Nevada basketball has a mixed history of second-round NBA draft picks.

Kobe Sanders became the seventh Wolf Pack played to be selected in that second round Thursday when he was picked 50th overall by the New York Knicks and quickly shipped to the Los Angeles Clippers, keeping the San Diego-area native on the West Coast.

Nevada’s list of second-round draft picks includes several who had good NBA careers — Ramon Sessions (11 seasons); Cody Martin (six seasons and counting); Edgar Jones (six seasons); Johnny High (four seasons) — and others who were more or less one-and-done, including Nick Fazekas (26 games); Jalen Harris (13 games); and Armon Johnson (47 games).

Which category will Sanders fall into? Here was The Athletic’s initial impression of the pick, as written by former NBA executive John Hollinger:

“The Knicks and Clippers swapped picks 50 and 51, so this pick is LA’s. Sanders is interesting in a Terance Mann kinda way; he’s not as athletic as Mann, but he’s a big wing who can handle the ball, pass and get into pull-up jumpers. Like Mann, he’ll start on a two-way, but if he can shoot consistently from distance and fill out his frame a bit, he has a chance to push his way onto the main Clippers roster.”

Mann was the No. 48 pick of the 2019 draft and has emerged as a part-time starter over six NBA seasons. Sanders would certainly take that result as he lands with the Clippers.

One thing we know about Los Angeles is it is in win-now mode with a 33-year-old Kawhi Leonard and a 35-year-old James Harden, who has a player option for 2025-26 but seems poised to stay put. Given Leonard’s injury history and Harden’s conditioning level, things could fall apart quickly and lead to a rebuilding season in which a second-round draft pick gets NBA minutes. But that’s not the goal after the Clippers won 50 games last season to tie for first in the Pacific League with the Lakers. They got the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and was ousted in seven games by the Nuggets in the first round. The Clippers are built to win now, which is not ideal for immediate playing time for rookies, even a 23-year-old like Sanders.

The Clippers’ roster stands at 20 players after adding Sanders in the second round and first-round selection Yanic Konan Niederhauser, a 20-year-old 7-foot center from Penn State. That roster is quite full with 12 players having 2025-26 contracts (two are player options) plus two restricted free agents and five unrestricted free agents. NBA rosters are limited to 15 players plus three more on two-way contracts. The Clippers have decent depth at the wing.

Sanders is likely to sign a two-way deal with Los Angeles, which would likely mean most of next season would be spent in the G League. For the Clippers, that affiliate is the San Diego Clippers, which plays at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif., which is just 45 miles from his hometown of Spring Valley. So, the location couldn’t be better. As for the team fit, immediate minutes in 2025-26 seem unlikely, although a lot of the Clippers’ near-term future hinges on whether Harden is retained. For comparison, the team’s second-round pick last year, Cam Christie, a 6-foot-6 wing, logged just 59 minutes over 13 games, although he entered the league as a 19-year-old after just one college season.

A former NBA laughingstock, the Clippers are now a well-run organization with plenty of stability after moving into the Intuit Dome in Inglewood last season. The 6-8 Sanders was selected after shooting up draft boards over the last couple of months thanks to his size, mid-range shooting and ball-handling ability as a big wing. There are questions about his defense, athleticism and 3-point shooting, so a three-and-D wing future seems unlikely. The more probable path if Sanders forges a long NBA career is in the mold of Kyle Anderson, a 6-9 point forward who like Sanders was coached by Steve Alford. Anderson is entering his 12th NBA season.

The work on creating that future for Sanders starts in the Las Vegas Summer League, which begins July 10. After becoming the 17th NBA draft pick in Nevada history, Sanders has his foot in the door to the league and will try and join those Wolf Pack alums who stuck as second-round picks instead of being one-and-dones.

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.