Power Ranking Blake Griffin and the No. 1 Draft Picks of the Last 25 Years
When an NBA team has the first pick in the draft, the future of the franchise is hanging in the balance.
In no other sport does the top pick in the draft mean so much to the team. More often than not, the No. 1 pick comes through and saves the day. But a first pick bust can setback a franchise for years.
Who ended up winning Rookie of the Year? How many of these players lead their team to a Championship?
Let’s rank the No. 1 overall picks of the past 25 seasons.
25. Michael Olowokandi—1999
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The Clippers were mesmerized by his 22 point, 11 rebound and 3 block averages his senior season at Pacific.
The “Kandi Man” had a rude awakening in the pro’s as one of the biggest busts of all-time. In 500 career regular season NBA games Olowokandi averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game.
The latter part of his career was plague with various injuries before he retired in 2007. He is without a doubt, one of the worst No. 1 overall picks ever.
24. Kwame Brown-—2001
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This guy may be the single worst decision Michael Jordan ever made. Under his watch the Wiz took a chance on the 18-year old straight out of a Georgia high school.
The 6’11" 275 Brown has always enticed teams with his size and flashes of potential. But he is far too inconsistent and has turned into a journeyman.
His career numbers are ugly: 6.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and .6 blocks per game.
Un-drafted free agents have better numbers than this first pick bust.
23. Pervis Elllison—1989
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Ellison was made the first overall pick by the Sacramento Kings and his career can be summed up in one word…injures.
An injury kept him on the sidelines for 48 of 82 games of his rookie year, after which he was traded to the Washington Bullets.
Sacramento teammate, Danny Ainge, had nicknamed him "Out of Service Pervis."
Assorted injuries weighed down his career. Two knee problems kept him on the bench for 29 games in 1992–1993 and 30 games in 1993–1994.
As a free agent, Ellison signed with the Boston Celtics in 1994 but did not play until halfway through the season because he was rehabbing from knee issues.
A broken toe suffered while moving furniture kept him out of most games between 1996 and 1998. He played in 69 out of a possible 246 games over the final three seasons with the Celtics.
22. Derrick Coleman-—1990
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Coleman’s NBA career started off with a bang when he won the Rookie of the Year award in 1991.
Then the laziness kicked in.
His career was overshadowed by his questionable attitude and terrible work ethic. The results were quite damaging.
Coleman had excessive weight gain, an alcohol abuse problem and wide-ranging disruptive behavior.
His lack of conditioning came back to haunt him. He played in 70 or more games in only four of his 15 NBA seasons.
21. Andrea Bargnani—2006
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He got off to a slow start in his NBA career but Bargnani has turned into one of the best players on the Raptors roster.
The 7’0" shooter from Italy is currently averaging a career-high 21.8 points a game. For his career he has averaged just under 15 per contest.
The problem is his lack of production in other categories. He has averaged less than five rebounds a game in his career. His 44 percent shooting percentage isn’t wowing people either.
Not a bust, but not a worthy No. 1 pick either.
20. Joe Smith—1995
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Big things were expected from the stud forward from Maryland. He was supposed to shatter the record book.
Well he does have one record…he holds the record for the most franchises played by an active player. He has played for 12 out of 30 teams in the NBA.
Not quite normal for a No. 1 overall pick.
For his career he has averaged six points, four rebounds and .7 blocks per game. Somehow he is still plugging along playing for the New Jersey Nets.
19. Greg Oden— 2007
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One of the best college prospects in recent memory, Oden has fallen victim to the injury bug in each of his four seasons in the league.
He has missed two entire seasons with knee injuries and missed a combined half-a-season’s-worth of time in the two years he did play.
His 9.4 point and 7.3 rebound average is about half of what was expected from him coming out of Ohio St.
What makes it worse is watching No. 2 overall pick Kevin Durant on a nightly basis.
18. Danny Manning—1988
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Coming off a National Championship at Kansas, the Clippers had high hopes for Manning.
