When an NBA team wins the draft lottery, when they are lucky enough to get the No. 1 overall pick, more times than not it means one thing. That team is one of the worst teams in the NBA. The idea is, a struggling team can revitalize itself by selecting a once-in-a-generation talent. Historically, the number 1 overall pick comes with immeasurable pressure, but how successful can the 1st pick be in changing the trajectory of a franchise? Let’s dive into that.
So, here's the thing. Since 1984, in nearly 40 NBA drafts, just 10 players who were selected as the number 1 overall pick have won a championship. But even that number doesn’t address the question. Out of those 10 players, just 5 of them won a championship with the team that drafted them.
Of those 5 players, Hakeem Olajuwon, drafted 1st overall in 1984, is the exception among the other 4. He won two NBA Championships with the Houston Rockets, in 1994 and 1995. Conveniently, those championships were won while Michael Jordan was on his minor-league baseball hiatus. But besides Hakeem’s two rings, the four other 1st overall picks that won a championship with the team that drafted them, all have something in common, they did it as teammates. Let’s start with the more recent example.
Kyrie & LeBron
Kyrie Irving was drafted first overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs prior to drafting Kyrie, were atrocious, with a 19-63 record. The Cavs relied on Kyrie Irving immediately, but the team missed the playoffs for his first three years in the NBA. Of course, that all started to change in 2014, enter another 1st overall pick, in LeBron James, but from the draft 8 years before Kyrie’s. The two players, drafted by Cleveland, were combining in ultimate to bring that franchise a banner.
In their first year together, the Cavs jumped from the previous ten seed to the number two seed in the East. They then breezed through the playoffs, but fell short in the finals after Kyrie Irving sustained a fractured knee injury in game 1. Of course, the Cavs got their rematch against the Warriors the next year, in the 2016 finals. In that series they made history, becoming the first team in the NBA Finals to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win the title.
While Kyrie was definitely coming to his own and had developed into an NBA superstar, the addition of another #1 overall pick is what really made the difference. Kyrie Irving was not going to win a championship on the Cavs without LeBron James. But it goes both ways.
From 2003-2010, LeBron James faced a similar problem. He was selected to a struggling Cavs organization, and even with a monumental effort, without a companion #1 overall pick, LeBron couldn’t win a championship in Cleveland from 2003-2010. The idea of a savior to the city isn’t as simple as it’s often portrayed. Does LeBron even go back Cleveland if there’s no Kyrie Irving there? Does he win a championship there without him? Well, the 2018 NBA Finals makes that seem unlikely.
Countless #1 overall picks have become superstars. But the dream of a young player turning an organization around, willing them to a championship, seems more like myth than a realistic goal. And of course, as previously mentioned, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James aren’t the only #1 pick duo to win a championship for the organization that drafted them.
The Admiral & The Big Fundamental
On December 23, 1996, the 1987 #1 overall pick, David Robinson suffered a season-ending injury. The Spurs, previously a Western Conference contender, faltered to a 20-62 record in the 96-97 season. Gregg Popovich became an NBA head coach for the first time when he replaced Bob Hill during that season, and the Spurs secured the top draft pick though the draft lottery. And there was little doubt who the Spurs would select at the top of the draft. Tim Duncan was officially selected first overall on June 25, 1997. And in Duncan’s sophomore season, the two number 1 picks, known as the twin towers, did the same thing Kyrie and LeBron did in 2016. They won the first championship in their team’s history.
Four of the five first overall picks that brought championships to the city that drafted them in the last 40 years, did so as teammates. But even outside of the standard of winning with the team that drafted you, the other recent 1st overall picks to win championships did so with similar situations.
Andrew Wiggins, the 1st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, won a championship in the 2022 Finals with the Warriors. Wiggins was arguably the second-best offensive player next to Stephen Curry, the best player from his draft class.
Anthony Davis, the number 1 pick from the 2012 NBA Draft, won a chip in 2020 with the Lakers. Of course, that championship was won with LeBron James, another 1 pick, who took home the Finals MVP. And while the big was past his prime, that team also featured Dwight Howard, the 1st pick from the ‘04 draft. I mean even the showtime Lakers featured Magic, Kareem, and James Worthy, three 1st picks.
But what does all this mean? Well, no matter how you slice it, we are really stating the obvious. One player can’t do it alone, even if you are a generational talent.
Maybe it’s a coincidence, at the time of this video, the #1 seed in Western Conference, is led by two #1 overall picks in Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony Towns. And Wolves look like serious contenders. As for Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, they might need another top pick added to their roster if he’s going to lead them to a new dynasty, and with their current record, they might have one on the way.