List of first overall NBA draft picks

LeBron James was one of the most anticipated first overall draft picks in recent years.^[1]

The National Basketball Association's first overall pick is the player who is selected first among all eligible draftees by a team during the annual National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft. The first pick is awarded to the team that wins the NBA Draft Lottery; in most cases, that team had a losing record in the previous season. The team with the first pick attracts plenty of media attention,^[2] as does the player who is selected with that pick.

A total of nine first picks have gone on to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award; these are Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (record six-time winner), Bill Walton, Magic Johnson (three-time winner), Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan (two-time winner).

China's Yao Ming (2002) and Italy's Andrea Bargnani (2006) are the only two players without competitive experience in the United States to be drafted first overall. Five other international players with U.S. college experience have been drafted first overall—Mychal Thompson (Bahamas) in 1978, Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria) in 1984, Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) in 1997, Michael Olowokandi (Nigeria) in 1998, and Andrew Bogut (Australia) in 2005. Duncan is an American citizen, but is considered an "international" player by the NBA because he was not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D.C.^[3]

Note that the drafts between 1947 and 1949 were held by the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The Basketball Association of America became the National Basketball Association after absorbing teams from the National Basketball League in the fall of 1949. Official NBA publications include the BAA Drafts as part of the NBA's draft history.

Key

List of first overall picks

Draft	Selected by	Player	Nationality	College/high school/former club	PPG[a]	RPG[a]	APG[a]	Ref.
1947	Pittsburgh Ironmen	McNeely, CliftonClifton McNeely[b]	USA	Texas Wesleyan	n/a	n/a	n/a	[b]
1948	Providence Steamrollers	Tonkovich, AndyAndy Tonkovich	USA	Marshall	2.6	n/a	0.6	[4]
1949	Providence Steamrollers	Shannon, HowieHowie Shannon[c]	USA	Kansas State	13.4	n/a	2.3	[5]
1950	Boston Celtics	Share, CharlieCharlie Share[d]	USA	Bowling Green	3.9	5.3	1.0	[6]
1951	Baltimore Bullets	Melchiorre, GeneGene Melchiorre[e]	USA	Bradley	n/a	n/a	n/a	[e]
1952	Milwaukee Hawks	Workman, MarkMark Workman[f]	USA	West Virginia	5.1	3.0	0.6	[7]
1953	Baltimore Bullets	Felix, RayRay Felix[g]	USA	Long Island	17.6	13.3	1.1	[8]
1954	Baltimore Bullets	Selvy, FrankFrank Selvy	USA	Furman	19.0	5.5	3.5	[9]
1955	Milwaukee Hawks	Ricketts, DickDick Ricketts[h]	USA	Duquesne	8.9	7.2	3.0	[10]
1956	Rochester Royals	Green, SihugoSihugo Green[i]	USA	Duquesne	11.5	5.2	3.6	[11]
1957	Cincinnati Royals	Hundley, RodRod Hundley	USA	West Virginia	7.0	2.9	1.9	[12]
1958	Minneapolis Lakers	Baylor, ElginElgin Baylor†[j]	USA	Seattle	24.9	15.0	4.1	[13]
1959	Cincinnati Royals	Boozer, BobBob Boozer[k]	USA	Kansas State	8.4	6.2	1.4	[14]
1960	Cincinnati Royals	Robertson, OscarOscar Robertson†	USA	Cincinnati	30.5	10.1	9.7	[15]
1961	Chicago Packers	Bellamy, WaltWalt Bellamy†	USA	Indiana	31.6	19.0	2.7	[16]
1962	Chicago Zephyrs	McGill, BillBill McGill[l]	USA	Utah	7.4	2.7	0.6	[17]
1963	New York Knicks	Heyman, ArtArt Heyman[m]	USA	Duke	15.4	4.0	3.4	[18]
1964	New York Knicks	Barnes, JimJim Barnes[n]	USA	Texas Western	15.5	9.7	1.2	[19]
1965	San Francisco Warriors	Hetzel, FredFred Hetzel[o]	USA	Davidson	6.8	5.2	0.5	[20]
