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NBA Draft: Ranking the last 11 NBA Drafts by the #1 pick

By Jonah Kubicek

Cade Cunningham #2 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys reacts against the Oregon State Beavers during the second half in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Cade Cunningham #2 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys reacts against the Oregon State Beavers during the second half in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Detroit Pistons, NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham
Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket against Isaiah Stewart #28 of the Detroit Pistons . (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

#6-2017 Draft

Had the 76ers not botched this draft, it may rank differently. But they took Markelle Fultz over Jayson Tatum, a superstar, and Lonzo Ball, a decent starter.

If you’ve followed the NBA for any amount of time, you’ll realize that the Sixers are woefully bad at drafting. Joel Embiid is the exception, Ben Simmons was a clear option.

The pick was not that valuable in 2017 because there were three options that were seen to be head and shoulders above the rest. Some good players were taken further down, like Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo. The Pistons selected Luke Kennard before both of those guys!

With three viable options, having the first overall pick was not that big of a deal, which is why Boston parted with it for just a first-round pick in 2019.

#5-2015 Draft

Everyone knew Karl-Anthony Towns was going first overall, which makes this pick very valuable. When you get the rights to the best player in the draft by far, the pick is worth a lot more than years where teams use it to draft for fit.

The only reason this pick isn’t ranked higher is that KAT is simply worse than the upcoming talent at other number one picks. Also, D’Angelo Russell and Kristaps Porzingis are not bad in the top five. Who went third? The Sixers took Jahlil Okafor, further proving that Philadelphia is doomed to draft horribly until the end of time.