Pistons’ top pick: Last 20 players drafted 12th in NBA

Rod Beard | The Detroit News

Go through the gallery to see how the past 20 players drafted with the No. 12 overall pick have fared in the NBA. (Go here if you have trouble viewing the gallery.)

What can be learned from history?

Quite a lot if the subject is the NBA draft and your favorite team has the No. 12 pick in the first round.

That’s where the Detroit Pistons will make their pick on June 22, and if the collection of the last 20 picks is any indication, there won’t be a future NBA star setting up shop in Little Caesars Arena.

In the last 20 years, there hasn’t been a consistent starter taken 12th in the draft; most are career reserves who bounced around the league and were traded multiples times.

Only one (Utah’s Alec Burks, in 2011) has stayed with the same team his entire career. Not one point guard has been selected 12th in the last 20 years. In many ways, it’s a draft spot for big-man projects or versatile, stretch forwards.

While the Pistons insist they have no true positional needs ahead of this year's draft, they could consider Gonzaga big man Zach Collins, or shooting guards Luke Kennard of Duke and Donovan Mitchell of Louisville.

The No. 12 pick has worked for the Pistons before, however. They got Kelly Tripucka in the 1981 draft, which also gleaned them Isiah Thomas with the No. 2 pick.

rod.beard@detroitnews.com

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