Any NBA team that winds up with the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft knows they have a chance at a franchise-altering star in that spot. The greatness of the No. 2 overall pick in NBA history has a historic track record producing NBA champions, MVPs, Finals MVPs, and countless All-Stars and All-NBA talent. Although the debate may not be as heated as the No. 1 overall pick, there is still a conversation to be had about who is the greatest player ever selected at No. 2 overall.
The four players who are in the middle of this debate are the only No. 2 overall picks worthy of the conversation. Bill Russell with his NBA-record 11 championships in 13 seasons, is one of those players as are Kevin Durant, Jerry West, and Isiah Thomas. All four of these players are as influential and revered as any in NBA history but now, it is time to decide which player stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Using our most accurate formula, it is time to decide who the greatest No. 2 overall pick in NBA history is.
Best Stats
1. Kevin Durant – 27.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.1 BPG (4 Points)
2. Jerry West – 27.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.7 APG, 2.6 SPG, 0.7 BPG (3 Points)
3. Bill Russell – 15.1 PPG, 22.5 RPG, 4.3 APG (2 Points)
4. Isiah Thomas – 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG (1 Point)
The first thing you need to remember when we compare players with their stats is that all four players have incredible numbers for their careers, or they wouldn’t be in the conversation. As the best scorer and with the best overall balance of numbers across the board, Kevin Durant is the player to take home four points for this category. With over 27.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and a balanced defensive game with 1.1 steals and blocks per game, it is hard to deny that one of the game’s greatest scorers is number-one in this category.
Jerry West comes in second place for his numbers with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1960s and 1970s. West is often revered for his great shooting and offensive skills but rarely ever commended for the effort he put in on defense. The incredible thing is, that his 2.6 steals per game were only recorded during the final season of his career. Could you imagine what they would be if they had been recorded his entire career?
Bill Russell and Isiah Thomas take the two and one points for this category. Russell’s 22.5 rebounds per game are the second-most in NBA history as are his 21,620 rebounds. If defensive stats were recorded during his career, this is a completely different conversation. Thomas has a very well-balanced stat line for his career. Unfortunately, it falls just short of being on the same level as Durant, West, and Russell.
Most NBA Championships
1. Bill Russell – 11 NBA Championships (4 Points)
T2. Kevin Durant – 2 NBA Championships (3 Points)
T2. Isiah Thomas – 2 NBA Championships (3 Points)
4. Jerry West – 1 NBA Championship (1 Point)
With 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons, Bill Russell is never going to lose this category to any other player he is compared to. Russell took winning far too seriously to let him or his team fail. In lieu of his offensive game which he struggled with early in his career, Russell evolved to bring his elite defense and rebounding to the forefront which led to the winningest career in NBA history.
Kevin Durant and Isiah Thomas each take home second-place points for their two NBA championships in their careers. Durant and Thomas each earned their championships by way of dominant back-to-back runs. Thomas earned his in 1989 and 1990 with the Detroit Pistons while Durant earned his in 2017 and 2018 with the Golden State Warriors.
Jerry West is infamous for his poor overall record in the NBA Finals. West and the Lakers made nine appearances in the NBA Finals in total with their only win coming in 1972 over the New York Knicks. Although his team was rarely able to overcome the Hall of Fame lineups of the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, West put up spectacular numbers in the Finals with 30.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game.
Most MVP Awards
1. Bill Russell – 5 MVP Awards (4 Points)
2. Kevin Durant – 1 MVP Award (2 Points)
T3. Jerry West – 0 MVP Awards (0 Points)
T3. Isiah Thomas – 0 MVP Awards (0 Points)
It is hard to imagine that only two of these players have ever been named MVP but that just goes to show how difficult it is to capture even one in your NBA career. Bill Russell is tied with Michael Jordan for the second-most MVP awards in NBA history with five which gives him the category here and four more points. Russell’s MVPs hold a little more weight sentimentally when you factor in that his peers and opponents are the ones who voted him the winner for the most part.
Kevin Durant is the only other player on this list to capture an MVP award. Durant took home the 2014 MVP award with 32.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 50/39/87 shooting splits from the field. Durant helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a record of 59-23. They would end up losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals that season.