1966	New York Knicks	Russell, CazzieCazzie Russell	USA	Michigan	11.3	3.3	2.4	[21]
1967	Detroit Pistons	Walker, JimmyJimmy Walker	USA	Providence	8.8	1.7	2.8	[22]
1968	San Diego Rockets	Hayes, ElvinElvin Hayes†	USA	Houston	28.4	17.1	1.4	[23]
1969	Milwaukee Bucks	Alcindor, LewLew Alcindor†[p]	USA	UCLA	28.8	14.5	4.1	[24]
1970	Detroit Pistons	Lanier, BobBob Lanier†	USA	St. Bonaventure	15.6	8.1	1.8	[25]
1971	Cleveland Cavaliers	Carr, AustinAustin Carr	USA	Notre Dame	21.2	3.5	3.4	[26]
1972	Portland Trail Blazers	Martin, LaRueLaRue Martin	USA	Loyola (Chicago)	4.4	4.6	0.5	[27]
1973	Philadelphia 76ers	Collins, DougDoug Collins	USA	Illinois State	8.0	1.8	1.6	[28]
1974	Portland Trail Blazers	Walton, BillBill Walton†	USA	UCLA	12.8	12.6	4.8	[29]
1975	Atlanta Hawks	Thompson, DavidDavid Thompson†	USA	NC State	26.0	6.3	3.7	[30]
1976	Houston Rockets	Lucas, JohnJohn Lucas	USA	Maryland	11.1	2.7	5.6	[31]
1977	Milwaukee Bucks	Benson, KentKent Benson	USA	Indiana	7.7	4.3	1.4	[32]
1978	Portland Trail Blazers	Thompson, MychalMychal Thompson	BHS	Minnesota	14.7	8.3	2.4	[33]
1979	Los Angeles Lakers	Johnson, EarvinEarvin Johnson†	USA	Michigan State	18.0	7.7	7.3	[34]
1980	Golden State Warriors	Carroll, Joe BarryJoe Barry Carroll	USA	Purdue	18.9	9.3	1.4	[35]
1981	Dallas Mavericks	Aguirre, MarkMark Aguirre	USA	DePaul	18.7	4.9	3.2	[36]
1982	Los Angeles Lakers	Worthy, JamesJames Worthy†	USA	North Carolina	13.4	5.2	1.7	[37]
1983	Houston Rockets	Sampson, RalphRalph Sampson	USA	Virginia	21.0	11.1	2.0	[38]
1984	Houston Rockets	Olajuwon, AkeemAkeem Olajuwon†[q]	NGA[p]	Houston	20.6	11.9	1.4	[39]
1985	New York Knicks	Ewing, PatrickPatrick Ewing†	USA[r]	Georgetown	20.0	9.0	2.0	[40]
1986	Cleveland Cavaliers	Daugherty, BradBrad Daugherty	USA	North Carolina	15.7	8.1	3.8	[41]
1987	San Antonio Spurs	Robinson, DavidDavid Robinson[s]	USA	Navy	24.3	12.0	2.0	[42]
1988	Los Angeles Clippers	Manning, DannyDanny Manning	USA	Kansas	16.7	6.6	3.1	[43]
1989	Sacramento Kings	Ellison, PervisPervis Ellison	USA	Louisville	8.0	5.8	1.9	[44]
1990	New Jersey Nets	Coleman, DerrickDerrick Coleman	USA	Syracuse	18.4	10.3	2.2	[45]
1991	Charlotte Hornets	Johnson, LarryLarry Johnson	USA	UNLV	19.2	11.0	3.6	[46]
1992	Orlando Magic	O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal	USA	LSU	23.4	13.9	1.9	[47]
1993	Orlando Magic	Webber, ChrisChris Webber	USA	Michigan	17.5	9.1	3.6	[48]
1994	Milwaukee Bucks	Robinson, GlennGlenn Robinson	USA	Purdue	21.9	6.4	2.5	[49]
1995	Golden State Warriors	Smith, JoeJoe Smith	USA	Maryland	15.3	8.7	1.0	[50]
1996	Philadelphia 76ers	Iverson, AllenAllen Iverson	USA	Georgetown	23.5	4.1	7.5	[51]
1997	San Antonio Spurs	Duncan, TimTim Duncan	VIR[t]	Wake Forest	21.1	11.9	2.7	[52]
1998	Los Angeles Clippers	Olowokandi, MichaelMichael Olowokandi	NGA	Pacific	8.9	7.9	0.6	[53]
1999	Chicago Bulls	Brand, EltonElton Brand	USA	Duke	20.1	10.0	1.9	[54]
2000	New Jersey Nets	Martin, KenyonKenyon Martin	USA	Cincinnati	12.0	7.4	1.9	[55]
2001	Washington Wizards	Brown, KwameKwame Brown	USA	Glynn Academy HS (Brunswick, GA)	4.5	3.5	0.8	[56]
2002	Houston Rockets	Yao, Ming Yao Ming	CHN	Shanghai Sharks (China)	13.5	8.2	1.7	[57]
2003	Cleveland Cavaliers	James, LeBronLeBron James	USA	St. Vincent-St. Mary HS (Akron, OH)	20.9	5.5	5.9	[58]
2004	Orlando Magic	Howard, DwightDwight Howard	USA	SACA (Atlanta, GA)	12.0	10.0	0.9	[59]
2005	Milwaukee Bucks	Bogut, AndrewAndrew Bogut	AUS	Utah	9.4	7.0	2.3	[60]
2006	Toronto Raptors	Bargnani, AndreaAndrea Bargnani	ITA	Benetton Treviso (Italy)	11.6	3.9	0.8	[61]
2007	Portland Trail Blazers	Oden, GregGreg Oden[u]	USA	Ohio State	n/a	n/a	n/a	[62]
2008	Chicago Bulls	Rose, DerrickDerrick Rose	USA	Memphis	n/a	n/a	n/a	[63]

