NBA: Ranking the top 5 undrafted players in the league

The undrafted path for hopeful NBA players

Undrafted players generally speaking have a unique path to the NBA. These aren’t the 1-and-done players from Duke and North Carolina getting to shake hands with Adam Silver on draft night. No, these are the players who are legends in their home town, great college players, but just don’t quite have “it.”

The “it” can be shooting, size, or athletic ability, everyone’s reason for not being drafted is different. Once their four-year college run is up and the draft concludes, there a few different routes an undrafted player can take.

You’ve got the G league, and playing overseas. Some players fizzle out of the G league and stay overseas for most of their careers. Some G league players earn a two-way player type of deal where they play in the G league and sometimes play with the big club if there injuries or other circumstances in which they want to see their undrafted talent get an NBA run.

A lot of those players play some and then aren’t heard from again as well. Then, of course, there are the undrafted players who get some playing time, exceed expectations, and star in their role.

This list consists of 5 players who have done exactly that.