Valley of the Suns
Fansided

The Top-5 NBA players selected 16th overall

By Matthew Daniels

SACRAMENTO, CA - OCTOBER 5: Hedo Turkoglu #19 and Steve Nash #13 of the Phoenix Suns pause during NBA preseason action against the Sacramento Kings on October 5, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - OCTOBER 5: Hedo Turkoglu #19 and Steve Nash #13 of the Phoenix Suns pause during NBA preseason action against the Sacramento Kings on October 5, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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2. Metta World Peace

Born as Ron Artest, Metta was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1999. Over his career, Metta was one of the most controversial players in NBA history. However, do not let this distract you from how great a player he was.

In 17 seasons, World Peace played for the Chicago Bulls, Indianapolis Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers. In Chicago, he made the 1999-00 All-Rookie team. Playing two seasons and some change, he averaged 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. 27 games into his 2002 third season, World Peace was traded to the Indiana Pacers.

After the move to Indiana, Metta became the player we all know and love. This applies to both his playing ability and ability to punch severely outmatched fans.

Now that we have the elephant in the room taken care of, we can focus on basketball. In the 2003-04 season, World Peace was voted to his only All-Star game, made the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams and was voted Defensive Play of the Year. In his stay with the Pacers, Metta averaged 16.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.2 steals per game, making him one of the NBA’s greatest workhorses at the time.

After Indiana, Metta played two seasons in Sacramento and one in Houston, before taking his talents to Los Angeles. While his numbers with the Lakers were not great, he did manage to win a championship and play a pretty important part in doing so.

If you take out his last few seasons, which he really did not do well whatsoever, World Peace’s career averages go up quite a bit. As a 16th pick, Metta was a first-class defender, averaging 1.7 steals including his drop-off years. While many remember him for the Malice at the Palace, he was a top-notch player and more than deserving of being the second best player taken 16th overall.

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