For the first time in years, the Orlando Magic do not have a lottery pick. Instead, they will be picking at 18 and 47. This year's draft class is generally not considered a very strong one. Nevertheless, some of the players available could fill a need for the Magic and might still be on the board when they pick 18th overall.
The NBA Draft always involves a certain amount of guesswork. Sometimes, players who impressed in college never find stardom in the NBA despite being high draft picks. Other times, second-round picks or players who went undrafted put together successful careers despite the odds.
There is a chance that the Magic will find a real contributor with their first-round pick--either for now or for the future. After all, not every player who ends up having a successful NBA career is picked in the lottery. So, let's look at four players who went on to have successful NBA careers after being drafted 18th overall to see what this year's pick might hold.
4. JaVale McGee
In 2008, JaVale McGee was drafted 18th overall by the Washington Wizards. McGee played four seasons with the Wizards, and by his third season, he averaged 10.1 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game as a solid starting center.
His real success came much later, however. After struggling to find his place outside of Washington, the big man signed with the Golden State Warriors in 2016 and went on to win two straight titles with them.
Now a two-time NBA champion, McGee signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 and eventually won yet another championship. In his first season with the team, his playing time and production increased dramatically compared to his time with the Warriors. In March 2019, he even put together a career performance, recording 33 points, 20 rebounds, and 6 blocks against the Brooklyn Nets.
On top of the three championships, McGee is also the proud owner of an Olympic gold medal won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
So, McGee might not have been an All-Star or one of the main guys on his championship teams, but he made his living as a role player and found his own kind of success over a long NBA career that might not be over quite yet. Last season, he acted as a veteran presence for the Sacramento Kings.
3. J.R. Smith
In 2004, J.R. Smith entered the NBA Draft right out of high school. The New Orleans Hornets selected him 18th overall.
Smith quickly established himself as a double-digit scorer, averaging 12.4 points per game for his sixteen-season-long career. His best season by far came in 2012-13 with the New York Knicks. For the first time in his career, Smith averaged over 30 minutes of playing time per game and put up 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. To top that off, he did all that while coming off the bench in all 80 games he played. At the end of the season, Smith was rewarded with the Sixth Man of the Year award.
After two more seasons with the Knicks, he was sent to Cleveland in a three-team deal and won a championship with the Cavaliers in 2016. His time in Cleveland came to an end in 2019 after he accused the team of intentionally losing games and was eventually waived.
That did not mark the end of Smith's NBA career quite yet, however. In 2020, he signed with the Lakers on his way to winning his second championship. His last game in the league was Game 3 of the 2020 NBA Finals.
Just like McGee, Smith never made an All-Star game, but he found success in other ways after being selected 18th overall.
2. David West
David West was drafted 18th overall just one year before J.R. Smith by the same team. He stayed with the New Orleans Hornet for eight seasons and made two All-Star games in 2008 and 2009. In both seasons, he averaged over 20 points and 8 rebounds per game.
He never cracked the 20-point mark again for an entire season but still had some successful years with the Hornets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, and Golden State Warriors.
While his personal production dropped quite significantly, West found great team success with the Golden State Warriors. He signed with the team in 2016 and promptly won his first championship. Afterward, he decided to return for one final season with the Warriors, played over 1,000 regular season games, and won a second title.
In August 2018, the forward officially retired, capping off a successful NBA career. His career shows what most of us already know: you do not have to be a lottery pick to have a successful NBA career. Obviously, the chances are much higher as a first-round pick than a second-round pick or undrafted player, but the NBA is always full of surprises, and that should be encouraging to Magic fans when it comes to this year's draft.
1. Theo Ratliff
For this one, we have to go all the way back to 1995, before most current Magic players were even born. That year, the Detroit Pistons selected Theo Ratliff 18th overall out of the University of Wyoming.
In college, Ratliff had already established himself as a talented rim protector, and that skill carried over to the NBA. Over 16 NBA seasons, he averaged three or more blocks per game several times, led the NBA in blocks in 2001, 2003, and 2004, and was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team in 1999 and 2004.
Offensively, Ratliff was not quite as strong, but he did average double-digit points during four consecutive seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. In 2001, when he averaged 12.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 3.7 blocks, he was named an All-Star as well.
The big man never won an NBA title but still put together a nice career, based on his impressive defense. Only three players--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mark Eaton, and Marcus Camby--have led the league in blocks more than three times in their careers so far. Ratliff is up there with some of the best shot blockers in the game.
So, while the 18th pick that year did not yield an All-Star, it produced a defensive specialist and solid role player. The Magic are hoping to find a future role player this year as well if they keep their first-round pick.