A look at some of the best Bucks value picks (17 or below) in the NBA Draft

Milwaukee's recent track record picking 17th in the NBA Draft (Rashad Vaughn, DJ Wilson) hasn't inspired Bucks fans, but the franchise gets another crack Thursday with the 17th pick – presuming it doesn't trade out of that slot.

As with any organization, the Bucks have made some impressive "value" selections over the years at pick No. 17 or lower. Here's a look at the best.

1. Bob Dandridge (1969)

The 45th overall selection was a fourth-round pick, back when the draft lasted that long. To this day, he remains the man who has played the most minutes in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform, and he's No. 2 behind draft classmate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in total field goals made and rebounds. Dandridge, drafted out of Norfolk State, scored more than 11,400 points as a Buck and is perhaps one of the best NBA forwards of the 1970s. He was part of the 1971 championship Bucks team and was named an All-Star three times. His No. 10 hangs from the arena rafters.

2. Michael Redd (2000)

Redd never had the luxury of being the star for a great Bucks team, but that shouldn't tarnish his legacy as one of the greatest steals in franchise history. Despite being taken 43rd overall out of Ohio State, he went on to average 20 points per game in his career, spanning more than a decade in Milwaukee. He scored more than 11,500 points as a Buck, with 2,334 rebounds and 1,305 assists, and his numbers may have been even better if not for two ACL injuries. He's second in franchise history in three-pointers made and free throws, and he's fourth in scoring.

3. Paul Pressey (1982)

The 20th pick in the draft finished his career with 7,664 points, 2,798 rebounds and 3,715 assists, with eight of his 11 NBA seasons in Milwaukee. He gets some unofficial credit for being the original "point forward" as a 6-5 small forward who oversaw the ball handling duties at times under Don Nelson and led the team in assists for five straight years. Today, he remains the franchise's all-time leader in assists (3,272), and he's second in steals (894). Pressey was named to the NBA's first-team All-Defensive Team in 1984-85, a year in which the Bucks won the division, and he also competed in an NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1986, the year the Bucks went to the Eastern Conference Finals. He played collegiately at Tulsa.

4. Malcolm Brogdon (2016) 

The "President" became the first Rookie of the Year from the second round after getting taken 36th overall out of Virginia, and he's been a steadying presence for two years, averaging 11.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists in his career thus far. 

5. Alton Lister (1981) 

The 21st pick out of Arizona State remains the franchise leader in career blocks (804) after five seasons with the team (and another 1-plus later in his career). He was never a double-figures scorer in Milwaukee, but he actually received MVP votes in the 1982-83 season when he averaged 8.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He was then traded to Seattle for another memorable Bucks player, Jack Sikma. 

6. Alex English (1976)

The 23rd pick out of South Carolina was part of a big draft for the Bucks; they also took all-time steals leader Quinn Buckner with the seventh pick. But English was the true standout. He finished his career with more than 25,000 points, 6,500 rebounds and 4,300 assists, although the vast majority of those numbers were compiled in Denver – which is why he's not much, much higher on this list. English spent only two seasons in Milwaukee before signing as a free agent with Indiana in 1977-78, then getting traded to the Nuggets.

7. Ersan Ilyasova (2005)

Ilyasova was taken 36th and was more or less an afterthought in a draft where the Bucks selected Andrew Bogut No. 1 overall. The native of Turkey didn't even play early in his career, briefly seeing time in 2006-07 before playing professionally in Spain until 2009-10. Oddly, he's forged a lasting career that continued through the 2017-18 season, when he played for Philadelphia in the NBA playoffs while still just 30 years old. With the Bucks, he's top-10 in offensive rebounds and three-point field goals, and he averaged 11.5 points per game and 6.6 rebounds from 2010-15 in a Bucks uniform.

8. Luc Mbah a Moute (2008)

It's a cruel twist of fate that for back-to-back years, the team's second-round pick far surpassed the first-round choice. In 2007, Ramon Sessions (56th overall) enjoyed a better career than Yi Jianlian (No. 6), and one year later, it was Mbah a Moute (37th out of UCLA) outlasting Joe Alexander (No. 8) by a longshot. A defensive presence for the Bucks, Mbah a Moute was an effective secondary piece for five years, and he remains in the league today. He played for the Houston Rockets this past season, just missing a trip to the NBA F