Dangerous No. 10, 3 All-Star players have been found in 20 years, only one of them has been barely qualified in the past 5 years

The draw ceremony for the 2025 draft conference has been more than a week. So far, many people are still not satisfied with the Rockets' 10th pick in the first round. Perhaps it is because of winning the top four picks for four consecutive years that people have too high expectations for the Rockets. In fact, looking back, it is already a "luxury" to have a 10th pick in the first round of pick with the fourth record of the regular season.

However, for the Rockets, how to use the 10th pick to upgrade the lineup is more important. Earlier, news broke that the Rockets had begun to quote the Bucks, with Jaylen Green + 10 pick + Xiao Jia + the first round of the Suns in 27 years as their main bargaining chips, and wanted to trade to get Antetokounmpo, a first-team player in the league.

Looking at the rookie quality this year, except for Flag's top-notch, there is no obvious gap between other players. For example, Quinn, who had previously predicted the top 10 picks, has dropped to the end of the first round because of a joint trial. So the Rockets may have a greater trading value than choosing a rookie in their hands. After all, in the past 20 years of drafts, the player selected in the tenth pick is just average.

Since 2004, among the players selected in the 10th pick, there are 12 players, Luke Jackson, Mohammed Sinney, Hoyce, Ferredet, Alfred Payton, Winslow, Thorne Maker, Zach Collins, Redish, Zaire Williams, Johnny Davis, and Cody Williams, who have been labeled as "parallel". Even though some players who have been selected in recent years and are still in the rookie contract are in the league, it can be foreseen that they will not belong here for a long time.

Among players who can become stable rotations, Jennings, Rivers Jr., and Carson Wallace have not achieved corresponding value. In the past five years, Carson has been able to enter the team rotation. There are only five players who can impress people at present. The first is Bynum, the 10th pick in 2005. As the core of the Lakers' inside line who once won the championship, "Little Sharks" thought he could become an influential inside ruler. In his last season, he averaged 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.9 blocks per game, and was successfully selected as an All-Star. But who knew that in the end he fell in love with "Shake and Blow". After leaving the Lakers for two seasons, he never appeared in the league again.

On the contrary, Lopez, whose physical condition is not as good as Bynum, has a successful career after being selected by the Nets in 2008. Even though he is now 37 years old, he still played 80 games as a starting player for the Bucks last season. In his entire career, he has won the honors of All-Stars, Championships, and the best defensive lineup. He can be regarded as the most successful player in his tenth pick in the past 20 years. In 2010, the Indiana Pacers selected the 10th pick in the first round and had the strongest player in the last 20 years, which was Paul George, who had just signed a four-year, $212 million deal with Philadelphia last season. So far in his career, Paul George averaged 20.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He was selected for the All-Star 9 times, 4 best defense and 6 best teams. If he adds another championship trophy at the end of his career, then his career will be regrettable.

After Paul George fought in the league for three years, the Trail Blazers won CJ McCollum, who once played side by side with Lillard in the first round. Although CJ McCollum has not had much personal honor in his career so far, his average of 19.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game is enough to get a generous salary.

The most recent strong player selected in the 10th pick is Mikal Bridges selected by the Suns in 2018. As the top 3D player in the league, Bridges will play a very important role no matter which team he is in.

The above are some of the situations of players with the 10th pick in the first round in the past 20 years. Looking back at the Rockets, the current predictions of Yaku, Byles and others may reach the level of Jennings and Rivers Jr. are already considered thankful. If this is true, for the Rockets, whose lineup is already complete, there is indeed no need to take risks again!