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These 10 Former NBA Lottery Picks Went Undrafted In The BIG3 Draft!

David 18811 April 13, 2018

And with the 4th pick in the draft, Nancy Lieberman picks Birdman!

While a bunch of talented ladies were being picked in the WNBA draft over in New York, "Lady Magic" was on the Westside, picking former undrafted NBA player Chris "Birdman" Andersen for her Power team in BIG3 draft.

Going into this draft, I assumed Birdman would have been the second center selected and former No.1 NBA Draft pick Greg Oden would have been the first. Not only was Oden not picked before Anderson, he wasn't even drafted!

The majority of the 19 players drafted in Ice Cube's 3-on-3 league aren't household names; Andre Owens, Andre Emmett and Alan Anderson were the top three picks. They were picked for their game and not their name. And this decision shows how competitive the league is. The coaches and players in the BIG3 take basketball seriously and aren't interested in having familiar NBA names and faces on the court if they can't play anymore.

Here's a few of the most familiar names that were part of the draft pool but didn't get selected in a draft that saw 43-year-old Lee Nailon go 6th.

DARIUS MILES

Miles was the 3rd pick in the 2000 NBA draft. His former "knucklehead" teammate on the Clippers, Quentin Richardson, was picked 10th in the BIG3 draft.

GREG ODEN

Mostly known for being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft over Kevin Durant. I can't give him the title of "biggest bust" over Anthony Bennett because Oden was able to put up big numbers when he wasn't injured; Bennett just couldn't put up numbers.

EDDY CURRY

The 4th pick in the 2001 draft is another big man who showed flashes of brilliance but had a very disappointing NBA career. He spent much of his career being overweight and I can't imagine what type of shape (circle?) he's in now. I'm also hoping he's recovered from the financial mess he was in (why would anyone get a $570,000 loan with 85% interest?!?).

STROMILE SWIFT

The 2nd pick in the 2000 NBA draft is one of my favorite dunkers of all-time. For about six years in the league, he made some of the best NBA posters of the decade.

TYRUS THOMAS

Like Swift, the 4th pick of the 2006 NBA draft was also one of the best poster makers of the decade.

JONATHAN BENDER

After breaking Michael Jordan's scoring record in the McDonalds All-American game, Bender was drafted 5th in the 1999 draft out of high school.

JOE SMITH

Smith was the top pick in the great 1995 draft that featured Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse and Damon Stoudamire to name a few. He was also a member of the BIG3 last season and probably played with your favorite NBA player since he played for 12 NBA teams.

LARRY HUGHES

The defensive specialist who never met a shot he didn't like was the 8th pick in the 1998 draft. I was really hoping to see him land on Coach Allen Iverson's team since Hughes started his NBA career with The Answer.

Two other lottery picks in the draft pool that were passed up were Patrick O'Bryant (9th) and Lamond Murray (7th).

THE 2018 BIG3 DRAFT RESULTS