NBA No. 1 Draft Picks

For all the effort teams put in to preparing for the NBA draft, you’d think that No. 1 overall pick would be pretty much a slam dunk.

Often, it is. Now and then, however, going first is simply a chance to make a blunder of historic proportions.

Portland, the team that passed up Michael Jordan at No. 2 overall in 1984 (instead going for injury-plagued center Sam Bowie) ran into bad luck again in 2007. Opting for Ohio State’s Greg Oden over Texas’ Kevin Durant, the Trail Blazers didn’t get a single minute of play from Oden, who missed the season after requiring knee surgery.

Moral of the story: Do all the homework you want, but it doesn’t hurt to be a little lucky, too.

Here’s a list of the No. 1 picks since 1990. If your team ended up with a Joe Smith or a Michael Olowokandi, read it and weep:

2008 – Derrick Rose, Chicago: Time will tell.

2007 — Greg Oden, Portland: It didn’t help when Durant went on to become Rookie of the Year for Seattle.

2006 – Andrea Bargnani, Toronto: Averaged 10.8 points per game in first two NBA seasons. Jury remains out.

2005 — Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee: 53 percent shooter who averages just under 12 points per game. Solid, but not spectacular.

2004 — Dwight Howard, Orlando: Averaged 20.7 points and 14.2 rebounds in 2007-08. A rising star.

2003 — LeBron James, Cleveland: The game’s brightest young star, King James led the Cavs to the 2007 Finals.

2002 — Yao Ming, Houston: Among the game’s most talented centers, but injuries have kept him out of 86 games over the past three seasons.

2001: Kwame Brown, Washington: Straight-from-high school disaster has averaged just 7.5 points for three teams in seven pro seasons.

2000: Kenyon Martin, New Jersey: Injury-prone big man has averaged 14.5 points in his career.

1999: Elton Brand, Chicago: 20.3 point career scorer played just eight games due to injury in 2007-08.

1998: Michael Olowokandi: Los Angeles Clippers: Missed more than 300 games in 10 seasons and did not play in the league in 2007-08.

1997: Tim Duncan, San Antonio: Has led the Spurs to four NBA titles.

1996: Allen Iverson, Philadelphia: One of the game’s toughest players and most prolific scorers

1995: Joe Smith, Golden State: Journeyman has played for eight different teams, averaging 11.9 points per game.

1994: Glenn Robinson, Milwaukee: Averaged 20.7 points in 10-plus seasons.

1993: Chris Webber, Orlando: Five-time All-Star was limited by knee problems late in his career.

1992: Shaquille O’Neal, Orlando: One of the most dominant big men ever. Led two different teams (Lakers and Heat) to NBA titles.

1991: Larry Johnson, Charlotte: Averaged 16.2 points in 10-year career shortened by back problems.

1990: Derrick Coleman, New Jersey: Averaged 16.5 points for four teams over a 15-year career.

Source: NBA.com

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