Hit or Miss: NBA Teams With the Most Number One Picks All-Time

Eleazar Gonzales explores which NBA team has the most number of top picks and which of those players turned out to be great players.

Getting the top pick in the NBA Draft can be a "hit or miss" thing for any NBA franchise. On one side, you have the opportunity to pick up the best upcoming rookie, who could help ignite a team's future. On the other hand, we have seen tons of top picks who failed to live up to expectations.

Getting the top pick of the draft isn't simple either. In most cases, the team with the worst win-loss slate during the previous season gets the top pick- assuming that the team wins the draft lottery before the actual draft. There are also instances wherein a team with the top pick- trades that pick. 

Out of the 30 NBA teams, only 24 teams have picked first in the draft, with some picking first multiple times in their history. 

Cleveland Cavaliers (Six)

The Cleveland Cavaliers have picked the top pick six times in their history. And even though they only won the NBA championship once, most of their top picks have become great players. 

LeBron James, one of the Cavs' most prolific top picks- drafted in 2003, has become one of the greatest basketball players in history- leading the Cavs to their only championship in 2016. He did it alongside Kyrie Irving- another top pick by the Cavs in 2011.

LeBron's career averages currently stand at 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.6 steals. He is also the league's all-time leading scorer. 

Kyrie Irving- now with the Dallas Mavericks- has his career averages at 23.1 points, 5.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals. 

Other top draft picks by the Cavs also include Austin Carr in 1971, Brad Daugherty in 1986, Anthony Bennet in 2013, and Andrew Wiggins in 2014. 

Washington Wizards (Six)

The Washington Wizards are a perfect example of having "hit or miss" situations in the years they selected the top pick in the draft. 

In the 1951 NBA Draft, the Wizards drafted Gene Melchiorre but Melchiorre never played in the NBA after receiving a lifetime ban for point shaving during his college days.

Aside from Melchiorre, the Wizards also have five other top picks. Amongst the players Washington selected as top picks are Walt Bellamy, Frank Selvy, Bill McGill, and Kwame Brown.

Perhaps the Wizards' most famous top pick remains John Wall in 2010. Unfortunately, Wall's career in Washington was a roller coaster ride as even though he was a franchise player, his injury woes kept getting in the way.

Philadelphia 76ers (Five)

The Sixers held the top pick of the draft five times.

In one of those times, Philadelphia selected Allen Iverson in 1996. While Iverson didn't win a ring in Philly despite leading the team to a trip to the NBA Finals in 2001 against the Los Angeles Lakers, he finished a Hall of Fame-worthy career- averaging 26.7 points, 6.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals. He is a four-time NBA scoring champion.

Another notable top draft pick by the Sixers was Doug Collins in 1973. Unfortunately, Collins only played until the age of 29 after a series of knee injuries hampered his career.

Philly also chose Ernie Beck (1953), Ben Simmons (2016), and Markelle Fultz (2017) as top picks.

Milwaukee Bucks (Five)

The Bucks already have five top draft picks as a franchise. One of them is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1969. Aside from being the all-time second-leading scorer of the NBA, Abdul-Jabbar is a six-time MVP, six-time NBA champion, and 19-time NBA All-Star, and is considered as one of the best centers to ever play the game.

Another great top pick by the Bucks was "the Big Dog" Glenn Robinson, who averaged 20.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.2 steals during his career. 

The three other top picks of Milwaukee were Mark Workman in 1952, Kent Benson in 1977, and Andrew Bogut in 1977.

Houston Rockets (Five)

Yao Ming. Hakeem Olajuwon. Elvin Hayes.

They are three of the five top picks of the Houston Rockets so far.

Yao Ming, the top pick in the 2002 draft, helped in the globalization of the NBA due to his popularity in China. And while Yao's career was hampered by injuries, he still finished with averages of 19 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks.

Hakeem Olajuwon, or The Dream as we fondly call him, came to Houston as the top pick in 1994. Olajuwon didn't take long to lead the Rockets to champions, putting Houston on top with back-to-back titles from 1994 to 1995.

Elvin Hayes, the top pick in 1968, may have not won a ring in Houston but still finished with a Hall of Fame-worthy career. He averaged 21 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists throughout his career.

John Lucas (1976) and Ralph Sampson (1983) were the other two players drafted as top picks by Houston.

Sacramento Kings (Five)

The Kings are one of the few NBA franchises that failed to build a talented team surrounding their top picks. Sacramento held the top pick five times in its existence, and out of the five players, only one came out as a great player: Oscar Robertson in 1960- when the Kings were still known as the Cincinnati Royals. Sadly, Robertson's career with the franchise that drafted him was short after ten years as he was traded to Milwaukee in 1980. 

