SK Ep.1: Interesting Facts about the 1st Overall Pick in the NBA

     The NBA draft is crucial for teams aiming to build a championship-caliber roster, and the first overall pick often plays a pivotal role. I’ve gathered 6 intriguing facts about the history of the first overall pick in the NBA draft. These insights include some lesser-known details and aim to provide a deeper understanding of the significance of this top selection.

1. If at first you don’t succeed, try & try again: Most 1st overall selections in history
Cleveland Cavaliers: 6 Players
1971: Austin Carr
1986: Brad Daugherty
2003: LeBron James
2011: Kyrie Irving
2013: Anthony Bennett
2014: Andrew Wiggins

      I wasn't sure what to expect, but I might have assumed that long-established teams like the Celtics or the Lakers would have the most number-one picks in NBA history. I was surprised to learn that the Cavaliers actually hold that record.
      Given their number of first overall picks, I expected they'd have more championships to show for it, rather than winning their first ever in 2016. This could be attributed to factors like management decisions or their status as a small-market team. Nevertheless, it's noteworthy that four of those six top picks played a crucial role in securing that first championship, adding a sentimental touch to the title.
       On the other hand, it might suggest that the Cavaliers needed four #1 pick just to win one championship. While that perspective might seem a bit harsh, I'll focus on the more positive view and stick to the former idea.

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2. With the 1st pick, Comes Great Responsibility… or something like that: Most NBA draft lottery win
    Los Angeles Clippers: 5

1986	Brad Daugherty	Center, 213cm, 111kg, 8 Season with the Cavaliers (One Franchise Man)
	Averages for the Cavaliers:	19.0 Pt, 9.5 Reb, 3.7 Ast, 0.8 Stl, 0.7 Blk, 0.0 3PTM, 2.8 TO, .532 FG%, .747 FT%
	Accolades at the Cavaliers:	All-NBA 3rd Team (1992), 5x All-Star, All-Rookie 1st Team (1987)
	Hall of Famers in the Class:	Arvydas Sabonis (24th), Dennis Rodman (27th), Drazen Petrovic (60th)
	The Cavaliers acquired this pick from the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade involving Roy Hinson and cash just a day before the draft. The 76ers, holding the first overall pick, chose to trade it away. Interestingly, the pick they dealt to the Cavaliers had originally come from the San Diego Clippers. It seems the 76ers were focused on winning now and preferred to acquire a player ready to contribute rather than making a top draft pick. As it turns out, this wouldn’t be the last time the Clippers' struggles ended up benefiting the Cavaliers.

1988	Danny Manning	Power Forward, 208cm, 104kg, 6 Season with the Clippers
	Averages for the Clippers:	19.1 Pt, 6.4 Reb, 3.0 Ast, 1.5 Stl, 1.1 Blk, 2.8 TO, 0.0 3PTM, .519 FG%, .741 FT%
	Accolades at the Clippers:	2x All-Star
	Hall of Famers in the Class:	Mitch Richmond (5th)
	I do not know much about this player to be honest but looking at his stats during his Clipper's tenure, he would have been a solid player for fantasy basketball. A big man with a pretty good FT% and 2.5 Stocks. The rebound leaves a little to be desired but looking at his class for hall of famers, I am guessing that it could have been worse than going with Danny Manning for the #1 pick.

1998	Michael Olowokandi	Center, 213cm, 122kg, 5 Seasons with the Clippers
	Averages for the Clippers:	9.9 Pt, 8.0 Reb, 0.8 Ast, 0.5 St, 1.6 Blk, 2.2 TO, 0.0 3PTM, .433 FG%, .597 FT%
	Accolades at the Clippers:	All-Rookie 2nd Team (1999)
	Hall of Famers Classmates:	Vince Carter (5th), Dirk Nowitzki (9th), Paul Pierce (10th)
	Those are yikes FG% and FT% for a Center. Barely broke double double for this time for the Clippers and looking at the hall of famers classmates that he had, I can safely say that the Clippers fumbled this selection.

