Philadelphia 76ers: Past draft selections at the 42nd pick
The Philadelphia 76ers have had only one of their five former 42nd overall picks play for the franchise in the past, which doesn’t bode well for this year.
In the past, I’ve written about the Philadelphia 76ers past selections at the 24th and 33rd pick. This is because the Sixers own both of those picks in this upcoming draft. They also own the 34th, 42nd and 54th picks as well. This article will cover past selections at the 42nd pick, because the Sixers have never had the 34th pick under the team’s current name.
The franchise has selected at the 42nd pick five times under the name of the 76ers. Only one of those five players ever suited up for the Sixers in the regular season. Tony Cerkvenik was drafted in 1963 and never played in the NBA.
More from The Sixer Sense
- 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
- 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
- 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
- Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
- Sixers Podcast: Danny Green returns + James Harden bombshell
Mike Grosso was a 6-foot-9 center that was drafted in 1974 and never played in the NBA. Grosso did play in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the 1971-72 season. He averaged 4.1 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Pittsburgh Condors.
The Sixers selected Bob Elliott in the 1977 draft with the 42nd pick. He was waived a few months later and didn’t sign with another team until 1978. Elliott signed with the then New Jersey Nets and played with them for three seasons. In those three seasons, the 6-foot-9 big man averaged 7.0 points and 3.6 rebounds. He did not play in the NBA again after his stint with the Nets ended.
The most recent time that Philly selected at the 42nd pick was at the very beginning of “The Process” back in the 2013 NBA Draft. Pierre Jackson was selected at that spot, but was a part of the trade that landed the Sixers Nerlens Noel from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Jackson was sign and re-signed then waived both times in the offseasons of 2014 and 2015 by the 76ers. The point guard eventually made his NBA regular season debut in the 2016-17 season with the Dallas Mavericks in which he averaged 4.4 points and 2.4 assists. He only played eight games with the Mavericks before he fell out of the league completely.
The only player that was selected with the 42nd pick by the Sixers that ended up playing for the franchise was Harvey Catchings. Catchings was drafted in 1974 and the 6-foot-9 big man became a stable backup for Philly in the early part of his career.
In four and half seasons with the Sixers, Catchings averaged 3.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. During his fifth season, he was traded to the Nets. He also played with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers in his 11-year career.
Next. 2019 NBA Draft profile: Jaxson Hayes. dark
The Philadelphia 76ers were only able to find a prospect that ended up being a contributing member of the rotation one out of five times with the 42nd pick. Hopefully, the odds improve with this upcoming draft.