Robertson then became the king of triple-doubles until Russell Westbrook happened.

 The Kings' other number-one draft picks were Si Green (1956), Hot Rod Hundley (1957), Bob Boozer (1959), and Pervis Ellison (1989). Only Boozer averaged more than ten points in his career (14.8 points). 

Orlando Magic (Four)

In 2022, the Orlando Magic drafted Paolo Banchero- the fourth time the Magic selected first in the draft proceedings.

The other three were Shaquille O'Neal in 1992, Chris Webber in 1993, and Dwight Howard in 2004.

Shaq carried the Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995 but got swept by the Houston Rockets. Then, the Magic traded Chris Webber on draft night of 1993 for Anfernee Hardaway and more draft compensations. In 2004, the Mgaic drafted Dwight Howard- who remains to this day as the only player to win three straight Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Portland Trail Blazers (Four)

Nope. Franchise players like LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, and Damian Lillard aren't among the four players the Portland Trail Blazers selected as top picks.

And Portland hasn't been so lucky with the players they drafted as top picks. Only Bill Walton (1974) and Mychal Thompson (1978) managed to average above ten points per game in their career.

LaRue Martin, Portland's first top pick in 1972, only lasted four seasons. Greg Oden, the top pick in 2007, didn't get the chance to prove himself in the NBA as injuries dominated his career.

New York Knicks (Four)

Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks are synonymous with each other as Ewing was the Knicks' top pick in 1985. Ewing averaged 21 points, 9.8 rebounds, one steal, and 2.4 blocks during his career.

Unfortunately, the Knicks and Ewing didn't win a championship after two trips to the championship round in 1994 and 1999. Ewing is an 11-time All-Star and is considered as the Knicks' uncrowned king.

The Knicks also held the top pick in the draft in the 60s: Art Heyman in 1963, Jim Barnes in 1964, and Cazzie Russell in 1966.

Los Angeles Clippers (Three)

The other team in Los Angeles has two great top picks and one many considered as one of the biggest draft flops in history. 

In 1988, the Clippers drafted Danny Manning as the top pick. He bounced around in the league and was a two-time All-Star on top of being the Sixth Man of the Year in 1998. Manning averaged 14 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals during his career.

In 2009, Blake Griffin arrived at the Clippers as the top draft pick. Griffin, hampered by injuries throughout his career, is known as a high-flying forward who helped bring life to the Clippers alongside Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan.

Griffin, now a part of the Boston Celtics, is averaging 19.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists so far in his career.

The 1998 NBA Draft had players like Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Mike Bibby, and Antawn Jamison for grabs. Instead, the Clippers selected Michael Olowokandi as the top pick. He only stayed in LA until 2003 and finished his NBA career with averages of 8.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.

Golden State Warriors (Three)

Many considered the Golden State Warriors' three number-one picks as busts for many reasons.

In 1965, the Warriors drafted Fred Hetzel, who only played for six seasons. Joe Barry Carroll was drafted top pick in 1986, had a respectable four solid seasons with the Warriors, had a fallout in his contract negotiation, sat out for a year, and went back to Italy, before returning to Golden State- leading the team to one playoff run.

Joe Smith, the top pick in 1995, played for 12 different teams and never made the All-Star team.

Los Angeles Lakers (Three)

Unlike the Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers had better success when they held the top pick. All three first picks by the Purple and Gold had a Hall of Fame-worthy run.

In 1958, the Lakers selected Elgin Baylor as the top pick and Baylor went on to become an 11-time All-Star and was a ten-time member of the All-NBA First Team.

In 1979, Magic Johnson joined the party as the top draft pick. Magic won five NBA championships as a Laker. He was later joined by James Worthy in 1982 and Worthy won three titles. 

San Antonio Spurs (Three)

In the three instances, the San Antonio Spurs held the top pick in the draft, it produced a dominant big man.

In 1987, David Robinson came to Texas. A decade later, Tim Duncan followed suit. Together, the Robinson-Duncan duo won the team's first of five NBA championships in 1999. 

Duncan is highly considered the greatest power forward of all time and averaged 19 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks. 

Last year's top pick Victor Wembanyama is the third Spurs player to be drafted first in the draft.

Teams With Two Number One Picks

Teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, and the Brooklyn Nets held the top pick twice thus far. Those players turned out to be Karl Anthony-Towns, Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, and Derrick Rose, among others.

Teams With One Number Pick So Far

The Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, and Boston Celtics all have picked with the top pick once.

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