2009	Blake Griffin	Power Forward, 206cm, 113kg, 8 Seasons with the Clippers
	Averages for the Clippers:	21.6 Pt, 9.3 Reb, 4.2 Ast, 1.0 St, 0.5 Blk, 2.5 TO, 0.3 3PTM, .512 FG%, .680 FT%
	Accolades at the Clippers:	4x All-NBA, 5x All-Star, Rookie of the Year (2011), All-Rookie 1st Team (2011)
	It seems as the the Clippers go on a 10 year cycle where they are so bad that they get the 1st pick in the NBA draft. Nevertheless, arguably their best pick on this list was a multiple-time All-NBA and All-Star player who was a legitimate superstar and left the team on good terms. Imagine how different things might have been if the Clippers had retained their 2011 pick and had him on their roster.

2011	Kyrie Irving	Point Guard, 188cm, 88kg, 6 Seasons with the Cavaliers
	Averages for the Cavs:	21.6 Pt, 5.5 Reb, 3.4 Ast, 1.3 St, 0.3 Blk, 3.4 TO, 1.9 3PTM, .457 FG%, .873 FT%
	Accolades at the Cavaliers:	NBA Champion (2016), All-NBA 3rd Team (2015), 4x All-Star, Rookie of the Year (2012), All-Rookie 1st Team (2012),
	The Clippers sent the unprotected 1st round pick + Baron Davis for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the Cavaliers in late February 2011. The Clippers entered the 2011 draft lottery with a 2.8% chance to land the 1st overall pick and ended up moving up seven spots, allowing the Cavaliers to select Kyrie Irving. As noted in the Brad Daugherty section, the Clippers had previously given the #1 pick to the Cavaliers again, though this time it was before the pick had officially become the top selection. For context, the 76ers acquired the 1986 first-round pick from the San Diego Clippers by trading away Joe Bryant—yes, the father of Kobe Bryant.

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3. 2nd Place is just the First Loser: Teams with no 1st overall pick in history: 6 Teams
    (Listed with the respective teams’ 2nd overall picks in history)

Memphis Grizzlies
1998	Mike Bibby
1999	Steve Francis
2000	Stromile Swift
2009	Hasheem Thabeet
2019	Ja Morant

Utah Jazz
1980	Darrell Griffith

Oklahoma City Thunder
1990	Gary Payton*
2007	Kevin Durant*
2022	Chet Holmgren
*When the team was the Seattle Supersonics

Indiana Pacers
1983	Steve Stipanovich
1985	Wayman Tisdale
1988	Rik Smits

Denver Nuggets
1983	Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf*
1998	Raef LaFrentz*
*3rd Picks

Miami Heat
2008	Michael Beasley

     How unlucky do you have to be to never win the NBA lottery and secure the first pick in the draft? The Memphis Grizzlies seem to have been consistently poor enough to land five second picks, but never the top spot. One way to look at it is that their teams were never bad enough to get the best lottery odds. For instance, The Miami Heat has 3 championships to their name with their 2003 fifth selection, Dwayne Wade, forming a part of the core during their championship window. Similarly, the Denver Nuggets won their first championship in 2023, led by their 2014 41st pick, Nikola Jokic. To add on to this, Both the OKC Thunder and the Grizzlies are positioned well for future success.
Hopefully, these teams can show that strong team-building and talent development can lead to championships, even without top picks—unlike some teams with multiple #1 picks who still haven’t won a title (yes, Timberwolves, I’m looking at you).