Jerry West and Isiah Thomas are two of the greatest players in NBA history to never be named MVP in their careers. Both had seasons that are worthy of consideration but were never dominant enough to be named MVP, according to the voters.
Most Finals MVP Awards
1. Kevin Durant – 2 Finals MVP Awards (4 Points)
T2. Isiah Thomas – 1 Finals MVP Award (3 Points)
T2. Jerry West – 1 Finals MVP Award (3 Points)
4. Bill Russell – 0 Finals MVP Awards (0 Points)
With such an accomplished group of stars, only four Finals MVP awards exist between them. Most of that is due to the fact that the award wasn’t introduced until 1969 but that only affects one player here. Kevin Durant takes four points home for his two Finals MVP award wins in 2017 and 2018 with the Warriors. Durant led the Warriors to a 9-1 record in those Finals games over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Isiah Thomas and Jerry West both take home second-place points in this category. West earned his award in 1969, the inaugural season of the award, in a losing effort against Bill Russell and the Celtics. He is still the only player in NBA history to lose an NBA Finals and be named Finals MVP. Thomas would earn his Finals MVP in a 1990 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 27.6 points, 7.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
Bill Russell may have missed out on being named an actual Finals MVP award in his career but he did get the last laugh. In 2009, The NBA renamed the award The Bill Russell Finals MVP Trophy, an honorable consolation prize for the man who just might have the most in NBA history if it had existed when he won 11 titles in 13 seasons.
Most Defensive Player Of The Year Awards
T1. Bill Russell – 0 Defensive Player Of The Year Awards (0 Points)
T1. Kevin Durant- 0 Defensive Player Of The Year Awards (0 Points)
T1. Jerry West – 0 Defensive Player Of The Year Awards (0 Points)
T1. Isiah Thomas – 0 Defensive Player Of The Year Awards (0 Points)
Only two of these No. 2 overall picks were ever eligible to actually win Defensive Player of the Year in their careers. The NBA did not introduce the award until the 1983 season, well after Jerry West and Bill Russell had retired from the game. Russell probably had the best chance to win the award of any player here as arguably the greatest defender in NBA history.
As for Durant and Thomas, they were never even named to an All-Defensive Team in their careers, let alone in the running for Defensive Player of the Year. Both players were above-average defenders in their careers but never enough to be considered better than the elite defenders of their respective eras.
Most All-NBA Team Selections
1. Jerry West – 12 All-NBA Team Selections (4 Points)
2. Bill Russell – 11 All-NBA Team Selections (3 Points)
3. Kevin Durant – 10 All-NBA Team Selections (2 Points)
4. Isiah Thomas – 5 All-NBA Team Selections (1 Point)
The race for the top spot in the All-NBA Team category was a tight one, to say the least, and one that will likely change by the end of 2023-24 if Kevin Durant can stay healthy for more than 65 games. For now, Jerry West remains the four-point winner of this category. West earned 10 First Team selections and two Second Team selections in his career as one of the greatest guards to ever play the game.
Bill Russell and Kevin Durant are separated by just one All-NBA Team selection in their respective careers. Russell takes the second-place points with 11 selections. Of those 11 selections, just three were to the First Team while eight came to the Second Team. As for Durant, he earned 10 total All-NBA selections with six of them to the First Team and four of them to the Second Team.
Most All-Defensive Team Selections
1. Jerry West – 5 All-Defensive Team Selections (4 Points)
2. Bill Russell – 1 All-Defensive Team Selection (3 Points)
T3. Kevin Durant – 0 All-Defensive Team Selections (0 Points)
T3. Isiah Thomas – 0 All-Defensive Team Selections (0 Points)
Just as was the case with All-NBA Team selections, Jerry West takes home the category for the most All-Defensive Team selections in his career. West earned five different All-Defensive Team selections in his career, four of which were to the First Team and one to the Second Team. Despite the accolade not existing for most of his career, Bill Russell still managed to earn second-place points in this category, making one All-Defensive Team in his final season in 1969.
Kevin Durant and Isiah Thomas not making an All-Defensive team in their careers even once is almost a shame. Durant has been an underrated defender for most of his career. Thomas never earned one despite being the face of one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history. Durant will likely never earn an All-Defensive Team selection even as his career continues on in 2023-24.
