NBA Draft: Ranking the last 11 NBA Drafts by the #1 pick
In case you have been on another planet for the last few weeks, the Detroit Pistons will be choosing first in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Having the first overall draft pick is the best asset an NBA team can ever have. With it, teams have the potential to build a franchise around a generational talent. Often, teams go with the most hyped prospects, or the front-runner is clear months before the actual draft.
Related Story. Cade Cunningham spotted in Detroit. light
Other years, the owner of the first overall pick gets to choose from a wealth of talent, like what happened in 1984 with Hakeem Olajuwon or 2003 with LeBron James. This year, there are four players who rise to the top. Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, and Cade Cunningham. Cunningham is the presumptive number one pick, although no one can doubt that there is plenty of talent in this draft.
For some years, the first pick matters less because there is no clear option. This is not one of those years. Value changes based on the draft class, and the last decade has shown us how much the value differs year to year.
#11-2013 Draft
Rudy Gobert and Giannis Antetokounmpo were drafted this year, but don’t let that fool you. Some of the top picks were Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Oh yeah, and Anthony Bennett went first overall. He ended up being a bigger bust than Darko Milicic. There was no clear-cut number one option in this year’s draft, the best you could hope for was to get a mediocre talent who would stay healthy.
Frankly, if it weren’t for the Anthony Bennett debacle, this would be the forgotten draft. It’s fun to laugh at the Cavaliers though, so we keep them in the back of our memory for when we need it.
#10-2014 Draft
Unlike in 2013, there was a clear #1 pick. Andrew Wiggins didn’t surprise anyone when he was the first guy to walk across the stage. That being said, “Maple Jordan” never panned out, and with no other clear-cut top options, the pick became somewhat meaningless.
The 76ers managed to get Joel Embiid at the third overall pick this year, but he overachieved a lot and managed to become (arguably) the best player out of this draft, ahead of Nikola Jokic. There was some talent to be found, but most of it came a lot later in the draft, so picking first overall really didn’t matter too much.