While he wasn’t a huge disappointment, his 14 points and five rebounds certainly wasn’t No. 1 pick worthy.
He was averaging a career-high 24 points a game when he was abruptly traded from the Clippers to the Hawks. He never was able to experience that level of success again.
17. Andrew Bogut- 2005
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The seven-footer out of Australia has had an above average career in the league. He averaged 16 points and 10 boards a game for the Bucks a season ago.
The five-year pro is one of the veteran leaders on a young Bucks team, but look at some of the other players that came out of the ’05 draft:
Chris Paul
Deron Williams
Andrew Bynum
David Lee
Danny Granger
Ouch.
16. Kenyon Martin—2000
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K-Mart had one of the most dominating seasons of all-time his senior season at Cincinnati before breaking his leg in the conference tournament.
His best days in the NBA came right off the bat with the New Jersey Nets. He teamed up with Jason Kidd to reach the NBA Finals in his first two seasons in the league.
He went out west to Denver in 2004 and was stuck behind the one-on-one play of Carmelo Anthony.
Now he is experiencing a bit of a resurgence with ‘Melo out of town. Well that…and the fact that it’s a contract year.
Martin has career averages of 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
15. Brad Daugherty—1986
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Daugherty averaged 19 points and ten rebounds per game over eight seasons in the NBA and left the Cavaliers as the all-time leading scorer (10,389 points) and rebounder (5,227). Daugherty's scoring record stood until 2008 when LeBron James broke the point barrier.
Daugherty's career in the NBA was cut short at the age of 28 because of persistent back troubles.
14. Elton Brand—1999
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The two-time All-Star was the co-rookie of the year and made the All-NBA Second Team in 2006.
He is currently the Clippers all-time leader in offensive rebounds with 1,480.
For his career Brand has averaged 19 points on 50 percent shooting, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
His play has declined since signing a mammoth contract with the 76ers in 2009, but he still is one of the better forwards in the Eastern Conference.
13. Glenn Robinson—1994
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The “Big Dog” was a great scorer for years. He averaged 20.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game in his NBA career.
He held out until training camp in hopes of a getting a huge contract his rookie season. Robinson eventually signed an unprecedented 10-year, $68M deal that is still the richest-ever NBA rookie contract.
A salary cap for rookies was implemented the following season because of the "Big Dog".
12. John Wall—2010
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Wall broke out onto the college scene in a hurry at Kentucky. He was far and away the top prospect going into the draft and has delivered a pretty average first pick season.
He is scoring 15 a game with nine assists and two steals a game. He has shown flashes of brilliance with his incredible quickness, but he needs to work on lowering his 3.7 turnovers a game.
The sample size is small, but Wall looks like he is going to be an All-Star sooner rather than later.
11. Larry Johnson—1992
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L.J. is a two-time All-Star that earned rookie of the year honors in 1993. He was a key component to the ‘99 Knicks team that made it to the NBA Finals.
He dropped 16 points, 7.5 rebounds and three assists per game.
He also played a grandma in Family Matters and himself in Space Jam. Not a bad acting resume.
10. Yao Ming—2002
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One of the most popular basketball players in the world, Ming had an outstanding NBA career before surrendering to foot problems.
He was an eight-time All-Star and made the second team All-NBA on two separate occasions.
The 7’6 giant" from China finished his illustrious career averaging 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocks per game. He was a terrific free throw shooter as well, shooting 83 percent for his career.
9. Chris Webber—1993
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C-Webb was a household name before he even entered the NBA. A member of the famed “Fab Five” at Michigan, he infamously called a timeout when his team was out of them.
His potential was never fully utilized in the NBA due to his nagging knee injuries. He was a five-time All-Star that made the All-NBA first team in 2001.
He won the 1994 Rookie of the Year and was a fourth quarter collapse away from making the NBA Finals as a Sacramento King.