Notes

• ^a  All statistics are taken from the players' respective rookie season unless otherwise noted.
• ^b  Clifton McNeely never played professional basketball. Instead, he became a basketball coach for Pampa High School in Texas.^[64][65]
• ^c  Howie Shannon was the first overall pick, although Ed Macauley and Vern Mikkelsen had been taken before the draft as their teams' territorial picks.^[66]
• ^d  Charlie Share did not play in the 1950–51 season. His rookie statistics are from the 1951–52 season.^[6] Share was the first overall pick, although Paul Arizin had been taken before the draft as the Philadelphia Warriors' territorial pick.^[67]
• ^e  Gene Melchiorre never played in the NBA. He was banned for life from the NBA due to his involvement in the CCNY Point Shaving Scandal.^[68] Melchiorre was the first overall pick, although Myer Skoog had been taken before the draft as the Minneapolis Lakers' territorial pick.^[69]
• ^f  Mark Workman was the first overall pick, although Bill Mlkvy had been taken before the draft as the Philadelphia Warriors' territorial pick.^[70]
• ^g  Ray Felix was the first overall pick, although Ernie Beck and Walter Dukes had been taken before the draft as their teams' territorial picks.^[71]
• ^h  Dick Ricketts was the first overall pick, although Dick Garmaker and Tom Gola had been taken before the draft as their teams' territorial picks.^[72]
• ⁱ  Sihugo Green was the first overall pick, although Tom Heinsohn had been taken before the draft as the Boston Celtics' territorial pick.^[73]
• ^j  Elgin Baylor was the first overall pick, although Guy Rodgers had been taken before the draft as the Philadelphia Warriors' territorial pick.^[74]
• ^k  Bob Boozer was the first overall pick, although Wilt Chamberlain and Bob Ferry had been taken before the draft as their teams' territorial picks.^[75]
• ^l  Bill McGill was the first overall pick, although Dave DeBusschere and Jerry Lucas had been taken before the draft as their teams' territorial picks.^[76]
• ^m  Art Heyman was the first overall pick, although Tom Thacker had been taken before the draft as the Cincinnati Royals' territorial pick.^[77]
• ⁿ  Jim Barnes was the first overall pick, although Walt Hazzard and George Wilson had been taken before the draft as their teams' territorial picks.^[78]
• ^o  Fred Hetzel was the first overall pick, although Bill Bradley, Bill Buntin and Gail Goodrich had been taken before the draft as their teams' territorial picks.^[79]
• ^p  Before the 1971–72 season, Lew Alcindor converted to Islam and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which means "noble, powerful servant" in Arabic.^[80]
• ^q  Hakeem Olajuwon was born in Nigeria, but became a naturalized United States citizen in 1993. When he arrived in the United States, the University of Houston incorrectly spelled his first name "Akeem". Olajuwon used that spelling until March 9, 1991, when he announced that he would add an H. According to Olajuwon, "Hakeem" means "wise man" in Arabic, while "Akeem" has no meaning.^[81][82]
• ^r  Patrick Ewing was born in Jamaica, but had become a naturalized United States citizen while at Georgetown.^[83] He represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics.^[84]
• ^s  David Robinson did not play in the NBA until 1989 due to commitments to the United States Navy.^[85] His rookie statistics are from the 1989–90 season.^[42]
• ^t  Tim Duncan is a United States citizen by birth, as are all natives of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Because of this citizenship arrangement, Duncan has played for the U.S. internationally.^[86]
• ^u  Greg Oden underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee before the 2007–08 season, and missed the entire season.^[87]

References

General

• "Draft Index". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.

Specific