NBA Draft: Best players from each of the last 25 NBA Drafts
As all 30 NBA general managers get ready for the 2020 NBA Draft, it's worth remembering that the top pick doesn't always end up as the best player. Sometimes, far from it.Over the last 25 years of drafts, our choice as the best player was the number one pick on only eight occasions, while five were selected with the 15th pick or below.So even though the Celtics won't be on the clock for their first selection until the 14th pick this Wednesday night, there's still a chance that Danny Ainge strikes gold... again.
You might argue that Morant deserves to be the choice for 2019 after putting up 17 and 7 in his Rookie of the Year campaign, while Williamson didn't debut until January and only played 24 games.
But what the Pelicans big man did in that limited action was special, averaging 22.5 points per game despite playing fewer than 28 minutes a game. Williamson was definitely worth the wait for New Orleans.
Honorable Mention: Ja Morant, Grizzlies (#2); Tyler Herro, Heat (#13)
Maybe DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley will live up to being the top two picks in 2018 at some point -- but it certainly looks like the Suns and Kings blew it by passing on Doncic, who is already an MVP candidate in Year 2.
The 21-year-old is a triple-double candidate every night, averaging 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists last season. Doncic is the only player since Tim Duncan to be named an All-NBA First Teamer in his first or second season.
Honorable Mention: Trae Young, Hawks (#5); Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Clippers (#11)
And to think, not every Celtics fan was on board when Danny Ainge passed up the chance to draft Markelle Fultz to drop down two spots, where he eventually added Jayson Tatum.
Tatum made an impressive leap in his third season, especially during a torrid mid-season stretch where he earned Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors in February. If he continues this trajectory, Tatum should be in the MVP conversation very soon.
Honorable Mention: De'Aaron Fox, Kings (#5); Donovan Mitchell, Jazz (#13); Bam Adebayo, Heat (#14)
A grand total of two three-pointers. A career shooting percentage of 59 percent from the free-throw line.
Ben Simmons has all sorts of offensive shortcomings but his all-around game puts him atop the list for 2016. He's averaging 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists for his career - and he's outstanding on the defensive end of the floor.
Honorable Mention: Brandon Ingram, Lakers (#2); Jaylen Brown, Celtics (#3); Jamal Murray, Nuggets (#7); Pascal Siakam, Raptors (#27)
It's too bad that the T-Wolves only have a .413 win percentage and four last-place finishes in Towns' five NBA seasons -- because Towns is languishing in relative obscurity in Minnesota.
The 25-year-old has averaged 21-plus points for four straight seasons and has added at least 10.5 rebounds per game in each of his five NBA campaigns -- good for the second-highest total of double-doubles (260) since he entered the league.
Honorable Mention: D'Angelo Russell, Lakers (#2); Kristaps Porzingis, Knicks (#4); Myles Turner, Pacers (#11); Devin Booker, Suns (#13)
Complain all you want, Sixers fans. Tell me that Embiid deserves to be the choice here thanks to his unquestioned dominance when he's on the court. The problem? He hasn't actually been on the court nearly often enough, losing two-plus seasons to injury. His career-high for games played in a season is 64.
Then there's Jokic, who somehow lasted until the 41st pick of the 2014 Draft, 27 picks later than the Celtics took James Young. TWENTY-SEVEN PICKS. Seven-footers shouldn't average 7 assists per game. Jokic does, in addition to being a nightly threat to put up 20-10 numbers.
Honorable Mention: Joel Embiid, 76ers (#3); Marcus Smart, Celtics (#6); Jusuf Nurkic, Nuggets (#16); Clint Capela, Rockets (#25)
Taken two picks after Kelly Olynyk and one pick after Shabazz Muhammad, Antetokounmpo isn't just one of the biggest draft steals in recent memory, he's also building his case as the best player in the NBA over the next decade.
Can you imagine how different the NBA would look today if the Cavaliers had added Antetokounmpo -- instead of Anthony Bennett? If LeBron still returned a year later, to team up with the Greek Freak and Kyrie Irving, how good could that team have been?
Honorable Mention: Victor Oladipo, Magic (#2); CJ McCollum, Trail Blazers (#10); Rudy Gobert, Jazz (#27)
One of the last-ever picks for the New Orleans Hornets, Anthony Davis was the right choice in 2012 and remains the right choice eight years later.
