Kings Decade In Review: Worst Draft Picks

#2. Jimmer Over Klay & Kawhi

While the 2nd-8th picks of the 2011 NBA Draft ended up having largely disappointing NBA careers, the 9th-15th slots produced some of the top players in the NBA today. Luckily for the Kings, they were able to trade out of the 7th pick and into the 10th, smack dab in the middle of a group that would change the NBA landscape.

Sacramento took who they believed was the best player available.

That player was one of the best scorers in NCAA history. He was coming off of a senior season in which he broke school and conference records, and was named National Player of the Year by at least seven different national media outlets. He led the country in points per game after being the top-ranked point guard coming into the season.

Thus, people were excited when the Sacramento Kings selected Jimmer Fredette. The guy could shoot the lights out and score in bunches, his defensive inefficiency and questionable fit next to Tyreke Evans be damned.

Fredette lasted far longer in the league than Papagiannis did. He appeared in 171 games for Sacramento and averaged under 7 points per game. He struggled mightily to do anything other than catch and shoot, and his defense was nothing short of abysmal. In his final season for the Kings, Fredette attempted just 1.8 three-point attempts per game, but by that time his minutes had been cut down to 11 per.

It wasn’t as much the failures of Fredette as it was the stellar career of Klay Thompson that makes the 2011 pick one of the worst of the decade. The Warriors selected Thompson with the very next pick, who went on to become one of the top-5 shooters in NBA history. He was a known 3 and D guy coming out of college and actually shot a better three-point percentage than Fredette during their senior seasons.

Four picks after that, the Spurs selected Kawhi Leonard from San Diego State.