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4. When the 1st pick pays off: Teams with the most regular season MVPs won by their 1st overall selection
    9 Teams (16 Times)

1	Milwaukee Bucks	3
	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1971, 1972, 1974
2	Los Angeles Jakers	3
	Magic Johnson	1987, 1989, 1990
3	San Antonio Spurs	3
	David Robinson	1995
	Tim Duncan	2002, 2003
4	Cleveland Cavaliers	2
	LeBron James	2009, 2010
5	Cincinnati Royals (Sacremento Kings)	1
	Oscar Robertson	1964
6	Portland Trailblazer	1
	Bill Walton	1978
7	Houston Rockets	1
	Hakeem Olajuwon	1994
8	Philadelphia 76ers	1
	Allen Iverson	2001
9	Chicago Bulls	1
	Derrick Rose	2011

     I was surprised to learn that only 16 MVP winners were drafted as the number-one pick, and even fewer teams—just nine—have seen their top pick develop into an MVP. Given the limited number of first overall picks compared to the numerous subsequent selections, this makes sense. It's noteworthy that teams like the Clippers and the Magic, who have won the lottery the most (and the second most), are absent from this list. I suppose the Clippers' history of draft struggles are clearly evident here. We’ll also have to wait and see how Paolo Banchero develops and whether he might follow in the footsteps of previous Orlando Magic number-one picks and potentially join the Los Angeles Lakers in the future to find success.
     What’s particularly noteworthy is that the San Antonio Spurs are the only team with two number-one picks who have gone on to win MVP awards. If Victor Wembanyama eventually wins MVP, they could achieve the rare feat of going three-for-three. This data suggests that having the first pick in the draft doesn’t guarantee success; it takes a perfect combination of timing (to land a generational talent) and luck (to win the lottery), making it a difficult achievement.

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5. When Luck & Success Align: Teams that won the championship(s) with their 1st overall pick as the Finals MVP: 6 Teams & 11 Times

1	Los Angeles Lakers	3
	Magic Johnson	1980, 1982
	James Worthy	1988
2	San Antonio Spurs	1
	Tim Duncan	1999, 2003, 2005
3	Houston Rockets	1
	Hakeem Olajuwon	1994, 1995
4	Milwaukee Bucks	1
	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1971
5	Portland Trailblazer	1
	Bill Walton	1977
6	Cleveland Cavaliers	1
	LeBron James	2016

    There's something magical about the idea of a homegrown talent leading their team to a championship. It's the fairytale of the local hero guiding their team to the promised land—a dream come true for fans of sports of all kinds. As evident, this is a rare occurrence in the NBA, with only 11 instances in over 70 years of history. But when this does happen, it’s a feel-good story that not many fans can resonate with, not just in basketball, but across all sports.
    But as much as we cherish these stories, they are becoming increasingly rare. In the sports I follow (basketball and football), “club loyalty” is getting harder and harder to come by. Players frequently change teams, and the days of a superstar sticking with one franchise for their entire career are dwindling. When a player does stay, though, and leads their team to victory, it’s a moment that captures the hearts of fans everywhere. I believe that these storylines play a key role in why sports fans love their respective sports. Due to its rarity, this kind of story holds deeper significance and has the potential to create unparalleled narratives that endure for centuries.

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6. Left the Nest, Won the Best: Teams with championships with 1st selection by other teams as the FMVP

1	Los Angeles Lakers	5
	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1985
	Shaquille O'Neal	2000, 2001, 2002
	LeBron James	2020
2	Miami Heat	2
	LeBron James	2012, 2013

    Perhaps it is true that big market teams are at an advantage when it comes to attracting superstars capable of leading their teams to championships. Having said that, a very low number where a player drafted #1 overall switches to another team and wins the FMVP. But I guess it is no surprise that the Lakers, with their glamor and location, leads this category, showcasing their ability to attract top talents. As much as i have written on the previous section of stars sticking with their team holds an undeniable significance and intangible value, it is understandable that players seek to maximize their careers in a sport that could be shortened by injuries at any moment of time. Unintentionally, this also highlights LeBron's remarkable longevity, where he was able to win the FMVP for two different teams 7 years apart. 

    These achievements highlight not only his exceptional career but also the shifting dynamics of professional basketball. Perhaps, while being the #1 overall pick is significant, it's ultimately the alignment of generational talent, timing, team building, and many other intangible factors that creates a perfect storm for success.