Best Second-Round Picks in Nuggets History Not Named Nikola Jokic

The Denver Nuggets' best second-round pick in their franchise's 51-year history in the NBA is unquestionably their three-time league MVP and franchise icon, Nikola Jokic.

If there's anyone who's defied the odds of what a second-round pick can become, Jokic is just that. He's become one of the league's best players of this generation and a top-25 player of all time, and a clear bet to be cemented as the NBA's best second-round pick ever when all is said and done.

Apr 30, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) looks on in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

But what about the rest of the Nuggets' second-round picks throughout their franchise's history? Who have stood out as some of the bigger highlights outside of the first round, and rallied behind Jokic as perhaps the second or third-best second-rounders that the team has ever brought aboard?

Spoiler alert: the history of the Nuggets' second-round picks isn't all that impressive. However, when taking a step back to see just how Denver's draft history has gone through the past five decades, these three players stick out as the best pickups:

Jeff McInnis

McInnis, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard out of North Carolina, wasn't the greatest second-round pick for the Nuggets exactly. He was drafted to Denver with the 37th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, before he would only end up playing 13 games before his tenure with the team would end.

That's because McInnis would end up playing in the Continental Basketball Association from 1997 to 2000. But after a pretty dominant run there, including a 1999 CBA MVP, he would wind up finding his footing in the NBA by playing 11 years and over 570 games across six franchises.

His best season in the league came with the LA Clippers in 2001-02, where he averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists across 81 games played. Not too great for the Nuggets, but a solid career nonetheless.

Ryan Bowen

Bowen, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Iowa drafted in 1998, never had the counting stats that jumped off the page. The 55th overall pick averaged 2.6 points per game for his career on 45.6% from the field with 2.1 rebounds. So nothing too jaw-dropping.

But Bowen did find a route into becoming a steady decade-long role player in the NBA that played in over 500 regular-season games, including half of those seasons being spent with the Nuggets from 1999 to 2004.

Considering the average NBA career sits around four years, it's hard to debate that Bowen had a successful stint in the NBA as a late second-rounder.

Monte Morris

Surprisingly enough, the Nuggets' 51st pick from nearly 10 years ago in Monte Morris might just be one of the bigger standouts of their entire second-round pick collection.

Morris was a truly impactful piece of the Nuggets' second unit throughout his five years in the building from 2017 to 2022. He played 280 regular-season games with Denver, where he saw the best years of his pro career, averaging 10.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 48.1-39.4-83.0 shooting splits.

Since being traded from Denver in 2022 in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Morris has gone on to make himself into a tenured role player, having played nine years in the league, spending his most recent season with the Indiana Pacers in the 2025-26 season.

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