NBA Draft: 10 greatest No. 1 picks in league history
The 2020 NBA Draft is only a week away, but even at this stage, it is a mystery who will be the first overall pick this year. Throughout NBA history, the No. 1 pick of the draft has always been a major talking point, and many players who were selected first overall went on to have unbelievably stellar careers. In this article, we will look at the 10 greatest No. 1 picks in NBA Draft history.
NBA Draft: 10 greatest No. 1 picks in league history
Ranking the best No. 1 picks in NBA Draft history is not straightforward, because many things have to be considered regarding a player's overall selection.
To analyze the success of a No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, the player's career is not enough, as the team which made that selection and the results obtained from it have to be part of the equation.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the 10 greatest No. 1 picks in league history.
#10 Bill Walton - No. 1 pick in the 1974 NBA Draft
Bill Walton is probably a top-15 center in NBA history and nothing more, but his immediate impact on the league and the team that drafted him with the first pick of the 1974 NBA Draft - the Portland Trail Blazers - was huge.
After averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds for UCLA in college and winning two NCAA championships, Walton came into the league.
Portland had played just four NBA seasons before drafting Walton and had never won more than 29 games. Just three years later, Walton led the team to their first postseason appearance and their only NBA title so far. He earned Finals MVP for Portland in 1977 before winning the regular-season MVP in the following season.
In just four years with the team that selected him in the NBA Draft, Walton won an NBA title, Finals MVP, NBA MVP, and earned two All-Star, two All-NBA, and two All-Defense selections.
His number 32 was retired by the Portland Trail Blazers.
#9 Elgin Baylor - No. 1 pick in the 1958 NBA Draft
The Minneapolis Lakers selected Elgin Baylor with the No. 1 pick in the 1958 NBA Draft just two years after they had drafted him in 1956, but Baylor had not entered the NBA at that time.
When his career with the Lakers started in 1958, the team had three consecutive seasons with losing records, but behind Baylor's unique abilities, they made it to the 1959 NBA Finals, where they fell to the Boston Celtics.
Baylor went on to play his entire 14-year career with the Minneapolis/LA Lakers, averaging 27.4 points (third-highest in NBA history) and 13.5 rebounds per game in 846 regular-season games.
When Jerry West arrived in the Lakers' scene in 1960, the team got even better. But Baylor could not find a way to win in the NBA Finals, as the team lost in each of their seven appearances during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Ultimately, Baylor was an 11-time All-Star for the Lakers and earned 10 All-NBA selections in his Hall-of-Fame career.