As one of the NBA's newest franchises, the Toronto Raptors haven't had the luxury of decades of draft experience that teams like the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks have.
However, while there certainly have been a few draft busts in Raptors history, there has also been a few players that slipped through the cracks and became impact players for Toronto.
Morris Peterson
You'd expect the leading scorer on a national championship team would be selected higher in the draft. However, after averaging 16.8 points and 6.0 rebounds as a senior at Michigan State, Peterson was drafted 21st overall by the Raptors in the 2000 draft.
Peterson never became a star in the NBA, but he was a solid contributor on the wing in Toronto for seven seasons. He made the All-Rookie team in 2001 while averaging a career-best 16.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 2005-06.
A lack of later draft picks in the team's history helps put Anunoby on this list. That's not to say that the 22-year-old wing is a bad player though — far from it.
The former Indiana Hoosier has only played three NBA seasons thus far, but Anunoby has improved every year and is now one of the most essential pieces to the Raptors' current puzzle.
An excellent defender, Anunoby was also averaging career highs across the board in the suspended 2019-20 season, with 10.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game while shooting an efficient 38.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Usually, top-10 picks aren't really considered steals because they're already highly touted prospects to begin with. However, when you select arguably the best player in franchise history with the ninth overall pick, they deserve ‘draft steal' status.
That's exactly what Toronto did with DeRozan in 2009.
Considering 10 of the top 15 selections that year are no longer in the NBA, getting a two-time All-NBA selection who averaged 20-plus points per game in five of his nine seasons with the team is pretty damn good value for the ninth pick.
DeRozan is no longer on the Raptors, but he did bring the team its most successful few years until they won the championship with Kawhi Leonard in 2019.
Coming out of New Mexico State, Pascal Siakam was a 6-foot-9 athletic forward with clear athleticism but was also considered an extremely raw prospect. When Toronto drafted him 27th overall in 2016, they expected him to be a solid contributor and defender.
Little did they know Siakam would quickly transform into one of the brightest young stars in the NBA today.
After an alright first two seasons, Siakam broke out in 2018 and took home the league's Most Improved Player Award. If the NBA season hadn't been postponed, there's a chance that Siakam could've taken home the same award this season as well.
Unquestionably Toronto's best player, Siakam became a first-time All-Star this 2019-20 — averaging 23.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from deep.
Siakam just turned 26 this April and should be hitting his prime in the next few years. If the 6-foot-9 forward is already this good, a few more years of development should further cement him as the Raptors' biggest draft steal in franchise history.
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