Bucks hope DiVincenzo is better than their four previous picks at 17

By JERRY TAPP

“And with the 17^th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks select … Donte DiVincenzo of Villanova.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made this statement Thursday night at the NBA Draft when the Bucks made DiVincenzo, a shooting guard, the 17th overall selection

Let’s take a look at the Bucks history in the draft and a little history with players who were chosen with the 17^th pick. Here’s “10 Things You May Not Know About the Bucks Draft History.”

1. There have been nine players originally drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks who went on to play 800 of more career games in the league: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1560), Dirk Nowitzki (1471), Alex English (1193), Alton Lister (953), Stephon Marbury (846), Eric Snow (846), Bobby Dandridge (839), Julius Erving (836) and Fred Roberts (818).
2. Of the 263 players drafted by the Bucks in their history, 37 (14%) played 500 or more career games in the NBA.
3. Since 2000, seven players drafted by the Bucks have a career points per game average of six points or less: Jimmer Fredette (6.0), Jason Collier (5.6), Thon Maker (4.4), Joe Alexander (4.2), Marcus Haislip (3.5), Rashad Vaughn (3.0), D.J. Wilson (1.0).
4. Since 2000, the Bucks second-round selection has more career points than the Bucks first-round selection from nine of those 19 seasons.
5. Thirty-two Bucks draft picks have amassed 5,000 or more career points; 12 of those 32 were not selected in the first round.
6. The Bucks have previously selected a player with the 17^th pick four times: Bob Greacen in 1969, Collis Jones in 1971, Rashad Vaughn in 2015 and D.J. Wilson last season. Greacen tallied 111 career points in 43 career games; Jones never played a game in the league; Vaughn played in 139 games scoring 423 points; Wilson had 21 points in 22 games last season.
7. The 17^th pick in the draft with the most career games is Don Nelson with 1053 career games. The 17^th pick with the highest career points per game is Richie Guerin (17.3). The 17^th pick with the highest career rebounds per game is Shawn Kemp (8.4). The 17^th pick with the highest career assists per game is Jrue Holiday (6.3).
8. Four first-round picks by the Milwaukee Bucks ended up playing less than 100 career games in the NBA: Gary Freeman (selected in 1970, 52 career games); Joe Alexander (selected in 2008, 67 career games); Marcus Haislip (selected in 2002, 89 career games); and Russ Lee (selected in 1972, 97 career games).
9. Eleven players originally drafted by the Bucks have gone on to score 10,000 or more points in the league: Jabbar, Nowitzki, English, Erving, Marbury, Dandridge, Glenn Robinson, Marques Johnson, Michael Redd, Sidney Moncrief and Vin Baker. Nowitzki, Erving and Marbury never suited up for the Bucks; English played only two seasons with the team; Baker played four seasons with the Bucks. The rest: Jabbar (6 seasons with the Bucks), Johnson (7), Robinson (8), Dandridge (9), Moncrief (10), Redd (11).
10. Of the 60 players drafted in the 2017 Draft, 31 ended up playing in 40 or more games last season; 29 played in less than 40. Only 10 of the 60 averaged 10 or more points for the season… only seven averaged five or more rebounds per games for the campaign … and only three averaged four or more assists per game in the 2017-18 season.

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Photo courtesy of Villanova athletics