Most All-Star Selections
1. Jerry West – 14 All-Star Selections (4 Points)
2. Kevin Durant – 13 All-Star Selections (3 Points)
T3. Isiah Thomas – 12 All-Star Selections (2 Points)
T3. Bill Russell – 12 All-Star Selections (2 Points)
With 51 All-Star selections between the four of them, this group of No. 2 overall picks was clearly the cream of the crop during their eras. Jerry West captures his third category in a row with 14 All-Star selections. In 1973, he won his only All-Star MVP award. Kevin Durant’s second-place standing here is likely to change during the 2023-24 season as he gets off to another hot start this season. For now, he gets three points for his 13 selections.
Both Isiah Thomas and Bill Russell earned 12 All-Star selections in their careers. Russell and Thomas’ 12 selections came in 13 seasons of play in the NBA. Thomas would win two All-Star MVP awards over Russell so if you’re looking for any sort of tiebreaker, there you have it. The greatness of these players can be described in many ways including their overabundance of All-Star Game appearances in their careers.
Total Win Shares
1. Bill Russell – 163.5 Win Shares (4 Points)
2. Jerry West – 162.6 Win Shares (3 Points)
3. Kevin Durant – 162.3 Win Shares (2 Points)
4. Isiah Thomas – 80.7 Win Shares (1 Point)
A player’s impact on team success and winning can be measured in many ways. One of those ways is with the total win shares metric which measures a player’s impact on both sides of the ball. It is no shock that Bill Russell, the player with the most championships and MVP awards on this list ranks first and takes home yet another category.
Jerry West and Kevin Durant are separated by just 0.3 win shares, another standings flip in a category likely to change in the coming months. For now, West remains slightly ahead despite Durant’s more accomplished career. West led his team to nine different NBA Finals appearances along with his teams to some of the greatest records in NBA history. Durant has also been a part of some of the most dominant lineups in NBA history and has been the best player on the floor for them during that time.
PER
1. Kevin Durant – 25.3 PER (4 Points)
2. Jerry West – 22.9 PER (3 Points)
3. Bill Russell – 18.9 PER (2 Points)
4. Isiah Thomas – 18.1 PER (1 Point)
When it comes to efficiency, the king of this category will forever be Kevin Durant. He is one of the most efficient small forwards in NBA history and the only player to ever average over 29.0 points per game on 55/40/90 shooting splits. He doesn’t cost his team games with turnovers nor does he make enough mistakes on the defensive end to hurt his PER rating enough to take him below 25.0.
Jerry West is the only other player of these four to record a career PER of over 20.0. West’s 22.9 PER ranks among the best guards in NBA history thanks to his ability to shoot on elite percentages even in an era where that wasn’t the norm as well as his defensive ability and his protection of the ball. Efficiency was never big for Bill Russell and Isiah Thomas, evidenced by their sub-19.0 career PERs. As great and accomplished as these two players are, they do not stand up to Durant or West in this category.
Who Is The Greatest No. 2 Overall Pick In NBA History?
1. Jerry West – 25 Points (3 Categories Won)
T2. Bill Russell – 24 Points (3 Categories Won)
T2. Kevin Durant – 24 Points (3 Categories Won
4. Isiah Thomas – 12 Points (0 Categories Won)
What’s shocking conclusion to our formula’s findings in this debate. Jerry West comes out on top by a mere one point thanks to wins in the All-Star selections, All-NBA Team selections, and All-Defensive Team selections categories. Now, as I alluded to many times in the article above, Bill Russell being your pick here makes perfect sense. We all know he is considered the greatest defender in NBA history, or one of them at least but lacking the existence of the accolades in his career seriously hindered his final results.
Russell would undoubtedly have finished with more Finals MVPs, and defensive accolades in his career but they didn’t even record defensive stats let alone give out awards for that side of the ball. Despite missing out on those accolades, Russell still finished just one point shy of first place. The same could be said about Kevin Durant’s spot on our list. Durant is nowhere near done in his career and will likely move up in more than one category on this list, awarding him more points by the time his career is over.
The biggest surprise is the conclusion that Isiah Thomas, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, doesn’t even belong in this conversation. He recorded just 12 points with no categories won according to our formula. Despite the poor finish, this does not take away from how great Thomas was and how much he deserves to be celebrated for his career.
