Maybe it’s Nikola Jokić! Probably not, though.
Don’t look now, but the 2025 NBA Draft is right around the corner. Which means that we’ll soon put a pause on Jonathan Kuminga’s restricted free agency, pipe dreams of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and discussions about what players will be available for the veteran’s minimum, and instead focus on the player that the Golden State Warriors will add in the draft.
Player, singular. For now, at least. The Dubs have made plenty of moves in the draft in recent years, so there’s always a chance that they add another pick … or get rid of the lone one that they have. As things currently stand, they’re absent a first-round pick for the second year running, as they parted with their first rounder — No. 20 overall — as part of the package that landed Jimmy Butler III.
But they do have a second-round pick, and, if nothing changes, will get to draft the 41st overall pick come Thursday, June 26. That’s not their original pick (which is No. 48, and in the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies); as tends to be the case with second-round picks, the path to its home is extremely circuitous.
It is, ironically, Miami’s second-round pick, but the Warriors didn’t get it in the Butler trade. In fact, the origins of the pick date all the way back to July 2019, when the Heat sent the pick to the Indiana Pacers as part of a three-team trade that saw Miami gain the draft rights to KZ Okpala from the Phoenix Suns. In October of 2021, the Pacers sent that pick to the Nets (along with Edmond Sumner) in exchange for the draft rights to Juan Pablo Vaulet. And last December 15, the Nets packaged that pick with Dennis Schröder, and sent them to the Bay for De’Anthony Melton, Reece Beekman, and three second-round picks.
And that’s how we got here. We’ll see if anything changes in the next week.
The Warriors have done an excellent job drafting in the second round, grabbing Quinten Post in 2024 and Trayce Jackson-Davis the year prior (and, if you go back even further, Draymond Green). But, despite the NBA trying to make the second round a big deal by turning the draft into a two-day event, finding successes in the second round is not particularly common.
So what can we expect from the 41st pick? Here’s a look at the last 20 players selected in that slot, so we can all adjust our barometers accordingly.
2024: Adem Bona, UCLA sophomore (76ers)
Rookie stats: 58 games, 15.6 minutes, 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists
Career trajectory: Still going
We’re still in “wait and see” mode for most of these recent drafted players, but Philadelphia is pretty pleased with Bona, who was able to find playing time given that nearly all of the Sixers’ roster was injured.
2023: Amari Bailey, UCLA freshman (Hornets)
Rookie stats: 10 games, 6.5 minutes, 2.3 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists
Career trajectory: In the G League
Bailey spent the entirety of the 2024-25 season in the G League, trying to make his way back to the NBA after a very short rookie stint. Apparently UCLA produces 41st picks!
2022: E.J. Liddell, Ohio State junior (Pelicans)
Rookie stats: Did not play (injury)
Career trajectory: Trying to make it
Liddell missed his rookie year after injury his ACL, and in the two years since, he’s played in just 20 games and seen 76 minutes of action. Thus is the tough reality for second-round players: a lot of times the simply live on the periphery of an NBA roster spot.
2021: Joe Wieskamp, Iowa junior (Spurs)
Rookie stats: 29 games, 7.1 minutes, 2.1 points, 0.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists
Career trajectory: Out of the league
After playing in 29 games as a rookie, Wieskamp appeared in just nine games in his second season. He spent the 2024-25 season playing in Australia.
2020: Tre Jones, Duke sophomore (Spurs)
Rookie stats: 37 games, 7.3 minutes, 2.5 points, 0.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists
Career trajectory: Quality player
The Spurs may have missed with Wieskamp but, a year earlier, they hit with Jones. He didn’t do much as a rookie, but he became a rotation player as a sophomore, and a starter in his third season, when he averaged 12.9 points and 6.6 assists for San Antonio. He was traded this year, in his fifth season, but has proven to be a quality rotation player.
2019: Eric Paschall, Villanova senior (Warriors)
Rookie stats: 60 games, 27.6 minutes, 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists
Career trajectory: Three-year career
The Warriors opted for a quality four-year player and, when the season promptly went in the toilet following a season-ending injury to Steph Curry, they let that rookie shine. Paschall rewarded the Warriors by finishing sixth in Rookie of the Year voting and making the All-Rookie team. But there were some warning signs in his profile and, the next year, he played in just 40 games, and received 10 fewer minutes per night. The Warriors traded him to the Utah Jazz after his second season, for a second-round pick. He spent one year with Utah, and has been playing overseas ever since.
