Isaiah Thomas was the last pick in 2011; how are the other 59 players faring?
He was the NBA’s version of Mr. Irrelevant, but Isaiah Thomas has fought his whole career to prove his relevance.
The Kings selected the junior point guard out of Washington with the 60th and final pick in the 2011 NBA draft.
Since then, all the 5-foot-9 guard has done is become a prominent scorer in the league, three times averaging more than 20 points in a season. He’s also made the All-Star game twice and is cementing his legacy as arguably the best 60th pick in NBA history (only Michael Cooper in 1978 and the late Drazen Petrovic in 1986 could be in the conversation).
Oh, and he scored a career-high 53 points Tuesday to help his Boston Celtics take a 2-0 lead over the Washington Wizards in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics won 129-119 in overtime at TD Garden, with Thomas 20 in the fourth quarter and nine of Boston’s 15 points in overtime.
Forget that the Kings traded him to Phoenix for next to nothing following the 2013-14 season, when he averaged 20.3 points. The question is how many of the 59 players selected before him are making an impact in the NBA? See below for more.
BY THE NUMBERS
A statistical look at Thomas and the 2011 draft:
2: All-Star appearances for Thomas (2015-16 and 2016-17).
3: Players drafted in 2011 who have been All-NBA selections (Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Golden State’s Klay Thompson).
6: Players, including Thomas, from this draft who have been All-Stars (Irving, Leonard, Thompson, Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and Charlotte’s Kemba Walker are the others).
6: Players drafted in 2011 who never made it to the NBA.
9.8: Fourth-quarter scoring average for Thomas this season, which was second in the NBA.
19.1: Thomas’ career scoring average. Irving (21.1) is the only player from this draft who scores more per game. Thompson also averages 19.1.
20.3: Thomas’ scoring average in 2013-14, his last season with the Kings. He averaged 15.3 in three seasons with Sacramento.
28.9: Thomas’ scoring average this season, a career high and third in the NBA.
53: Points scored Tuesday against Washington, a career high. From this draft, only Thompson (60 vs. Indiana on Dec. 5, 2016) and Kyrie Irving (57 at San Antonio on March 13, 2015) have higher single-game scoring outputs.
THE 2011 NBA DRAFT
This list doesn’t include pre-draft trades, only which teams selected a player and where they traded the player to.
Player | Drafting Team (Traded To) | School/club | Of Note |
1. Kyrie Irving, PG | Cleveland | Duke | Rookie of the Year; All-Star (4x) |
2. Derrick Williams, F | Minnesota | Arizona | All-Rookie Second Team; with fifth NBA club |
3. Enes Kanter, C | Utah | Kentucky | With Oklahoma City last three seasons |
4. Tristan Thompson, PF | Cleveland | Texas | All-Rookie Second Team |
5. Jonas Valanciunas, C | Toronto | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (Lithuania) | All-Rookie Second Team in 2013 |
6. Jan Veselý, PF | Washington | Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) | Left NBA in 2014; now in Turkey |
7. Bismack Biyombo, C | Kings (Charlotte) | Fuenlabrada (Spain) | Now with Orlando |
8. Brandon Knight, PG | Detroit | Kentucky | All-Rookie First Team; now with Phoenix |
9. Kemba Walker, PG | Charlotte | Connecticut | All-Star in 2016-17 |
10. Jimmer Fredette, G | Milwaukee (Kings) | BYU | Left NBA in 2016; now in China |
11. Klay Thompson, SG | Golden State | Washington State | All-Star (3x); Considered one of NBA’s top shooters |
12. Alec Burks, SG | Utah | Colorado | Bench player averages 10.1 points for his career |
13. Markieff Morris, PF | Phoenix | Kansas | Now a starter with Washington |
14. Marcus Morris, F | Houston | Kansas | Now a starter with Detroit |
15. Kawhi Leonard, SF | Indiana (San Antonio) | San Diego State | 2014 Finals MVP; All-Star (2x); Defensive POY (2x) |
16. Nikola Vucevic, C | Philadelphia | USC | Starter with Orlando |
17. Iman Shumpert, SG | New York | Georgia Tech | All-Rookie First Team; now with Cleveland |
18. Chris Singleton, SF | Washington | Florida State | Left NBA in 2014; now in Greece |
