Photo. Eriberto Oriol

From a basic standpoint of “Who’s gonna go No. 1?” I can’t remember an NBA Draft that has been such a dominant national sports story. As a kid in Seattle I remember the local buzz surrounding the 1990 Draft, when the Sonics turned the No. 2 pick into Gary Payton, but on a nationwide scale, the drafts that have been the most hyped were different in that you pretty much knew who the No. 1 pick was going to be (Shaq in ‘92, Webber in ‘93, Iverson in ‘96, Duncan in ‘97, Yao in ‘02, LeBron in ‘03). Only the ‘04 Dwight Howard vs. Emeka Okafor debate comes close to Oden vs. Durant in ‘07, but even that one was different: Howard was more myth than reality at the time, a high school kid who most of the country had never seen play, whereas Okafor was all over TV with his national-champion UConn team. With Oden and Durant, we’ve been watching them all season and arguing who should be No. 1 for months. So who’s it gonna be? I got that and the rest of the 29 first-round picks right here…

1. Portland Trail Blazers — Greg Oden, C, Ohio State. Are they gonna trade Zach Randolph? Will LaMarcus Aldridge go from franchise cornerstone to career backup before his 22nd birthday? And who, if not Kevin Durant, is going to play small forward? Figure all of that out later. Oden’s the man right now.

2. Seattle Supersonics — Kevin Durant, SF, Texas. Again, the questions about Rashard Lewis can wait until July 1. Take Durant and wait for the buckets. Between KD and Ray Allen, defenders will get a total neck workout watching all the basketballs arc toward the cup during Sonics games. My squad hasn’t had a player this exciting since Shawn Kemp, so Durant is going to be royalty in Sea-town before Opening Night.

3. Atlanta Hawks — Al Horford, PF, Florida. When ATL passed on Chris Paul in ‘05, they weren’t just ignoring a need area, they were also passing on the best player on the board. Two years later the Hawks still need a point guard, but in this case, the best available PG isn’t quite the best overall player on the board. That would be Horford, who would give the Hawks that low-post presence they need to make the whole team more effective. Maybe Mike Conley won’t be there when the Hawks pick again at No. 11, but one quality PG or another will be.

4. Memphis Grizzlies — Mike Conley, PG, Ohio State. If the Grizzlies are going Phoenix-style under Marc Iavaroni, they need a fast point guard who makes good decisions to run the show. Damon Stoudamire has the mental, but he’s lost a step or five in recent years. Chucky Atkins is an aging gunner (and one of the League’s underrated flop artists). I love Kyle Lowry’s game, but he’s closer to Marcus Banks than Steve Nash. Word is the Grizzlies are going to make a free-agent play for Mo Williams, but that shouldn’t stop them from taking Conley.

5. Boston Celtics — Yi Jianlian, SF/PF, China. One of the Milwaukee papers had an item about how Doc Rivers wants Jeff Green, Danny Ainge wants Yi, and Paul Pierce wants them to trade this pick for a vet (KG? Marion?). It’s tough to speculate on the trade scenarios with so many of them out there, but if Boston keeps this pick, Ainge probably gets his way.

6. Milwaukee Bucks — Corey Brewer, SF, Florida. They need a PG in case Mo Williams walks, but if Conley is off the board, no one is taking Acie Law or Javaris Crittenton this high. The Bucks also need another wing. With Ruben Patterson also a free agent, Brewer could step in and start right away. If they do re-sign Mo, that gives them a starting five of Mo, Redd, Brewer, Villanueva and Bogut. That’s real solid.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves — Spencer Hawes, C, Washington. Kevin McHale supposedly loves Hawes, and it’s not like the Wolves don’t need a back-to-the-basket center. Now Mark Blount can play his small forward-type game with no pressure.

8. Charlotte Bobcats — Brandan Wright, PF, North Carolina. The third-ranked prospect for most of the season, could Wright really drop this far? It’s conceivable given the needs of the teams in spots 1-7. If he’s available, the ‘Cats will snatch him up with the quickness. Low-post scorer, Carolina guy, MJ making the pick? Easy.

9. Chicago Bulls — Jeff Green, SF/PF, Georgetown. My favorite college player this year is the best-case scenario for the Bulls. They need an inside scorer, and Green can do that. He can also hit from mid-range, pass like a point guard, and he’s versatile enough to find PT and contribute on a contending team.

10 Sacramento Kings — Joakim Noah, C/PF, Florida. Heart transplant, passion injection … whatever you want to call it, the Kings need some fire and energy outside of Ron Artest’s Ron Artest-ness. Not to mention, Sacto’s front court (Miller, Thomas, Abdur-Rahim, Corliss) might be the least athletic in the League and played last season in slow-mo.

11. Atlanta Hawks — Acie Law, PG, Texas A&M. Don’t get too swept up in all the Conley hype; Acie can ball and he’s cold-blooded. He’s this draft’s Deron Williams.

12. Philadelphia 76ers — Julian Wright, SF, Kansas. Take the best player on the board. Kyle Korver will understand.

13. New Orleans Hornets — Nick Young, SG, USC. As sure a pick as there is in the Lottery. The Hornets two-guard situation is scary (in a bad way), but Young can help solve that problem.

