Ranking the Last 15 No. 1 Overall NBA Draft Picks

Many people believe that having the No. 1 overall pick ensures dominance for years to come. This is very rare, though.

First of all, the draft class needs to be exceptional for the team to be able to draft a future star. 

Next, the star that was drafted needs to have the inner strength to be able to overcome all the expectations the media and fans have set for him. 

A lot of these young players either get hurt or just can't live up to the pressure. However, some of them reach stardom very quickly and become the face of the franchise for years.

So here is a power ranking of the last 15 No. 1 overall picks dating back to 1997. 

15. Michael Olowokandi (1998)

Michael Olowokandi was drafted by the Clippers over a decade ago and he was supposed to be a promising, young player who was going to turn the Clippers' fortunes around.

Instead, he averaged 8.9 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, and retired in 2007.

Olowokandi was constantly hurt throughout his career. His injuries limited his game and forced him into early retirement. After 2001-02, Olowokandi never played more than 62 games in a season because he was constantly hurt.

He signed a contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves when he became a free agent. He was later traded to the Boston Celtics.

14. Greg Oden (2007)

Like Olowokandi, Greg Oden has been hindered by injuries throughout his career. He's only played in 82 regular season games since being drafted in 2007. Basically, he's missed three seasons' worth of basketball. 

In those 82 games, Oden has not fared well on the court. He's only averaged 9.4 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game. These numbers may be solid for an average center, but they're definitely not numbers a No. 1 overall pick is expected to put up. 

Oden's large frame is too much for his body to handle so he is very injury prone. This is very common for most bigs in the league. Let's just hope his career isn't cut short because of these injuries. 

13. Kwame Brown (2001)

The Kwame Brown hype was very similar to that of the excitement surrounding LeBron James before he was drafted. Brown, however, never lived up to his expectations. 

In fact, he was never even close.

Let's give Brown credit, though. At least he's still in the league. He's still a solid producer off the bench.

However, like most bigs, he's very injury prone and he has never played a full 82-game season.

Throughout his career, Brown has averaged a disappointing 7.9 points and 6.8 rebounds for five different clubs.  

12. Kyrie Irving (2011)

The one great thing about Kyrie Irving is that he went to Duke. Duke is one of the best schools in the country and even their athletes have to have a certain level of intelligence to get accepted to the school. 

Why is this important?

Irving's a point guard. All great point guards have had a great sense of judgment on the court. From John Stockton to Magic Johnson to Chris Paul, these point guards all had a high basketball IQ. 

Although Irving has huge shoes to fill in Cleveland, the expectations for him aren't too high. Everybody pretty much agreed that this year's draft class was weak. Irving will be a solid building piece for the Cavs. 

Best of all, he's not a center so he won't be as injury prone. 

11. Andrea Bargnani (2006)

At this time last year, it would've been easy to say that Andrea Bargnani was another failed center taken at first overall.

However, he had a great season last year, averaging 21.4 points per game. He is now the leader of the Toronto Raptors since Chris Bosh is gone.

For his seven foot frame, averaging only 4.9 rebounds per game is a huge underachievement. Also, it took a long time for Bargnani to develop.

However, it's good to see him coming around. At least he's scoring more and he's developing into a finesse center. 

It'll be interesting to see if he continues his dominance in the paint next season, or if he will take a step back and resemble the Bargnani of old. 

10. Kenyon Martin (2000)

Kenyon Martin has not lived up the expectations of first overall pick in the NBA averaging 13.5 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. 

These numbers are mediocre. They are definitely not what a first overall pick should be putting up.

Martin was never the superstar of his team either. During his days with the New Jersey Nets, Jason Kidd was the star and Carmelo Anthony was the star attraction in the Nuggets lineup during his time there.

Martin has some value. He's a starter in the league who, when healthy, can put up solid performances. However, in terms of his performance as a No. 1 overall pick, it can easily be said that K-Mart was a bust. 

9. Andrew Bogut (2005)

The Aussie center has brought the "Oggie, oggie, oggie, oy, oy, oy" chant to Milwaukee. That itself automatically makes Andrew Bogut a great first overall pick. 

In all seriousness though, Bogut has really impressed everyone in the last several years. When he first came into the league, his rebounding skills were not too sharp. He has become a more physical player recently and he is now a double-double guy.

Last season he averaged 12.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. 

With the addition of Brandon Jennings, the Bucks are now a team that can make the playoffs every year. It's good to see Bogut improving every year, too. 

That being said, is he Shaquille O'Neal? No. Absolutely not. Looking back, Bogut was probably not the best choice for the first overall pick.

Deron Williams and Chris Paul were drafted that season and have had tremendous careers. However, he is an All-Star and is a top five center in the league. 

8. John Wall (2010)

In his rookie season, John Wall gave Wizards fans a reason to believe and keep faith for the future.

He averaged 16.4 points per game and dished out 8.3 assists for a team that had absolutely nobody surrounding Wall.

Wall is a very flashy point guard who brings a lot of excitement to the table. He's only going to get better and probably climb up this list in the future.

He still has a lot of things to improve on. He's a terrible defensive player and he turns the ball incessantly.

That being said, he was only a rookie last year. He has plenty of time to take his game to the next level and turn the Wizards into a competitive team. 

7. Elton Brand (1999)

Despite being the first overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, Elton Brand has really flown under the radar throughout his career. This might be because he's never played for a competitive team. He hasn't played in many big games. 

However, he's averaged 18.8 points per game and almost 10 rebounds throughout his career. These are solid numbers.