The only thing that the seven-time All-Star was missing was playoff success... until this year. After winning just one playoff series in seven seasons in New Orleans, Davis teamed with LeBron James to end the Lakers' 10-year title drought this past season
Honorable Mention: Bradley Beal (#3); Damian Lillard (#6); Draymond Green (#35)
In a draft where Isaiah Thomas qualifies as "Mr. Irrelevant" since he was drafted with the 60th and final pick, the best three players come at the top (Irving), bottom (Leonard), and midway through Round 1 (Butler).
But of that trio, the top choice has to be Leonard, who has won MVP honors in two of his three trips to the NBA Finals, winning in both San Antonio and Toronto. And did we mention he's also a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year?
Honorable Mention: Kyrie Irving (#1); Kemba Walker (#9); Klay Thompson (#11); Jimmy Butler (#30)
A litany of injuries have wreaked havoc with all of the best players from the 2010 NBA Draft -- with each of them missing all or most of a season due to injury -- but our choice here is Paul George.
After suffering a catastrophic leg injury in 2014, George has averaged 23.8 points per game in five full seasons, making four All-Star teams along the way.
Honorable Mention: John Wall (#1); DeMarcus Cousins (#5); Gordon Hayward (#9)
Make the case for James Harden if you must, but we'll go for the guy who routinely knocks down 30-footers over the guy who routinely puts up 30 shots per game.
Curry -- who ranks third all-time behind Ray Allen and Reggie Miller in career three-pointers -- is one of the most electric players in the NBA, and he's won a pair of NBA MVP Awards. Not bad for a guy who went one pick after Minnesota nabbed Jonny Flynn.
Honorable Mention: Blake Griffin (#1); James Harden (#3); DeMar DeRozan (#9); Jrue Holiday (#17)
For over 50 years, the only player to average a triple-double for an entire season was Oscar Robertson... until Russell Westbrook accomplished the feat in 2016-17. Then he did it again the next season. And the season after that.
The 2017 MVP is also a two-time scoring champ and nine-time NBA All-Star. Now the NBA world waits to see where Westbrook will take his ball-dominant game next season after wanting out of Houston.
Honorable Mention: Derrick Rose (#1); Kevin Love (#5); Serge Ibaka (#24); DeAndre Jordan (#35)
The only thing more painful than seeing the Celtics go 24-58 in the 2006-07 season would have been living with the knowledge that the took Greg Oden instead of Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft.
Instead, that dubious distinction goes to the Portland Trail Blazers, who took Oden -- who only played three seasons -- over Durant, who won a pair of Finals MVP awards in three seasons in Golden State before suffering an Achilles injury and subsequently signing with the Nets as a free agent.
Honorable Mention: Al Horford (#3); Mike Conley (#4); Marc Gasol (#48)
Tough call for the 2005 Draft, with Kyle Lowry battling LaMarcus Aldridge for top honors.
With 13 straight seasons scoring over 17 points per game, the Portland and San Antonio big man would be a perfectly acceptable top choice here. But we're giving the edge to Lowry, who has stepped up his game in recent seasons and helped the Raptors to an NBA title in 2019 -- way more than most players accomplish after lasting until No. 24 overall.
Honorable Mention: LaMarcus Aldridge (#2); Rajon Rondo (#21); Paul Millsap (#47)
While some drafts (like 2006) have two or more worthy contenders, some years are more like 2005, when there's a clear-cut top choice. And that's exactly what Chris Paul is.
The list of accolades is a lengthy one: 10-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year, 4-time assists leader, 6-time steals leader, 4-time All-NBA First Team, 7-time All-NBA Defensive First Team. Not to mention that Paul's 180.3 win shares dwarf the total of second-place Deron Williams (77.3).
Honorable Mention: Deron Williams (#3); Danny Granger (#17); Monta Ellis (#40)
The results aren't nearly as lopsided as the Durant-Oden draft in 2007, but in 2004, there was an actual debate over which player deserved to be the top pick in the NBA Draft: high schooler Dwight Howard or UConn star Emeka Okafor.
Orlando passed on Okafor, who was named Rookie of the Year, but made the right choice in selecting Howard, who was named to eight All-Star teams in his prime before joining a new team every season in recent years.
Honorable Mention: Luol Deng (#7); Andre Iguodala (#9); Jameer Nelson (#20)
Let's all take a moment of silence for the Detroit Pistons, who owned the second overall pick in 2003. After seeing LeBron James predictably go off the board at No. 1, instead of drafting Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade, they promptly took... Darko Milicic, who will go down in history as an all-time Draft bust.
