- Played five years with Trail Blazers (2010-15)
- Averaged 15.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game
- Shot 39.4 percent on 3-point attempts
One thing is for sure: Wesley Matthews will rank significantly higher than No. 27 on any list of the best undrafted players in the modern era.
Indeed, Matthews was somehow undrafted in 2009. While it was a talented and deep draft (Blake Griffin, James Harden, Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan were all top-10 picks. Six players that are still in the NBA today were second-round selections), there were still 10 players picked that never stepped on an NBA court in the regular season.
Matthews however, went undrafted. He signed with the Utah Jazz and appeared in all 82 games, shooting 38.2 percent on 3-point attempts.
As a restricted free agent, he signed with Portland the next summer where he almost immediately became a starter. By the end of his first year as a Blazers — remember, just his second in the NBA — the undrafted 24-year-old averaged 15.9 points per game, while knocking down 40.7 percent of his 3-point attempts.
The Trail Blazers went to the playoffs in just two of Matthews’ five years in Portland. However in 2013-14, they reached the second round and lost to the Golden State Warriors in five games. Matthews himself made only 30 of 89 3-point attempts — just a 33.7 percent clip.
He had some injury issues in 2014-15, his final year in Portland, and played in only 60 games. Matthews left for the Dallas Mavericks in free agency and has continued to be a solid NBA starter, albeit for a trio of mediocre-to-bad squads.