LeBron James, a high school draftee, was one of the most anticipated first overall draft picks.[1]
The first overall pick in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is the player who is selected first among all eligible draftees by a team during the league's annual 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 NBA team that garners the top overall draft pick selection generates significant media attention,[2] as does the respective player who eventually gets selected with that first pick.
Eleven first picks have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award: 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, Tim Duncan (two-time winner), LeBron James (four-time winner), and Derrick Rose (youngest winner).
China's Yao Ming (2002), Italy's Andrea Bargnani (2006), and France's Victor Wembanyama (2023) are the only three players without competitive experience in the United States to be drafted first overall. Eleven other international players with U.S. college experience have been drafted first overall—Mychal Thompson (Bahamas) in 1978, Olajuwon (Nigeria) in 1984, Patrick Ewing (Jamaica) in 1985, Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) in 1997, Michael Olowokandi (Nigeria) in 1998, Andrew Bogut (Australia) in 2005, Kyrie Irving (Australia) in 2011, Anthony Bennett (Canada) in 2013, Andrew Wiggins (Canada) in 2014, Ben Simmons (Australia) in 2016, and Deandre Ayton (Bahamas) in 2018. 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 the District of Columbia.[3] Ewing[4] had dual Jamaican-American citizenship when he was drafted, and Irving[5] and Simmons[6] had dual Australian-American citizenship when they were drafted.
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.
^"Most anticipated No. 1 draft picks". CBC Sports. July 27, 2005. Archived from the original on October 25, 2005. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
^Ronald Tillery (June 18, 2008). "Landing the top draft pick can lift NBA team to new heights, and also fill arena". The Commercial Appeal. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
^"Bargnani becomes first European top NBA draft pick". People's Daily. June 29, 2006. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
^Vecsey, George (December 3, 1993). "Basketball Surviving Quite Nicely". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
^"Kyrie Irving is Committed to the Red, White and Blue". USA Basketball. June 21, 2010. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010.
^Borzello, Jeff (June 8, 2012). "Australian prospect Ben Simmons makes great first impression". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
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