The Top 5 Number One Overall Draft Pick Busts in the NBA Draft

In the history of the NBA draft there have been plenty of saviors (Lew Alcindor, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson), but with the advent of the draft lottery we have seen an inordinate amount of draft busts over the last 25 years or so. These selections have nearly ruined the respective franchises, so just for fun let's rank the top 5 number one overall selection busts of the last 30 years (since 1980). We'll see which teams regret the most making such terrible choices!

Number 5

Pervis Ellison - Sacramento Kings (1989)

Ellison came out of college with maximum hype as he led Louisville to a NCAA title as a freshman and was named Most Outstanding Player. However, he never lived up to the billing as injuries severely hampered him and he averaged only 43 games played over the course of his 11 year career. He scored almost ½ as many points in college as he did in his entire NBA career. He was a backup by his second year although in his defense he was the NBA's most improved player in 1991-92. But that begs the question: how can a former number one overall pick be considered most improved after being benched after only one season? The Kings are probably wondering the same thing. Injuries derailed his career, but it never really got started to begin with.

Number 4

Joe Smith - Golden State Warriors (1995)

Of the 30 players who have been selected first overall since 1980, only 7 have not at least been an all-star (we'll give last year's first pick Blake Griffin a pass since he has yet to play a game). What a surprise 5 of them make up this list. There have arguably been bigger disappointments than Joe Smith, but since he was drafted during the free-wheeling age of the mid-90's, he has more money than God and has barely been an 11 point/6 rebound per game player over the course of his 15 seasons. But don't worry; he's only made $60 million playing for 10 different teams. Let's also not forget that a guy by the name of Kevin Garnett was drafted later at number 5. Not exactly the cornerstone of the franchise that I am sure the Warriors were hoping they got when they drafted him.

Number 3

Michael Olowokandi - Los Angeles Clippers (1998)

We should have known that any draft choice the Clippers made would have been a bust. "The Kandi Man" only started playing basketball at 17 and honed his skills in college at the powerhouse the University of the Pacific against all their formidable foes (they play in the Big West Conference). All these signs should have been enough for the Clippers to avoid wasting this choice on Olowokandi and taking someone like Dirk Nowitzki or Paul Pierce. But alas, they decided Olowokandi was their man. He was out of the league within 10 years all the while averaging around 55 games a year and only 8 points a game. This selection could have saved the Clippers. But in typical Clippers fashion they settled on a guy with no experience and little determination. No wonder he was a bust!

Number 2

Kwame Brown - Washington Wizards (2001)

Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever. He is not the best judge of basketball talent ever. It was Jordan's idea to make Brown the first high school player to be selected with the first choice. What has followed has been one season out of nine where he averaged more than 10 points per game, including averaging a robust 4.1 points for the last 3 seasons. He has about as many run-ins with the law as he has games played including being arrested in 2007 for being in a car driving the wrong way down a one-way street. The fact that he's bounced around to 4 teams (usually as a thrown-in in trades) over the course of his career already is evidence enough that was not only the wrong choice in 2001 (Pau Gasol anyone?) but one of the biggest draft busts ever.

Number 1

Greg Oden - Portland Trail Blazers (2007)

Sometimes it's not about who you draft; it's about who you pass on. The Blazers could have selected Kevin Durant. Durant is looking to be about as sure of a thing as snow in the winter in Alaska. He will be a super-duper star in the NBA if he isn't already and is capable of revolutionizing how the game is played. He has the length of a center, shoots the ball like a guard and can rebound like a power forward. He led the league in scoring as a 21 year-old. Greg Oden has played 82 games in 3 years. He has already needed potentially career damaging microfracture surgery before he even played a game. He also could be 40 for all we know. It might be a little early to call this the biggest first choice blunder in NBA history, but the way that Durant is playing these days; it's only a matter of time before it becomes a reality.

All data compiled from www.basketball-reference.com