1-30: The Best NBA Draft Picks Ever
Rajon Rondo (photo. Gary Land)
No. 21: Rajon Rondo in 2006 by the Phoenix Suns
Rondo has only played five seasons in the league but he has already established himself as the best player to get drafted with the 21st pick (apologies to Michael Finley, Boris Diaw, and Ricky Davis). Rondo has twice been named to the All-Defensive First Team and finished the 2010-11 season second in the league in assists per game with 11.2.
No. 22: George McGinnis in 1973 by the Philadelphia 76ers
Although already playing for the ABA’s Indiana Pacers at the time, McGinnis was drafted by the NBA’s 76ers in the 1973 draft. McGinnis spent two more seasons in the ABA – leading the league in scoring during the 1974-75 season – before joining Philadelphia. McGinnis finished his career with over 17,000 career points (including both ABA and NBA stats). Note: this spot might have gone to Reggie Lewis had his career not been tragically cut short by his death in 1993.
No. 23: Alex English in 1976 by the Milwaukee Bucks
A Hall of Famer, English poured in 25,613 points during his 15-year career – good for 13th all-time. The 6-7 forward was the NBA’s scoring champ in 1983 after averaging 28.3 points per game with the Nuggets and was selected as an All-Star on eight occasions.
No. 24: Latrell Sprewell in 1992 by the Golden State Warriors
The Thunder should be happy to learn that a surprisingly high number of successful players have come from the No. 24 spot, including Andrei Kirilenko, Sprewell, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Terry Porter, and Arvydas Sabonis. Of the group, Sprewell has not only proven to be the most abusive to coaches, but also the most successful individual player. The 6-5 guard out of the University of Alabama averaged 18.3 points per game throughout his career and made four All-Star appearances.
No. 25: Mark Price in 1986 by the Dallas Mavericks
The 25th pick has also been home to such solid players as Gerald Wallace, Tony Allen, Al Harrington, Bob Gross, Jeff Ruland, and John Drew. But Price is the best of the bunch having earned a place as one of the greatest shooters of all-time. The 6-0 guard out of Georgia Institute of Technology is tied with Steve Nash for the highest career free-throw percentage in history and hit threes at a .402 clip.
No. 26: Vlade Divac in 1989 by the Los Angeles Lakers
What do Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaq, Tim Duncan, and Divac have in common? They are the only six players in NBA history to record 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots. Needless to say, a steal for the Lakers at No. 26.
No. 27: Dennis Rodman in 1986 by the Detroit Pistons
The best draftee of all-time to go at 27 is a no-brainer. Dennis Rodman is the sort of guy you never want to match up with in pickup: he grabbed rebounds and played defense ferociously. When he retired from the NBA in 2000, Rodman had captured seven rebounding titles and had been named to the All-Defensive First Team seven times.
No. 28: Tony Parker in 2001 by the San Antonio Spurs
Despite Ian Mahinmi’s demonstrated ability to knock down an open jumper in the Finals, I think I have to give the nod to Parker as the greatest player picked at No. 28. Parker played a crucial role in the Spurs’ three championships of this millennium and has averaged 15.8 points and 5.4 points throughout his career.
No. 29: Eddie Johnson in 1981 by the Kansas City Kings
Fun fact: Eddie Johnson has scored more career points than any other player never to have played in an NBA All-Star game. During his 17 seasons in the NBA, Johnson amassed 19,202 total points and 4,832 rebounds but was never selected for the East-West showdown. Shout outs to fellow No. 29 overall picks P.J. Brown, Toni Kukoc, Mark Madsen, John Long, and Josh Howard.
No. 30: Spencer Haywood (?) in 1971 by the Buffalo Braves
Haywood – a four-time NBA All-Star – was already playing with the Sonics when the Braves selected him with the 30th pick in 1971. Awkward. Haywood never joined the Braves so I’m not sure what to do with the 6-8 big who averaged over 30 points per game in his rookie season in the ABA. I guess we can give the honor of best guy picked at No. 30 to Gilbert Arenas instead who was drafted by the Warriors there in 2001. David Lee was also picked at 30.
What do you think?
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June 22nd, 2011 at 1:52 pm
First & Foremost says:
Since we are fielding article suggestions…
1-30 Worst picks by position of all-time.
June 22nd, 2011 at 2:15 pm
JAY says:
Great piece! Rings aside, I’d put Charles over KG because he was really a tough guy, not just an act. Who else bodyslammed Shaq?
And can you follow this up with he worst lottery picks of all time?
June 22nd, 2011 at 2:16 pm
JAY says:
My bad F&F. I had this opened on my desktop for a half hour. I didn’t see your suggestion.
June 22nd, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Stunnaboy2K11 says:
Come on you have got to give Gil the number 30 spot!
June 22nd, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Martin Kessler says:
@First & Foremost and JAY
Working on it now
June 22nd, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Aron Phillips says:
Great piece, Martin!