2018: Jarred Vanderbilt, Kentucky freshman (Nuggets)
Rookie stats: 17 games, 4.1 minutes, 1.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.2 assists
Career trajectory: Quality role player entering his eighth season
I remember watching Vanderbilt up close at Summer League when he was drafted, and thinking that he had the makings of a quality player. It took a while for that to transpire, as he played just 115 minutes over his first two NBA seasons. But, seven years and four teams later, he’s proven himself a quality role player, when he can stay healthy.
2017: Tyler Dorsey, Oregon sophomore (Hawks)
Rookie stats: 56 games, 17.4 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Career trajectory: Three(ish)-year career
Dorsey looked decent for two years, but then couldn’t really break into a role. He spent three years overseas before briefly returning to the NBA in the 2022-23 season for three games. He spent last year playing in Greece.
2016: Stephen Zimmerman, UNLV freshman (Magic)
Rookie stats: 19 games, 5.7 minutes, 1.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.2 assists
Career trajectory: Never played again
I’m guessing you either forgot that Zimmerman existed or never knew that he did. His NBA career lasted for one year, 19 games, and 108 minutes.
2015: Pat Connaughton, Notre Dame senior (Blazers)
Rookie stats: 34 games, 4.2 minutes, 1.1 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists
Career trajectory: Quality 10-year career, and counting
It seems the lesson here is: even with the good players taken at this juncture in the draft, don’t expect them to contribute for a while. It wasn’t until Connaughton’s third season in the NBA that he started to look like a quality role player, and it’s built him a career that’s lasted a decade.
2014: Nikola Jokić, Serbia (Nuggets)
Rookie stats: Did not play (overseas)
Career trajectory: Three-time MVP, champion, future Hall of Famer, arguable top-10 all-time player
Okay, so … sometimes you get the 41st pick and use it on a player who changes the game forever, is an all-time great, and averages a triple-double. Would be a really smooth way to do the whole two timelines thing.
2013: Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State junior (Grizzlies)
Rookie stats: 21 games, 7.7 minutes, 1.9 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.3 assists
Career trajectory: Basically never played again
Well, they can’t all be Jokić. Franklin had a nondescript rookie year, played in three games as a sophomore, and never saw an NBA court again.
2012: Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas senior (Nets)
Rookie stats: 38 games, 5.8 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists
Career trajectory: Two-year career
Taylor’s career only lasted for two seasons and 61 games, before it was off to Europe.
2011: Darius Morris, Michigan sophomore (Lakers)
Rookie stats: 19 games, 8.9 minutes, 2.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists
Career trajectory: Modest four-year career
Morris never really broke through. He showed some signs, but ultimately played for more teams (five) than seasons (four), and ended his NBA career having averaged just 3.3 points over 132 career games.
2010: Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State senior (Heat)
Rookie stats: Did not play (overseas)
Career trajectory: A few cups of coffee
No one ever accused Varnado, who appeared in 37 games with four teams over the course of two seasons, of being a good NBA player. But he had a great NBA name.
2009: Jodie Meeks, Kentucky junior (Bucks)
Rookie stats: 60 games, 12.0 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists
Career trajectory: 10-year career
Meeks will not be remembered as the best shooter to come out of the 2009 draft. But he will be remembered as a good shooter, and it allowed him to stay in the league for a decade, and make more than 200 career starts, while donning seven different jerseys.
2008: Nathan Jawai, Australia (Raptors)
Rookie stats: 6 games, 3.2 minutes, 0.3 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.0 assists
Career trajectory: Two-and-done
After playing just six games as a rookie, Jawai changed teams and appeared in 39 games the next year. But that wasn’t enough for him to earn a constant role in the NBA, and that was the end of his time in the league.
2007: Chris Richard, Florida senior (Timberwolves)
Rookie stats: 52 games, 10.7 minutes, 1.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.3 assists
Career trajectory: Not much else
Usually rookies who play in 52 games stick around for a while. But Richard was overseas the very next year. He returned a season later, but only played in 18 games, and that was that.
2006: James Augustine, Illinois senior (Magic)
Rookie stats: 2 games, 3.5 minutes, 1.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists
Career trajectory: Two brief years
Augustine would play in just 27 games during his NBA career, before heading overseas, where he played until 2018.
2005: Roko Ukić, Croatia (Raptors)
Rookie stats: Did not play (overseas)
Career trajectory: Two seasons
Ukić spent three years post-draft playing overseas before finally coming to the states. He looked decent as a rookie, playing in 72 games, but not filling up the stat sheet. He played in just 13 games the next year, and that was the end of his NBA career.
The takeaway? Just draft Jokić you dummies.