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Oklahoma basketball: Sooners’ Top-Eight NBA Draft picks

By Chip Rouse

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 04: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks to the media prior to the start of the NBA 2K League Draft at Madison Square Garden on April 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 04: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks to the media prior to the start of the NBA 2K League Draft at Madison Square Garden on April 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MARCH 20: The Oklahoma Sooners stand on court for the national anthem prior to the start of their game against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena on March 20, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MARCH 20: The Oklahoma Sooners stand on court for the national anthem prior to the start of their game against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena on March 20, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

No. 6 – Eduard Najera, Forward, 1996-99

Eduardo Najera was a workhorse on the basketball court. He led the 1998-99 Oklahoma team in scoring (15.5 points) and rebounding (8.3 per game). The Sooners advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 that season before losing to Michigan State.

Najera, a native of Mexico, was selected by the NBA’s Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2000 draft with the 39th overall pick. He never played for the Rockets, however. He was traded by Houston to the Dallas Mavericks, where he played his first four seasons in the NBA.

His NBA career lasted 12 seasons, playing for five different teams. In addition to Dallas, Najera played for the Denver Nuggets (four seasons), the Charlotte Bobcats and New Jersey Nets (two seasons each) and the Golden State Warriors (one season).

Najera made a career in the NBA coming off the bench as a role player. In his 12 seasons in the league, he averaged nearly 10 points a game and 7.4 rebounds. He never played on an NBA championship team, but he did play in 59 NBA playoff games (44 for Dallas and 15 for Denver).

Najera’s last season in the NBA was 2011-12 as a member of the Charlotte Bobcats.

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