19. Tobias Harris, SF | Charlotte (Milwaukee) | Tennessee | Now with Detroit |
20. Donatas Motiejunas, PF | Minnesota (Houston) | Benetton Treviso (Italy) | Now with New Orleans |
21. Nolan Smith, PG | Portland | Duke | Left NBA in 2013; coaching assistant at Duke |
22. Kenneth Faried, PF | Denver | Morehead State | All-Rookie First Team; has been starter and reserve |
23. Nikola Mirotic, PF | Houston (Chicago) | Real Madrid (Spain) | All-Rookie First Team in 2015 |
24. Reggie Jackson, PG | Oklahoma City | Boston College | Now with Detroit |
25. MarShon Brooks, SG | Boston (New Jersey) | Providence | Left NBA in 2014; now in China |
26. Jordan Hamilton, SG | Dallas (Denver) | Texas | 151 NBA games; now in Venezuela |
27. JaJuan Johnson, PF | New Jersey (Boston) | Purdue | 36 games as rookie; now in Italy |
28. Norris Cole, PG | Chicago (Minnesota) | Cleveland State | Now with Oklahoma City |
29. Cory Joseph, PG | San Antonio | Texas | Now with Toronto |
30. Jimmy Butler, SG | Chicago | Marquette | All-Star (3x), Most Improved Player in 2015 |
31. Bojan Bogdanovic, G/F | Miami (New Jersey) | Cibona Zagreb (Croatia) | All-Rookie Second Team in 2015; now with Washington |
32. Justin Harper, PF | Cleveland (Orlando) | Richmond | Played in 22 NBA games; now in D-League |
33. Kyle Singler, SF | Detroit | Duke | All-Rookie Second Team in 2013; now with Oklahoma City |
34. Shelvin Mack. PG | Washington | Butler | Now with Utah |
35. Tyler Honeycutt, SF | Kings | UCLA | Left Kings in 2013; now in Turkey |
36. Jordan Williams, PF | New Jersey | Maryland | 43 games as rookie; hasn’t been pro since 2013 |
37. Trey Thompkins, PF | L.A. Clippers | Georgia | 24 games as rookie; now in Spain |
38. Chandler Parsons, SF | Houston | Florida | All-Rookie Second Team; now with Memphis |
39. Jeremy Tyler, PF | Charlotte (Golden State) | Tokyo Apache (Japan) | Left NBA in 2014; now in China |
40. Jon Leuer, PF | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | Now with Detroit |
41. Darius Morris, PG | L.A. Lakers | Michigan | Left NBA in 2015; now in D-League |
42. Davis Bertans, SF | Indiana (San Antonio) | Union Olimpija (Slovenia) | Currently in first NBA season; played in 67 games |
43. Malcolm Lee, SG | Chicago (Minnesota) | UCLA | Left NBA in 2014; now in Turkey |
44. Charles Jenkins, PG | Golden State | Hofstra | Left NBA in 2013; now in Serbia |
45. Josh Harrellson, C | New Orleans | Kentucky | Left NBA in 2014; now in Japan |
46. Andrew Goudelock, PG | L.A. Lakers | Charleston | 49 NBA games over three seasons; now in Israel |
47. Travis Leslie, SG | L.A. Clippers | Georgia | 10 NBA games in 2013; now in D-League |
48. Keith Benson, C | Atlanta | Oakland | Three NBA games in 2012; now in D-League |
49. Josh Selby, PG | Memphis | Kansas | Left NBA in 2013; now in Israel |
50. Lavoy Allen, PF | Philadelphia | Temple | Now with Indiana |
51. Jon Diebler, SG | Portland | Ohio State | Never played in NBA |
52. Vernon Macklin, PF | Detroit | Florida | 23 games as rookie; now in Qatar |
53. DeAndre Liggins, SG | Orlando | Kentucky | Now with Dallas |
54. Milan Macvan, PF | Cleveland | Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) | Never played in NBA |
55. E’Twaun Moore, SG | Boston | Purdue | Now with New Orleans |
56. Chukwudiebere Maduabum, PF | L.A. Lakers (Denver) | Bakersfield Jam (D-League) | Never played in NBA |
57. Tanguy Ngombo, SF | Dallas (Portland) | Al Rayyan (Qatar) | Never played in NBA |
58. Ater Majok, PF | L.A. Lakers | Gold Coast Blaze (Australia) | Never played in NBA |
59. Adam Hanga, SG | San Antonio | Albacomp (Hungary) | Never played in NBA |
60. Isaiah Thomas, PG | Kings | Washington | Traded to Phoenix in 2014; two-time All-Star in Boston |
The argument can be made that Thomas is a top-three player from this draft. Only Irving, Leonard, Thompson and maybe Butler give Thomas a challenge. This should serve as further proof that it’s not where a team drafts, it’s who they draft.
This story was originally published May 3, 2017 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Isaiah Thomas was the last pick in 2011; how are the other 59 players faring?."