June 22nd, 2011 at 3:09 pm
Diggity Dave says:
Wade over Garnett at #5.
June 22nd, 2011 at 3:14 pm
heckler says:
@ DIME –
dont bother with a 30 WORST list.
by the time you get pass Yinka Dare, we wont recognize any names on the list anyway….
June 22nd, 2011 at 3:18 pm
Celts Fan says:
For.26, kg also has those #s.
@diggitydave – someday, but wade aint passed kg yet. Give it time…
@ jay – chuck over kg?!? Gtfoh. Chuck couldnt defend or work hard in the offseason. Damn good, but not better than kg.
June 22nd, 2011 at 3:27 pm
sh!tfaced says:
The worst? The whole 2000 draft.
…but this year’s draft has the potential
June 22nd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
JAY says:
@Celts fan
That’s your opinion. I have mine. I give more respect to the dude who will get in your face and stay there. Not the dude who will pick on the smaller guys and bust a moonwalk when their bigger teammate shows up. Charles finished games and led his teams deep into the playoffs without the help of 2 other hall-of-famers. Barkley shouldered the load. Look at their careers bud, before you tell me to gtfo. As Martin pointed out, it’s close. It boils down to what you prefer. I’ll take one of the best rebounders to ever play over KG. Chuck averaged single digit rebounds just once in his entire career(rookie year). No small feat from a dude listed as 6’6″.
June 22nd, 2011 at 3:55 pm
EN FUEGO says:
1. Kwame/Olowokandi/Oden
2. Darko/Shawn Bradley/Stroshow/Thabeet
3. Chris Washburn/Adam Morrison
4. Marcus Fizer/Donyell
5. Nikoloz Tskitishvili
6. Robert Traylor(RIP)/William Bedford
7. Chris Mihm
8. Kimble/Araujo/Joe Alexander/Brandan Wright
9. Ed O’Bannon/Patrick O’Bryant/Diogu/Mike Sweetney
0. Luke Jackson/Keefe/Sene
June 22nd, 2011 at 4:15 pm
Detroit Dave says:
Dime Should do a Where are they now on: Rodney White
June 22nd, 2011 at 5:12 pm
JAY says:
@Fuego
Not to tear down your list, but there are way worse picks than those guys. Shawn Bradley? I understand the lanky guy is the butt of everyone’s jokes but he was a productive center.
What about Steve Francis @ #2 by the real Grizzlies. Sure he was an all-star, and co-ROY but dude publicly expressed that he didn’t want to play for Vancouver. He even turned down multiple invites to workout for them. Without even witnessing a workout, Stu Jackson still wanted to draft him even though another freshman (Lamar Odom) said he wanted to play for the Grizz and performed very well in his workouts. What made it even dumber was the year before they took Mike Bibby 2nd overall who made the all-rookie 1st team.
“Bad picks” doesn’t necessarily mean “bad players”. In Vancouver’s case, it’s picking a player who is dissing you throughout the whole scouting process while you have another good young player playing the same position. Dumb.
June 22nd, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Celts Fan says:
@jay – everyone conveniently forgets kg got into it w dirk, zaza, noah, etc. Know why other bigs never bugged small guards like kg does? Cuz they couldnt cover EVERY POSITION ON THE FLOOR. Also, kg lead the league in rebounding 4 straight years and has more for his career than chuck did i believe. and u just proved my point. at 6 6, how was dude gonna effectively guard normal sized 4s?
June 22nd, 2011 at 7:03 pm
EN FUEGO says:
@JAY
Its cool. Just a list I did on the fly. If that’s what you mean by a bust, then you can add Danny Ferry on the list. He publicly expressed he didn’t want to play for the Clippers and went to Europe, forced a trade to the Cavs (who blew up their young core – oozing with potential at the time), played a bust and busted the Cavs’ bright future.
Although Ferry finished his career way better than Francis (and most lottery picks, for that matter) ever did.
June 22nd, 2011 at 7:37 pm
Chicagorilla says:
I think the worst picks would be more fun to read. Most BBall heads can tell you off top who the top picks were are those spots
June 22nd, 2011 at 7:49 pm
Nyeme says:
I got Barkley over KG too. KG never got into it with other good PFs, only lesser ones. He never shut down Karl, Sheed, Webber, Duncan, Clippers Brand, Dirk, hell even Vin Baker & even Maurice Taylor lol
I’ll also take Terry Porter over Sprewell
June 22nd, 2011 at 8:42 pm
dagwaller says:
I would pick KG over Barkley not because I think he’s better, but because KG as a high schooler was a riskier pick, making Minnesota’s choice seem better in hindsight.
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Phileus says:
I have to say Sprewell over Sabonis just makes no sense to me at all. Sure his NBA stats were better but you discussed intangible things, and, well, there are few players better than Sabonis, and worse than Sprewell, in that category.
But the fact that just one pick out of 30 stands out to me as totally indefensible is a good sign. Nice article!