8. Blake Griffin—2009
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His pro career got off to a rough start when he missed his entire rookie season with a leg injury. But Clipper fans were extremely pleased to find that Griffin is more than living up to the hype.
He is the first rookie to have two 40-plus games in his rookie season since Allen Iverson during the 1996–97 season. He wowed the world with his impressive display at the Dunk Contest that led him to be the champ.
He has re-energized the entire franchise and the new human highlight reel is just getting started. Griffin is on pace to be one of the top players for years to come.
Griffin currently is putting up 23 points and 12.5 rebounds a game. Not too shabby for the future Rookie of the Year.
7. David Robinson—1987
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“The Admiral” is widely considered one of the greatest centers of all-time. He has two NBA championships, won the rookie of the year award and won an MVP.
He made 10 All-Star appearances and the defensive star made first-team All-Defense an impressive five times. Robinson scored 40 or more points 22 times in the regular season and once in the playoffs.
He finished his career in 2003 averaging 21 points, 7.5 rebounds and three blocks a night.
This must be an impressive list if Robinson is only seventh…
6. Derrick Rose—2008
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The Chicago native came home when the Bulls grabbed him with the top pick in the '08 draft.
The current MVP candidate is more than proving his worth as the Bulls currently sit at the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star is currently scoring 24.6 points and eight assists a game.
He has improved his numbers every year he has been in the league and looks poised to compete for Championships for the next decade plus.
5. Dwight Howard—2004
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"Superman" is currently the best center in the NBA as he hits the peak of his career. The Magic are currently title contenders strictly because of the massive Howard.
The guy with the widest shoulders in the league is a two-time defensive player of the year and five-time All-Star.
He has almost averaged 13 rebounds a game for his NBA career to go with 18 points. Right now he is scoring 23.1 a clip while grabbing 14 boards per game.
4. Allen Iverson- 1996
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One of the best pure scoreres of all-time, A.I. was the scoring champ on four seperate occasions. He has an MVP, a Rookie of the Year, an All-NBA first team selection and was a member of the All-Star team 11 different times.
He will always be remebered as a 76er in the minds of NBA fans and quite possibly the best player in the history of the Philadelphia franchise. He averaged just under 27 points a game in his 14-year career.
Although he willed his team to the 2001 NBA Finals, Iverson never won a championship ring.
3. LeBron James- 2003
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The MVP of the league in the last two seasons, James was one of the easiest picks to make in draft history. Since entering the league in 2003, James has made seven All-Star games, won Rookie of the Year and has been a member of the All-NBA first team four seperate times.
The High School prodigy has more than delivered on the sky-high expectations placed on him.
His cominbation of spped and power make him almost in possible to stop in the open court. He is an incredible talent that few players have ever matched in the history of the league.
The 26-year old still has a glaring hole in his postseason record. The 2011 playoffs will alter his reputation enormously.
2. Tim Duncan—1997
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Duncan is eventually going to be remembered as one of the greatest and most consistent power forwards in the history of the league.
He has four NBA Championships with three NBA Final MVP awards to go with it. He was the Rookie of the Year in '97 and has been a member of the All-Star team 13 times.
He has made nine All-NBA First Teams and All-Defensive First Team eight times.
He is the ultimate player and one of the easiest stars to coach of all-time. He is a coaches' dream and one of the best No. 1 picks ever.
For his career he has averaged 21 points and 12.5 rebounds a game.
1. Shaquille O'Neal—1992
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Shaq Diesel is an absoutle beast and one of the top three greatest centers of all-time.
The career highlights are quite insane:
Four NBA Championships
Three Finals MVPs
One MVP (2000)
15-time NBA All-Star
Eight time All-NBA First Team
Eight time All-NBA First Team Defense
Two-time scoring champion
Wow.
Shaq has had an incredibly long and productive career and is still adding to his resume. Averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds a game in 19 seasons is no joke.
In the early 2000s nobody could stop him. He was the best player in the league when M.J. retired.
Congrats to Shaq—the best No. 1 pick in the last 25 years.
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