The 16 best 16th picks ever in the NBA draft

With the NBA draft coming up next Wednesday and Thursday, the Sixers own the 16th and 41st overall picks.

After our look back at the top 41st selections in NBA history, here’s a rundown of the 16 best players ever taken at No. 16 (in no particular order): 

John Stockton 

Stockton followed his four years at Gonzaga by playing 19 straight for the Jazz. He remains the NBA’s all-time leader in both steals and assists.

Metta Sandiford-Artest 

The 2003-04 Defensive Player of the Year was known as Ron Artest when the Bulls drafted him 15 picks after Elton Brand. It sure wasn’t the steadiest, smoothest career, but Artest was a fantastic defender, unforgettable character and NBA champion. 

Dana Barros 

Before Tyrese Maxey came along, Barros was the Sixers’ only Most Improved Player. The 5-foot-11 Boston College product shot 41.1 percent from three-point range in his career and knocked down nine triples vs. the Suns on Jan. 27, 1995. Danny Green and Maxey have since tied that franchise record.

Brevin Knight 

Another sub-6-foot guard here in Knight, who led the league in total steals his rookie year. He played for nine teams over his 12 seasons. 

Nikola Vučević 

The Sixers landed Vučević with the pick after Kawhi Leonard in the 2011 draft. The big man didn’t crack Doug Collins’ playoff rotation as a rookie, got traded to the Magic in the Sixers’ deal for Andrew Bynum, and eventually became a (two-time) All-Star.  

Tony Delk 

Delk went between Steve Nash and Jermaine O’Neal in the incredible 1996 draft. He split his 545-game NBA career between eight teams and dropped 53 points on Jan. 2, 2001.

Jim Price 

Price started his career playing point guard alongside Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain on the defending champion Lakers. He made an All-Star Game in 1974-75 when he averaged 16.1 points, 5.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals. 

Hedo Türkoğlu 

The NBA’s first Turkish-born player was a highly skilled 6-10 forward happy to have the ball in the clutch. Türkoğlu was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for the 2007-08 season and played a vital part in the Magic’s Eastern Conference title the next year. 

Alperen Şengün 

Turkish big man Şengün took a major leap last year in his third NBA season, displaying clever fakes, footwork and touch and averaging 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists for the Rockets. 

Swen Nater 

Nater’s remarkable story includes a stretch where he went from playing at Cypress College to backing up Bill Walton at UCLA to winning the ABA’s Rookie of the Year award. The Dutch center led the NBA with 15.0 rebounds per game in the 1979-80 season. 

Terry Rozier 

“Scary Terry” came off the bench for the first 164 games of his NBA career and then posted a triple-double in his very first start. Rozier scored 20 points per game over his four and a half years with the Hornets and is now on his third team in the Heat. 

Terry Mills 

Mills became one of the original stretch fours during his prime years with the Pistons and shot 38.4 percent behind the arc in his career. 

Rickey Green 

Known as “The Fastest of them All,” Green earned an All-Star spot in the 1983-84 season and led the NBA with 2.7 steals per game. At 36 years old, Green was the 1990-91 Sixers’ starting point guard.

Ricky Sobers 

As a rookie, Sobers featured for the 1975-76 Western Conference champion Suns (and fought Warriors superstar Rick Barry early in Game 7 of the West Finals). “The Super-Sub” averaged 13.3 points and 4.3 assists across 821 NBA games.   

Chris Gatling 

Gatling was an NBA journeyman who made an All-Star appearance in 1997. The 6-10 lefty logged 85 games — 45 with the Magic, 40 with the Nuggets— in the 1999-2000 season. 

Jusuf Nurkić 

Denver got Nurkić in a 2014 draft-night trade … and also picked fellow big man Nikola Jokić at No. 41. Nurkić topped the NBA in total rebounding percentage last year in his first season as a Sun.