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John Starks
Born
Undrafted in 1988, Starks had bagged groceries and bounced through junior college before the Knicks gave him a chance. He became the fiery shooting guard of Pat Riley's 1990s New York teams, an All-Star in 1994 and Sixth Man of the Year in 1997. His left-handed dunk over Michael Jordan and Horace Grant in 1993 is still a Madison Square Garden favourite.
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Avery Johnson
The Little General went undrafted in 1988 and was cut several times before settling in San Antonio, where he ran the offence for Tim Duncan and David Robinson. His baseline jumper won the decisive Game 5 of the 1999 Finals. He later became NBA Coach of the Year with Dallas, so his basketball brain was never in doubt, only his size.
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Bruce Bowen
Born
Bowen went undrafted in 1993 and spent years in France and the CBA before sticking in the NBA. In San Antonio he became the league's best perimeter stopper and a corner three-point shooter, making eight All-Defensive teams and winning three titles. He is the template for the modern three-and-D wing, built by a player nobody picked.
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Ben Wallace (basketball)
Born
The most decorated undrafted player in NBA history. Ben Wallace went unpicked in 1996 out of tiny Virginia Union, played briefly in Italy, then became a four-time Defensive Player of the Year and the anchor of Detroit's 2004 title team. Undersized for a centre at around 6ft 9in, he won with strength, timing and rebounding, and is now in the Hall of Fame.
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Becky Hammon
Born
Hammon went undrafted in the 1999 WNBA draft and joined the New York Liberty as a free agent, then became a six-time All-Star with New York and San Antonio, known for fearless shooting and running an offence. She later became an NBA assistant coach and the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, winning titles in 2022 and 2023. Few undrafted careers have gone further.
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Udonis Haslem
Born
Haslem was undrafted in 2002, played a season in France, then joined his hometown Miami Heat and stayed for 20 seasons, winning three titles. He was a tough, undersized power forward with a reliable mid-range jumper, and later a leader whose minutes were mostly in practice. The Heat retired his shirt, which tells you what his culture meant to them.
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Wesley Matthews
Born
Undrafted from Marquette in 2009, Matthews made Utah's roster as a rookie and went on to a 15-year career as a three-and-D wing in Portland, Dallas, Milwaukee and elsewhere, often guarding the opponent's best scorer. He was one of the most reliable perimeter defenders of his era, and his career shows how much value teams missed outside the draft.
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Jeremy Lin
Lin went undrafted out of Harvard in 2010, was cut twice and was sleeping on a team-mate's couch when Mike D'Antoni gave him minutes for the Knicks in February 2012. Linsanity followed: a run of high-scoring wins, including 38 points against Kobe Bryant's Lakers. He later won a title as a reserve with Toronto in 2019 and played on in China and Taiwan, a full career built from one chance.
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Erica Wheeler
Born
Wheeler went undrafted in the 2013 WNBA draft and played overseas before sticking with the Indiana Fever as a free agent. In 2019 she was named WNBA All-Star Game MVP, a remarkable turn for a player no team had picked. Her story is a reminder that the WNBA's small rosters make an undrafted path even harder than in the NBA.
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Fred VanVleet
Born
Bet on yourself: VanVleet went undrafted from Wichita State in 2016, chose Toronto's offer and developed through Raptors 905 in the G League. He hit huge shots in the 2019 Finals as the Raptors won their first title, became an All-Star in 2022 and later signed one of the biggest contracts ever given to an undrafted player. Raptors fans still treat him as the model of the franchise's development system.
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Alex Caruso
Born
Undrafted in 2016, Caruso began on a two-way contract with the Lakers and became one of the NBA's most disruptive guard defenders. He won the 2020 title in Los Angeles and the 2025 title with Oklahoma City, and made All-Defensive first team. His value rests on deflections, charges and smart rotations, the kind of skills drafts tend to miss.
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Luguentz Dort
Born
The Montreal-born wing went undrafted in 2019 after one season at Arizona State and signed a two-way deal with Oklahoma City. He became the Thunder's go-to perimeter defender, guarding stars from James Harden to Luka Dončić, and won the 2025 title with an All-Defensive selection. For Canadian fans, he is proof that the draft is only one route in.
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Naz Reid
Born
Reid went undrafted from LSU in 2019 and signed with Minnesota, where he grew into a stretch big who scores inside and out. He won Sixth Man of the Year in 2024 as the Timberwolves reached the Western Conference finals. His career shows how a big man with an unusual skill mix can slip through a draft that values a single role.
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Austin Reaves
Born
Reaves went undrafted in 2021 after Oklahoma and signed a two-way deal with the Lakers, then grew into a starting guard and one of their leading scorers beside LeBron James and Luka Dončić. His shot-making, foul-drawing and composure in big games made him far more than a feel-good story, and his later contracts reflect it.
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