Taking a cue from President Gerald Ford’s Inaugural Address:
“Our long national nightmare is over.”
President Ford was referring to the Watergate scandal that had stained the presidency; today I am referring to the fact that we now know that Aaron Rodgers signed his deal with the Steelers and we don’t have to tolerate any more speculation about his plans for the Fall and Winter of 2026.
Moving on … About a week ago, I noted that the Washington Wizards had won the NBA Draft Lottery and had the first pick. In a conversation with a friend late last week, he asked if I thought the Wizards could screw it all up as has been their wont for the last several decades. My answer to him was that there were at least four and maybe six future quality players at the top of the Draft, so it would be difficult to screw it up badly. And then, over the weekend, I recalled the drafting fiasco of the Sixers when they were in their infamous “Process” to tank a few seasons and accumulate a team of young star players that would dominate for a long time. As is evident, that did not quite work out as planned.
So, over the weekend, I went back 30 years and looked at the players taken #1 overall in the NBA Draft and how they fared in the pros.
I have 5 categories for the 30 players taken in the Draft slot as defined by me here:
- Hall of Fame: Players who are already in the HoF or who will be when they are sufficiently retired. (6 players in this category)
- Stars: Players who stand out in the NBA, but it is still way too soon to consider them for the HoF. (5 players in this category)
- Good not Great: Players who are just that – – good but not great. (9 players in this category)
- Meh!: Players who bounced around for a while spreading mediocrity wherever they went. (4 players in this category)
- Bust: Players who never came close to living up to this Draft status. (6 players in this category)
Here are the results:
- 1996 – Allen Iverson – Hall of Fame
- 1997 – Tim Duncan – Hall of Fame
- 1998 – Michael Olowokandi – Meh!
- 1999 – Elton Brand – Good not great
- 2000 – Kenyon Martin – Good not great
- 2001 – Kwame Brown – Bust
- 2002 – Yao Ming – Hall of Fame
- 2003 – LeBron James – Hall of Fame when eligible
- 2004 – Dwight Howard – Hall of Fame
- 2005 – Andrew Bogut – Good not great
- 2006 – Andrea Bargnani – Meh!
- 2007 – Greg Oden – Bust (Injuries)
- 2008 – Derrick Rose – Good not great (Injuries)
- 2009 – Blake Griffin – Good not great
- 2010 – John Wall – Good not great
- 2011 – Kyrie Irving – Hall of Fame when eligible
- 2012 – Anthony Davis – Good not great
- 2013 – Anthony Bennett – Bust
- 2014 – Andrew Wiggins – Meh!
- 2015 – Karl-Anthony Towns – Good not great
- 2016 – Ben Simmons – Bust
- 2017 – Markelle Fultz – Bust
- 2018 – Deandre Ayton – Bust
- 2019 – Zion Williamson – Good not great (Injuries)
- 2020 – Anthony Edwards – Star
- 2021 – Cade Cunningham – Star
- 2022 – Paolo Banchero – Star
- 2023 – Wemby – Star
- 2024 – Zaccharie Risacher – Meh!
- 2025 – Cooper Flagg – Star
So, maybe I need to revise my thinking a bit. Over the last 30 years, the folks orchestrating the NBA Draft took 9 players who were mediocre to a bust; that is almost one in three such selections. So, maybe the Wizards can find a way to “screw this up” on Draft Day …
Finally, this from author and entrepreneur, Jason Fried:
“Hiring people is like making friends. Pick good ones, and they’ll enrich your life. Make bad choices, and they’ll bring you down.”
But don’t get me wrong,, I love sports………