements of the Magic, so he was traded to the Nuggets in the 2020-2021 season. Here Gordon's style of play has changed. The team no longer needs him to hold the ball. With Jokic's side, he only needs to do a good job of defense and eating cake for most of the time. With Gordon's help, Jokic's defensive pressure in the inside has dropped sharply. At the same time, the former's athletic ability has also transformed many of his seemingly incredible passes into assists, so his chemistry with this team is very good.

With the help of Gordon, the Nuggets successfully won the championship in 2023. He averaged 13.3 points, 6 rebounds and 2.6 assists that year that year. Although the data seems ordinary, the team's ability to win the championship all the way has obviously had a lot to do with his defense against stars such as James, Durant, and Butler. Another point is that in 2021, Gordon only signed a four-year contract of 86.64 million with the Nuggets, so the team has more room for reinforcement in the future, otherwise it would be difficult for them to win the championship.

3. Embiid averaged 27.7 points, 11 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his career. As another player to win the MVP in 2014, Embiid's strength is also very outstanding. In the year he won the MVP, he averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1 steal and 1.7 blocks per game in the regular season. In this way, he became the first center forward since McAdou to win the regular season scoring champion for two consecutive years.

After that, Embiid played a more dominant performance in the 2023-2024 season. He averaged 34.7 points, 11 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in the regular season, but he was ruined by injuries. Later, he returned to the playoffs with injuries but failed to play well. Now Embiid seems to be unable to get out of the injury. Considering that he is 31 years old, it is still unknown whether he can return to the peak in the future..

2. Jabarri Parker averaged 14.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2 assists in his career

Although Parker has not achieved as high as Embiid in his career, he is also ruined by injuries as he is in the same way as the latter. He originally scored 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the regular season of the 2016-2017 season. As his career is about to improve, he was injured. When he returned to the 2017-2018 season, Parker had to play as a substitute, and in the end his data fell to 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists that year.

And with the rise of Antetokounmpo, the Bucks obviously did not need Parker, so the team did not renew his contract with him. Later, Parker went to multiple teams, but he never recovered his form. In the end, he was eliminated by the NBA at the age of 26.

1. Wiggins averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1 steal in his career. As one of the best physical players in the 14th class (you can even remove one), Wiggins was considered to be able to score in the NBA since high school. Later, he did not disappoint. In 2014, he also successfully became the No. 1 pick. However, in the NBA, Wiggins' mentality and personality became one of the most critical factors that restrict his upper limit. Due to his lack of competitive spirit and motivation, he has never been able to prove that he is worthy of the position of the core team building.

Finally, in the 2019-2020 season, the Timberwolves decided not to train Wiggins, so the team traded him to the Warriors. With Curry and others around, Wiggins no longer has to be the first choice. After Thompson returns, he has fewer roles on the offensive end. However, this happens to be a game that is more suitable for Wiggins. Without offensive pressure, he turned to focus more on defense. So we saw his key performance in the 2022 playoffs. His defense against Doncic and Tatum can be regarded as textbook-level. In the end, he successfully helped the team win the championship.

Therefore, Wiggins may not meet expectations, but it has to be said that he is still a very outstanding player, even if he is 30 now, it is still the case, especially for many championship teams, if they can all get Wiggins, the team's strength will be strengthened.