How the Golden State Warriors Have Crushed Second-Round Drafting

Following a 2022 NBA Finals victory, the Golden State Warriors have swapped out the championship-core of veterans for a new crop of young talent. In the three drafts following, Golden State used second-round picks to add rotational players, hitting on the later picks with a higher rate than most other organizations.

Three of those second-round picks contributed rotational minutes in the Warriors' first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, proving their value. Hitting on late draft picks is crucial for contending teams, as it helps to round out back-end roster talent with solid players on cheap contracts, allowing teams to pay their top dogs –– Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler for Golden State.

Let's take a look back on recent second-round hits for the Bay Area.

Quinten Post

The Warriors selected Post with the No. 52 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft following the departure of Dario Saric. Post played five seasons in college, spending his last three at Boston College. In his senior season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Post averaged 17 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting 43.1 percent from 3-point range, emerging as one of the nation's top shooting bigs.

He'd do the same thing when arriving to Golden State, averaging 8.1 points while shooting 40.8 percent from beyond-the-arc, ranking third among all rookies to attempt at least 50 3-pointers. Post played a valuable role as a floor-spacer next to Curry, Butler and Green, and will likely do so for the remainder of his tenure with the Warriors.

Trayce Jackson-Davis

Golden State picked Jackson-Davis with the No. 57 pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, adding the athletic rim-runner out of Indiana to their frontcourt rotation. He's blossomed into a quality center for the Warriors, 53 games in his first two seasons with the team, operating as a fun option in the pick-and-roll and transition outlet.