Of all the players on this list, Clint Capela is the only who hasn’t long past his athletic prime. For that reason, placing him in the top spot may be a little questionable. If he retired tomorrow, maybe an argument could be made that he should be much lower. But from what we’ve seen in his five seasons in the NBA, Capela is clearly the most talented player to ever be drafted at No. 25.
Constantly improving, if Capela continues to raise his point average by 3.5 and rebound average by 2.25 per season, he’ll be the first player in NBA history to average 30 points and 20 rebounds per game by the time he’s 28-years-old.
Jokes aside, the Switzerland product is an absolute animal in the paint. Although the modern NBA is shifting away from post play towards shooting, there will always be immense value in a player that can average 16.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game at just 25 years old.
Capela flew under the radar going No. 25 in the 2014 NBA Draft. The same draft where the center of everyone’s attention was the hyper athletic duo of Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. Little did they know that a plethora of talented big men would sprout from this draft including Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela and Julius Randle. In a redraft, Capela would likely be among the first five players picked.
Although having just turned 25-years-old in May, Capela has garnered more playoff experience than anyone on this list besides Tony Allen, at 61 games total to date. As it turns out, letting James Harden and Chris Paul chuck up shots while Capela lay in wait for the offensive rebound is a pretty good strategy for lengthy postseason runs.
While Capela’s career may not be even close to nearing its end like the others on this list, it has been fruitful enough to provide hope to desperate Portland Trail Blazers. If the Blazers could nab a player similar to anyone on this list at No. 25 overall, they’ll be thanking the draft gods.