He may not be the best leader and he probably wasn't the best player to build a team around, as evidenced by the Clippers' dreadful seasons while he was there, but he was definitely a great asset. 

Even now with the Philadelphia Sixers, Brand is still a threat. With Brand and Andre Iguodala, the Sixers were able to make the playoffs this season and they gave the Miami Heat some fits before getting eliminated. 

6. Blake Griffin (2009)

Blake Griffin made everyone's jaw drop numerous times this past season. 

In his rookie year, Griffin averaged 22.5 points and 12.1 rebounds. The Clippers finally have a superstar to build their team around. 

The young forward has many great days in front of him. His athletic ability is possessed by few. Some of the dunks he put up were unbelievably thunderous.

That being said, Griffin is not only a human highlight reel. As evidenced by his stats, he brings plenty of value and skill to the Clippers roster. He's not like Shannon Brown, who is merely just a dunker. Griffin plays great defense and facilitates the offense for the Clippers.

Most importantly, he sells tickets. The Clippers used to be a way for Los Angeles basketball fans to see the same teams the Lakers play for a cheaper price. Griffin has changed that.

Although Clipper tickets were never as coveted as Laker tickets, the Staples Center was filled to a greater capacity during Clipper games because of Griffin. 

5. Yao Ming (2002)

The story of Yao Ming is saddening to say the least.

Here is one of the good guys in the NBA. He had a bright future in the league but because of injuries, his career had to be cut short and he retired last month. 

When he was on the floor, Yao was as effective as anyone can be. He average 19 points and 9.2 rebounds throughout his career and made the Rockets a competitive team to be reckoned with annually. 

Despite his great play on the court, it's Yao's accomplishments off the court that will make him a sure fire hall of famer. 

In fact, he is eligible to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012 as a contributor, not as a player. Yao helped grow the sport overseas in Asia. Because of his efforts, basketball has become one of the most popular sports in the country.

Every year, Yao Ming would dominate the All-Star balloting because of all the votes he would receive from China. It can even be said that the Olympics in 2008 were highly successful because Yao laid the groundwork to globalize the sport. His fame in China might have helped grow Kobe Bryant's or LeBron James' fame overseas. 

Not that it really helped the Rockets, but it's important to note that the NBA is a business and by globalizing the sport, Yao helped the game of basketball grow for the future. 

4. Derrick Rose (2008)

Like John Wall, Derrick Rose entered the league and did not disappoint. In three seasons, Rose has transformed the Bulls into a title contender.

He won the MVP last season and is easily one of the best point guards in the league. Everyone can agree that if Rose had some more help in Chicago, they could have possibly won the title this year. 

Rose averaged almost 25 points per game and 6.7 assists this season. What's scary for the rest of the league is that Rose has plenty of room for improvement. As mentioned before, he's only been in the league for three years. He's just entering his prime. 

He's definitely not the next Michael Jordan, but he's helped the Bulls become relevant for the first time since the Jordan era and for this, Chicago fans are very thankful. 

3. Dwight Howard (2004)

In this list, we've seen several bigs who have not succeeded as first overall picks because of injuries or just by not living up their hype.

One man who has lived up to his hype and beyond is Dwight Howard. 

Howard has provided the same impact to the Orlando Magic that Shaquille O'Neal did when he was drafted by the Magic in the early 90s. 

Because of him, the Magic were the 2009 Eastern Conference Champions and they have been a title contender for several years now. Howard doesn't have much help in Orlando, but he is able to single-handedly elevate the Orlando Magic.

Derrick Rose might have won the MVP, but it's very clear that if Dwight Howard is removed from the Orlando roster, they will become a lottery team.

Howard has averaged over 18 points per game and a little under 13 rebounds per game throughout his career. He also becomes an unrestricted free agent soon and the league is salivating at the opportunity of signing Superman. 

2. Tim Duncan (1997)

With David Robinson retiring, the San Antonio Spurs drafted Tim Duncan and by doing so, they became set for over a decade. 

Call him boring. Call his game uninteresting. No one can deny that Tim Duncan is one of the best power forwards to ever play in the NBA.

His four rings are just the beginning.

Duncan turned small market San Antonio into the most powerful team in the NBA after the Laker dynasty ended. Throughout his career, Duncan has averaged 20.6 points per game and 11.4 rebounds per game. 

His abilities are diminishing as he gets older, but he is still the part of the Spurs' core. His high basketball IQ is helping him be a leader and role model on the Spurs nowadays. 

When it's all said and done, Tim Duncan will be a sure fire hall of famer and go down as one of the greatest of all time. 

1. LeBron James (2003)

Hate him for The Decision. Hate him for being arrogant. Hate him for looking like a 40 year old. 

The most hated man in the NBA is also the game's best player of our generation. 

LeBron James made the lowly Cavs relevant for seven years, but they were never able to surround him with any help. Even without help, James led the Cavs to the NBA Finals in 2007. 

In his first year with Miami, which most people believed would be an experimental season for the super team, LeBron lead the Heat to the NBA Finals again. Despite his poor performance in the Finals, there is no doubt that his clutch performances against the Celtics and Bulls were the reason why the Heat got there in the first place.

What makes James' accomplishments even more amazing is the fact that he's always under a microscope. He's always criticized for whatever he does. Small things are blown out of proportion when it comes to LeBron. That being said, he's able to focus on the game and dominate every year. 

For those who dislike LeBron James, let it be understood that eventually he will win an NBA title. He will win multiple NBA titles. And as we have seen with other stars who have been criticized for worse things (i.e. Kobe Bryant and Michael Vick), winning cures everything. 

Once he wins a couple of rings, the world will fall in love with him again.