NBA Draft: Ranking the best players selected 6th overall since 1995
5) Shane Battier: 2001 NBA Draft (Memphis Grizzlies)
Shane Battier left Duke University in 2001 as arguably one of the Top 5 Blue Devils of all-time. He was a three-time NCAA Defensive Player of the Year and swept all the major awards in his senior season as he led Duke to the 2001 NCAA Championship. His #31 jersey hangs in the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
He was a consensus top pick heading into the 2001 NBA Draft. As the league started to shift towards prioritizing high school players over upperclassmen, Battier dropped to the 6th overall pick. The Memphis Grizzlies selected him at 6 to pair him alongside another rookie in Pau Gasol, acquired in a draft day trade with the Atlanta Hawks. These two players represented the cornerstone of the newly relocated franchise.
Battier never had the counting stats that rivaled some of his fellow rookies selected in the draft. However, he’s proven to be the ultimate glue player that can handle any role assigned to him. Battier’s done everything from guarding the best player at any time to hitting clutch threes when needed.
One of those glue moments famously occurred while with the Houston Rockets. During the 2007-08 season, Battier, then the starting small forward, requested to then-coach Rick Adelman to come off the bench during a regular season matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. Battier wanted to come off the bench so that he could mirror his minutes in sync to guard Manu Ginobili. Adelman obliged and Battier played 34 minutes off the bench to mirror Ginobili’s 33. While Ginobili did score 21 points, the Rockets won 83-81 and Battier’s selflessness in giving up his starter role for the best defensive assignment showed his willingness to do whatever it took to win games.
Battier returned to the Grizzlies for a second stint during the 2010-11 season. He had arguably one of the greatest moments in the Grizzlies’ playoff history by hitting the go-ahead three pointer in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Quarterfinals against the then-1 seed San Antonio Spurs. Battier’s clutch performance in Game 1 propelled the Grizzlies to defeat the Spurs in 6, a shocking upset.
Battier joined the Heat for the 2011-12 season and was instrumental in the Heat winning both of their championships during the Heatles era. He became an even more lethal three-point shooter during his Heat tenure. During the 2012 NBA Finals, Battier hit 15 threes at a 57.7% clip, an insanely efficient percentage for any player.
During the 2013 NBA Finals, Battier hit 6 threes in Game 7 to help the Heat defeat the San Antonio Spurs on their way to back-to-back championships. This was just another instance of Battier coming through in the clutch.