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:43 pm
solomon says:
gotta agree except… put arvydas over spree… not just the nba game, but dude was the man in europe during his prime…
June 23rd, 2011 at 1:03 am
Thatnateguy says:
Garnetts missing off that list under 26
June 23rd, 2011 at 2:55 am
superfreak says:
Anyone else bothered that Rondo is listedahead of Finley this earlier in his career?
June 23rd, 2011 at 4:56 am
Eugene says:
I’m in the process of making a Sporcle quiz out of this. Nice article!
June 23rd, 2011 at 11:21 am
JAY says:
@Celts fan
“everyone conveniently forgets kg got into it w dirk, zaza, noah, etc.”
Wow. Great tough guy list. He wasn’t the dude guarding Calderon when he was clapping in his face. That was just some punk move. He stepped to Anthony Peeler and Peeler called his bluff with an elbow and punch to his jaw and sent him to the floor. I guess as a former teammate, he knew KG was all hot-air. “Fake thug” is a description sometimes used to describe Garnett. That wouldn’t fit Barkley when he played. He body slammed Shaq and even got in it with MJ on a couple occasions. KG doesn’t step to other star players.
“Know why other bigs never bugged small guards like kg does? Cuz they couldnt cover EVERY POSITION ON THE FLOOR.”
What are you talking about? KG steps to players he isn’t covering. As I said, KG wasn’t guarding Calderon when he was clapping in his face. Instead of stepping to his matchup, he steps to the smaller guys. Q-Rich? Barking at Jeryd Bayless? Really? Rookie Bayless?
“and u just proved my point. at 6 6, how was dude gonna effectively guard normal sized 4s?”
Dude, he guarded all front court positions. maybe you don’t remember but he was a good defender in his prime. Barkley defended post players by preventing guys from getting deep position. That’s how they did it in his era with the illegal defence calls. Nowadays they rely heavily on help defense. There’s less onus on individual defense and more emphasis on team defensive schemes. He wasn’t going to make any defensive teams but Chuck did a good job on Malone, Kemp and even Shaq by keeping them out of their comfort zones. To say he “couldn’t defend” is ridiculous. He was a beast on both ends of the floor. Isn’t he like 4th or 5th all-time in steals for forwards?? and top 100 in blocks? Not bad for a 6’6″ dude, although he’s closer to D-Wade’s height.
And it’s nice KG led the league in rebounding 4 times… how many other dominant bigs played in his era? That’s like Dwight Howard winning the last 3 defensive awards and likely winning a ton more. Is he truly THAT good of a defender? Or is it an indication of the lack of other dominant defenders? To me, it’s the latter.
KG dropped to single digit rebounding when he joined the Celts… playing beside Kendrick Perkins. Barkley averaged double-digit rebounding as an old-man playing beside Hakeem. And as a youngster Chuck led his team in rebounding playing with one of the best rebounders ever in Moses Malone. I think Malone had a string of 4 straight rebounding titles (or 4 in 5 years, or something like that) when Barkley broke it. KG does some things better than Chuck but don’t argue that KG was a better rebounder. That’s hilarious. KG paired with another solid rebounder and his numbers dropped significantly. That didn’t happen to Chuck.
For me, it comes down to demeanor, attitude and confidence. Barkley had a REAL mean streak and always believed in his ability. KG looked timid sometimes throughout his career especially in 4th quarters, and you can’t deny that. No coach has ever had to light a fire under Barkley’s ass. You can’t say the same about KG.
Hopefully this rant reminded you of the type of player Barkley was and how dominant he was. I doubt it will change your mind though, Celts fan. Your name tells me you are a bit partial towards KG.
June 23rd, 2011 at 11:31 am
JAY says:
To confirm some things I posted from memory in my above post, I googled stats.
- His teammate Moses Malone didn’t win 4 straight rebounding titles as I claimed… he won the rebounding titles 6 out of 7 years just before Barkley led the Sixers team in rebounding.
- Barkley isn’t 4th in steals for forwards… he’s actually 3rd in steals for all-time forwards.
- He’s #88 in blocks. Not bad for a player who Celts fan claims “couldn’t defend”.
Stats aside, Barkley’s big ass, strength and low center of gravity helped him keep other post players from getting good lowpost position.
June 23rd, 2011 at 11:46 am
Nyeme says:
@Superfreak – Oh yeah, I comepletely forgot about the Rondo over Finley. We not having that either especially when Finley was a 20-5-5 player for several years
June 23rd, 2011 at 11:55 am
Nyeme says:
I agree with Jay on KG. Thats why I always tell people I rank Webber ahead of him. Plus, KG rebounding numbers were padded. He used to tip the ball up towards the rim a couple of times, then go to grab it; a far cry from the days when players went and snatched them down or tipped to a teammate.
June 23rd, 2011 at 12:08 pm
JAY says:
@Fuego
Good call on Ferry. Lol! What a fiasco THAT was.
June 23rd, 2011 at 5:58 pm
yns says:
You “think” you have to give the nod to tony parker vs ian mahnini ?? lol