San Antonio Spurs: 5 Best 12th overall picks in NBA history

Now that it's known that the San Antonio Spurs will be selecting 12th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft laters this month, we've done plenty of speculating as to who their pick will be. This year's pick will now be the Spurs' second consecutive lottery selection, which hasn't occurred in over 30 years for the franchise.

With that in mind, though, it's become evident that many fans feel as if picking 12th overall is not high enough, and that the Spurs will need to look to trade up the draft board. While such a move wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing by any means, I'm here to dispel the belief that the 12th overall pick is worthless.

In fact, the 12th overall pick has been used in the past to select some incredible NBA players and even a couple of Hall of Famers. Here, we'll discuss a few of the best players to ever be selected 12th overall in the NBA Draft, and how they were able to impact their respective teams and the league.

Honorable Mention: Muggsy Bogues

While Muggsy Bogues may not be one of the very best to be selected 12th overall in the draft, his impact will be forever felt in the league. Bogues was selected 12th in the 1987 NBA Draft and had quite a long career, playing his final few games in the 2000-2001 season.

What was so significant about Bogues is that he was and still is the shortest player to ever touch an NBA court, standing at only 5'3". His stats don't necessarily jump off the page, as he only ever scored 10 points per game or greater in three seasons of his career, but he was a true floor general. He averaged over 10 assists per game in two seasons of his career and was only 2 assists per game or fewer shy of that mark in four other seasons.

For being as small as he was, he made an impact on both sides of the floor in every game he played in, particularly early on in his career, and is well worthy of a mention here.