Nicknamed the “Whopper” (which is enough for us to rank him alone), Billy Paultz was a 7th Round Draft Pick in the NBA, and he opted instead to go to the ABA, where he was a welcome surprise.

The starting Power Forward for the New Jersey Nets for the first five years of the 1990s, Derrick Coleman got off to about as good a start as you would hope for when you draft a player number one overall, like the Nets did in 1990.  As a rookie, Coleman won the Rookie of the Year Award with a double-double average of 18.4 Points and 10.3 Rebounds per Game.  In Coleman’s third season, he reached the 20 Points per Game mark, which would be the level he would stay at for the duration of his stay in New Jersey while maintaining a double-digit board average.  He was named an All-Star in 1994 and was a two-time Third Team All-NBA member as a Net.

Arriving in New Jersey as a draft-day trade. Richard Jefferson would become an integral part of the Nets' back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.  The Small Forward would gradually grow his skills, and at one time, he was among the best mid-range shooters in the NBA.  Jefferson would twice go over 22 Points per Game (2004-05 & 2007-08), and over his seven seasons as a Net, he averaged 17.4 PPG.  While he was never an All-Star, a case can be made that he is one of the best players ever who was never chosen for it.