There's really no need to cite James' merits as the best player in his draft class. The real argument is whether James belongs atop the list as the best player in NBA history.
Honorable Mention: Carmelo Anthony (#3); Chris Bosh (#4); Dwyane Wade (#5)
Does Yao Ming deserve the top spot here considering he only played eight NBA seasons and played 360 fewer games than Stoudemire? Maybe not, but it's almost impossible to overlook what a phenomenon the Rockets big man before injuries robbed him -- and us -- of the rest of his career.
The 7-foot-6 center averaged 21.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game over a four-year stretch before nagging foot injuries sidelined him for the entirety of the 2009-10 season. Yao is the only Hall of Famer from the 2002 draft class.
Honorable Mention: Amare Stoudemire (#9); Caron Butler (#10); Carlos Boozer (#35)
Even though the 2001 NBA Draft featured eight NBA All-Stars, it's more known for a player who didn't even sniff an All-Star Game -- Kwame Brown, who has gone down in history as one of the biggest busts to go off the board with the first overall pick.
This choice came down to a decision between Gasol, who won two NBA titles and three Olympic medals, and Parker, who won four NBA titles with the Spurs. Gasol gets the slight edge.
Honorable Mention: Zach Randolph (#19); Tony Parker (#28); Gilbert Arenas (#31)
Do we really have to choose a player from the 2000 NBA Draft? I mean... honestly. There's a reason that it's known as the worst draft class in league history. The top four picks? Kenyon Martin, Stromile Swift, Darius Miles, and Marcus Fizer. Woof.
So in absence of anyone truly great (because there isn't), we'll go for someone with the most impact, and Crawford -- who has won three Sixth Man of the Year awards -- fits that bill.
Honorable Mention: Kenyon Martin (#1); Mike Miller (#5)
There was plenty of talent in the 1999 NBA Draft -- but there's one big difference between Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, Rip Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry and Manu Ginobili: only one of them was taken outside the Top 10... and that was way down with the second-to-last pick in the entire draft.
Ginobili was an indispensable part of four Spurs championship teams, earning two All-Star appearances over his 16-year NBA career.
Honorable Mention: Elton Brand (#1); Shawn Marion (#9); Jason Terry (#10)
The 1998 NBA Draft featured three future Hall of Famers... and none of them went with the first overall pick. Sorry, Michael Olowokandi.
Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, and Vince Carter combined for 32 All-Star appearances -- but Nowitzki earns the nod for his incredible 21-season career in Dallas, where he became the sixth-leading scorer in NBA history, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan.
Honorable Mention: Antawn Jamison (#4); Vince Carter (#5); Paul Pierce (#10)
For the Celtics, the only thing that made the disastrous 15-win campaign of 1996-97 worth it was the promise of drafting Tim Duncan. With a 36 percent chance of earning the No. 1 pick, it was a guarantee... right?
Unfortunately for Boston and head coach Rick Pitino, the C's ended up with the third and sixth picks and a grand total of 172 games from Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, while the Spurs got 19 seasons of Hall of Fame production from Duncan, who won five titles and a pair of MVP awards in San Antonio.
Honorable Mention: Chauncey Billups (#3); Tracy McGrady (#9)
How good was the 1996 NBA Draft class? Players like Stephon Marbury didn't even make our honorable mention list. Three players were named NBA MVP and 11 different players made at least one All-Star team.
But despite the depth, the choice for the best player in the draft was an absolute no-brainer -- though not at the time for teams on the clock before the Hornets at No. 13 who picked players like Vitaly Potapenko, Todd Fuller, and Samaki Walker instead of Kobe Bryant, whose résumé includes an NBA-record 18 All-Star selections, five championships, and a legacy that will live on long after his untimely passing.
Honorable Mention: Allen Iverson (#1); Ray Allen (#5); Steve Nash (#15)
Before Minnesota took 19-year-old Kevin Garnett with the top overall pick in 1995, no player had been drafted straight out of high school in 20 years -- but KG made that decision pay off in a very big way.
In between two stints in Minnesota (where he won the NBA MVP award in 2004), the Big Ticket helped lead the Celtics to his one and only title in 2008 and had a forgettable pit stop in Brooklyn. But he stands alone, far above his 1995 peers, leading the entire draft class in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals.
Honorable Mention: Jerry Stackhouse (#3); Rasheed Wallace (#4); Michael Finley (#21)