14. Los Angeles Clippers — Javaris Crittenton, PG, Georgia Tech. The second-most sure pick in the Lottery. Sam Cassell is older than some coaches, Shaun Livingston won’t see the court for a while, and Jason Hart is still Jason Hart. Crittenton still has a lot to learn, but he’s got the size (6-5) and skills (14.4 ppg, 5.8 apg, 2.0 spg as a freshman in the ACC).

15. Detroit Pistons — Rodney Stuckey, SG, Eastern Washington. Sitting just outside the Lottery, the Pistons have a chance to add a real contributor if they want to stay in the picture as a contender. Florida State’s Al Thornton is probably the most NBA-ready of the remaining guys. Georgia Tech’s Thaddeus Young is the best physical specimen and has the most potential. But with so much depth in the frontcourt (assuming ‘Sheed doesn’t get traded), the Pistons aren’t as deep in the backcourt. Stuckey is the best guard on the board, a scoring machine who can play a little PG in a pinch.

16. Washington Wizards — Derrick Byars, SG/SF, Vanderbilt. The Wizards still need defense, and Byars plays D. He also likes the three-ball, and Washington needs another deep threat to spread the opposing defense.

17. New Jersey Nets — Jason Smith, C, Colorado State. They’re more likely to lose Mikki Moore in free agency than Vince Carter, so frontcourt is the way to go here. One of these days, the Nets will find a big who can grab more rebounds than their point guard.

18. Golden State Warriors — Al Thornton, SF/PF, Florida State. Fits the Warriors mold as a versatile guy who can play multiple positions. He was a beast at Florida State who isn’t afraid to mix it up under the glass, which as you saw against Utah, the Warriors need.

19. Los Angeles Lakers — Josh McRoberts, PF, Duke. It all depends on what L.A. is trying to do with Kobe. If they’re keeping him and trying to build (not rebuild) a contender, they need an NBA-ready guy who fills a specific need. If they’re gonna trade Kobe and hit “Reset,” they can afford to gamble. Ultimately, I think they’ll keep Mamba and give him another big who can finish.

20. Miami Heat — Thaddeus Young, SF, Georgia Tech. Word is the Heat are trying to trade ‘Toine and J-Will, so apparently it’s time to get younger and more athletic.

21. Philadelphia 76ers — Tiago Splitter, PF, Brazil. The Keyser Soze of the NBA Draft. We’ve been hearing about Tiago for years, and he’s been on more mock drafts than any player in history due to his pattern of entering the draft, then pulling out at the last minute. Can he play? Who knows. I’ve only seen one YouTube highlight tape, and I’ll just say I wasn’t very impressed. The Sixers need size, though, and there’s no way Billy King makes it through three first-round picks without making Philly fans throw something at the TV on at least one of them.

22. Charlotte Bobcats — Daequan Cook, SG, Ohio State. Gerald Wallace, Matt Carroll, Brevin Knight and Primoz Brezec either are or could be free agents this summer. The safe bet is to just take the best player/athlete on the board. Cook is athletic above all else, and can fill a wing spot left open by Crash and/or Carroll.

23. New York Knicks — Wilson Chandler, PF, DePaul. Everyone seems to think Chandler is a lock here, and he would be an unconventional Balkman-style pick from Isiah. The Knicks fans will boo (or maybe not, since they always like Big East guys) and Chandler will end up being better than everyone thinks.

24. Phoenix Suns — Aaron Brooks, PG, Oregon. They’re still looking for that guy to give Steve Nash a break. Brooks was arguably the fastest player in all of college last season, plus he’s a four-year starter at the point who makes good decisions and stepped up as a clutch scorer as a senior.

25. Utah Jazz — Arron Afflalo, SG, UCLA. He fits their need as a scoring two-guard who will also commit to playing Jerry Sloan-style defense.

26. Houston Rockets — Sean Williams, C/PF, Boston College. With the Juwan-for-Mike James trade, Houston needs to replace some size, and they need some interior toughness to make up for Yao’s natural passivity. And personally for Williams, this is the best situation for him. He’ll be close to mentor/savior John Lucas, who is based in Houston, and he’ll be around a bunch of veteran players who can keep him on the right track.

27. Detroit Pistons — Rudy Fernandez, PG, Spain. Just in case Chauncey leaves (and considering we might have seen the last of Lindsey Hunter), Detroit needs a point guard. Fernandez doesn’t exactly fit the Pistons’ usual mold, but he’s the best one on the board at this spot.

28. San Antonio Spurs — Alando Tucker, SF/SG, Wisconsin. Why wouldn’t the champs get a talented, accomplished, good-character guy who won a lot of games in college and might end up being the second coming of Josh Howard?

29. Phoenix Suns — Marco Belinelli, SG, Italy. I don’t know anything about him, but he’s reportedly a good fit for the Suns. One positive: he and Mike D’Antoni won’t have any language barriers to overcome.

30. Philadelphia 76ers — Morris Almond, SG, Rice. The Sixers could go a lot of directions here: size, point guard, scorer. Out of the guys who make sense at this spot, I like Almond the most. You probably haven’t seen him play, but the dude has been tattooing the C-USA for two years (26 ppg as senior) under the radar. He dropped 40-plus on Utah and Vanderbilt this year, plus eight other games of 30-plus.