Minnesota Timberwolves: History of the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft

Minnesota Timberwolves: History of the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft

The Next Tier: No Shame In These Picks

Again, the No. 1 pick usually produces at least solid, starting-caliber NBA players. There have been far more of those types of selections than Bargnani or Bennett-level busts.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, there’s a reasonable chance that the 2020 NBA Draft is one of those classes, without a clear top prospect.

The 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s: Role players and non-stars going No. 1

Again, there were plenty of drafts without much star power. Doug Collins in 1973 was the first pick and played just eight seasons in the league, but he still finished with the second-most Win Shares in the draft class. Same thing with Atlanta’s Dave Thompson in 1975.

We’ve already mentioned John Lucas in 1976 and Mychal Thompson in 1978. They were both solid players who were picked shortly before Hall-of-Famers. In between, Kent Benson was drafted in 1977 and was a good player, but Hall-of-Famer Jack Sikma went No. 8 to Seattle.

In 1980, Joe Barry Carroll was picked two spots before Kevin McHale. Mark Aguirre went first to Dallas in 1981, right before Isiah Thomas and Buck Williams.

Ralph Sampson was the consensus top pick in 1983 in what was a weak draft, although Clyde Drexler went to Portland at No. 14. Brad Dougherty in 1986, Danny Manning in 1988, and Larry Johnson in 1991 were similar stories: solid players at the top of draft classes with decent depth but largely void of star power.

Two-time All-Star Elton Brand was a solid if unspectacular selection at No. 1 in 1999 ahead of other multi-time All-Stars like Steve Francis, Baron Davis, and Shawn Marion and other borderline stars such as Andre Miller, Lamar Odom, Wally Szczerbiak, and Jason Terry.

Since 2000: A handful of solid selections

Over the past 20 years, Kenyon Martin (2000) and Andrew Bogut (2004) also fit that bill, although Chris Paul went No. 4 in Bogut’s draft.

Andrew Wiggins was the consensus No. 1 in 2014, but outside of late surprises Nikola Jokic and Clint Capela, that draft has been mostly a flop as well, although the late-blooming likes of Aaron Gordon, Zach LaVine, and Spencer Dinwiddie may still have something to say about that.

The jury is very much still out on the 2017 draft, but Markelle Fultz became the somewhat reluctant consensus (if there is such a thing) No. 1 pick. To this point, Jayson Tatum, the draft’s No. 3 pick, looks like the best player in the class.

That brings us to the best of the best: the top No. 1 picks of all-time.