Can Sacramento Kings find hidden gem in NBA draft? What history says about the No. 24 pick

For every Anfernee Simons there’s a Damion James. Just like there’s a Brian Cook for every Kyle Lowry.

Which is another way of saying teams using the No. 24 pick in the NBA draft get a mixed bag of late first-round steals or players that don’t last long as pros. And that’s the predicament the Kings face ahead of Thursday’s NBA draft.

The Kings, of course, had a historic season that was capped with a first-round playoff appearance, ending the longest postseason drought in NBA history. Sacramento will be picking the in 20s for the first time since taking Francisco Garcia in 2005.

So what does history say about pick No. 24? There are definitely some gems out there, but there are also plenty of duds.

The hits at No. 24

The Portland Trailblazers drafted Simons at No. 24 in 2018. He was a scoring guard who decided to skip college and instead spent an extra season playing at IMG Academy in Florida, so it was unclear if he was ready for NBA competition.

But Simons ended up becoming a coup late in Round 1 and a success story for Portland. He is considered a building block and one of the best young shooters in the NBA. He saw his scoring jump from 3.8 points per game his rookie year to 17.3 and 21.1 the last two seasons, respectively, while hitting a very respectable 38.7% of his 3s over his five seasons.

Portland rewarded Simons with a four-year, $100 million contract last June, cementing his status as a core player going forward. He’s the type of find at that point in the draft that general managers dream about.

— Reggie Jackson went 24th to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2011 and carved out a respectable NBA career, earning $144 million over 15 seasons with four teams, including winning a championship last week with the Denver Nuggets. The journeyman scoring guard has averaged 12.8 points per game over his career, peaking at 18.8 with the Detroit Pistons in 2015-16.

Jackson is overall a success story for someone taken at No. 24, but he was never considered a true franchise building block. He can score but provides little else, making him an offensive mercenary late in his career.

— Lowry went 24th overall to the Memphis Grizzlies way back in 2006 and made six consecutive All-Star games from 2015-2020. He won a championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 as the team’s fourth-leading scorer while hitting a series of clutch shots along the way. He spent the last two seasons with the Miami Heat, seeing his role diminish with Modesto native Gabe Vincent’s rise to prominence.

Surely the Kings would love to draft a multiple-time All-Star like Lowry at pick No. 24. Lowry did well for himself financially, earning more than $245 million in salary from NBA teams over his career.

— Arvydas Sabonis is often at Kings games checking in on his son, All-Star center Domantas Sabonis. He wound up getting drafted 24th in 1986, but only after some controversy. He was initially tapped with pick No. 77 by the Atlanta Hawks in 1985, but the selection was later voided because he wasn’t 21 at the time.

Sabonis then suffered a series of injuries, including a serious one to his Achilles, and didn’t begin playing for Portland until 1995 after years playing professionally in Lithuania and Spain. He would become one of the best passing big men in history and one of the notable “what-ifs?” of his generation.

Had Sabonis been healthy and come to the league in his early 20s, he could have been an era-defining player given his passing and overall offensive skill set. And if he were allowed to play for the Hawks after they took him in ’85, he would have joined a team that included Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb.

— Other notable players to have successful NBA careers picked at No. 24: Tim Hardaway Jr. (2013), Serge Ibaka (2008), Delonte West (2004), Andrei Kirilenko (1999), Derek Fisher (1996), Sam Cassell (1993), Latrell Sprewell (1992) and Brian Shaw (1988).

All-time No. 24 picks

2022: MarJon Beauchamp (Bucks)

2021: Josh Christopher (Rockets)

2020: Precious Achiuwa (Heat)

2019: Ty Jerome (Suns)

2018: Anfernee Simons (Trailblazers)

2017: Tyler Lydon (Jazz)

2016: Timothe Luwawu (76ers)

2015: Tyus Jones (Cavs)

2014: Shabazz Napier (Heat)

2013: Tim Hardaway Jr. (Knicks)

2012: Jared Cunningham (Cavaliers)

2011: Reggie Jackson (Thunder)

2010: Damion James (Hawks)

2009: Byron Mullens (Mavericks)

2008: Serge Ibaka (Supersonics)

2007: Rudy Fernandez (Suns)

2006: Kyle Lowry (Grizzlies)

2005: Luther Head (Rockets)

2004: Delonte West (Celtics)

2003: Brian Cook (Lakers)

2002: Nenad Krstic (Nets)

2001: Raul Lopez (Jazz)

2000: Dalibor Bagaric (Bulls)

1999: Andrei Kirilenko (Jazz)

1998: Felipe Lopez (Spurs)

1997: Rodrick Rhodes (Rockets)

1996: Derek Fisher (Lakers)

1995: Loren Meyer (Mavericks)

1994: Monty Williams (Knicks)

1993: Sam Cassell (Rockets)

1992: Latrell Sprewell (Warriors)

1991: Rick Fox (Celtics)

1990: Anthony Bonner (Kings)

1989: Anthony Cook (Suns)

1988: Brian Shaw (Celtics)

1987: Fred Banks (Pistons)

1986: Arvydas Sabonis (Blazers)

1985: Terry Porter (Blazers)

1984: Michael Young (Celtics)

1983: Stewart Granger (Cavaliers)

1982: Oliver Robinson (Spurs)

1981: Jay Vincent (Mavericks)

1980: Larry Smith (Warriors)

1979: Johnny High (Suns)

1978: Keith Herron (Blazers)

1977: Larry Johnson (Braves)

1976: Scott Lloyd (Bucks)

1975: Cornelius Cash (Bucks)

1974: Len Kosmalski (Kings)

1973: Kevin Stacom (Bulls)

1972: Steve Hawes (Cavaliers)

1971: Mike Newlin (Rockets)

1970: Cornell Warner (Braves)

1969: Gene Williams (Suns)