Best Number 1 picks of the last 10 years.Okay, lets say there was a draft were you could only draft number 1 picks of the last 10 years. This is what I think the draft board would look like. This is knowing how they would end up as players. Feel free to post your own. <u>REMEMBER THIS IS ONLY THE LAST 10 YEARS AND ONLY NUMBER 1 PICKS. </u> Last time i did an article like this, some ppl got a little confused. _________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">10.LA Clippers Michael Olowokandi Pacific</span> Career Averages-27.1MPG-43.5FG%-7.1RPG-.7APG-.46SPG-1.4BPG-8.6PPGI think we can all agree that this is the worst use of a number pick in a long time. I don?t really think I need to point out why he is the worst of the bunch. _________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">9.Washington Kwame Brown Glynn Acad. HSSr.</span> Career Averages-23.7MPG-46.9FG%-5.7RPG-1APG-.57SPG-.6BPG-7.6PPGKwame goes at 9 because he hasn?t done anything while in the league. He is a big underachiever and plays too passive. Although he does have all the physical skills to play in the league, he doesn?t have the natural feel for the game. He isn?t instinctive enough to play at a high level of basketball in the NBA. Unlike Olowokandi though, he still does have time to become an okay player and due to playing with a great player like Kobe Bryant, he wont have to have the pressure of being the focal point any offense. _________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">8.Milwaukee Andrew Bogut Utah So. </span>Career Averages-28.6MPG-53.3FG%-7.0RPG-2.3APG-.6SPG-.8BPG-9.4PPGNow before anyone says Bogut is too low on the list, look who is front of him and look how long he has played. Reason Bogut beats out Brown and Olowokandi should be pretty obvious, but for out slow learners I?ll add this. Bogut is just completed his 1st season in the NBA. That means he still has plenty of time to develop into a great player. Now he probably will never crack the top 5, but he could develop into a high quality low post man for years to come; only time will tell._________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">7.New Jersey Kenyon Martin Cincinnati Sr. </span>Career Averages-32.9MPG-47.4FG%-7.4RPG-2.2APG-1.23SPG-1.2BPG-14.9PPGMartin has had the average career out of the 10 players listed. He hasn?t lead his team to anything by himself, but is a nice complement player. He is a hard worker who plays defense and rebounds well. He doesn?t shoot the ball particularly well and sometimes tries to shoot too many jumpers although his best bet at getting to the bucket. This is where the good players start getting weeded out and leaving us players that you can build a team around. _________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">6.Orlando Dwight Howard GA HSSr.</span> Career Averages-34.7MPG-52.6FG%-11.3RPG-1.2APG-.87SPG-1.5BPG-15.8PPGHoward has all the skills to lead not only his team but the NBA in rebounding for years to come. He has progressed as a post up player and plays great defense for his age. He has the star ability to lead his team to greatness. The last 2 years he has lead his young Orlando Magic team and is the leader of the team. Alongside Jameer Nelson, he should be able to become a dominating force once he hits his prime. _________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">5.Chicago Elton Brand Duke So</span> Career Averages-38.3MPG-50.1FG%-10.4RPG-2.6APG-.94SPG-2.0BPG-20.3PPGBrand just might be the most underrated star player in the league. He has always lead his team in both scoring and rebounding since his rookie season with the Bulls. Although he is undersized for a power forward, he makes it up with his great arm-span and relentless work ethic. Now I had a hard time deciding between Brand and Yao. I think at the end of their careers, Brand and Ming will be interchangeable at the 4 and 5 spot on this list unless they somehow raise their play up to another level, which I just don?t think either can do. _________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">4.Houston Yao Ming Shanghai (China) </span> Career Averages-31.5MPG-52.4FG%-8.8RPG-1.3APG-.39SPG-1.8BPG-17.5PPGAs I said up above in Brand?s spot, I had a tough time deciding between these two. My reasoning for putting Ming here is that it is really hard to find a player of his size and skill to play center in the league. He creates a lot of advantages for your team and is just now learning how to play the game as we saw this season in his limited time due to injuries. _________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">3.Philadelphia Allen Iverson Georgetown </span> Career Averages-41.7MPG-42.1FG%-4.0RPG-6.1APG-2.34SPG-.1BPG-28.0PPGNow I think besides Olowokandi, Iverson?s 3 spot was the easiest spot to fill. Reasoning being He is way better than both Brand and Ming, but has not been as great as either James or Duncan have been. James just has much more potential than Iverson ever had. Iverson fills up the stat sheet with his assists, points, and steals. In my opinion, he will go down as the greatest under 6-0 foot player in league history. He plays with so much heart and knows how to play the game. He has always had great instincts to play the game. Although his shot selection has been questioned in the past, I think he had to shoot that many times due to the quality of players around him his whole career. Iverson has practically been a one man team since coming into the league and has even lead his team to the NBA finals. I think that has to be one of the greatest accomplishments for Iverson._________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">2. San Antonio Tim Duncan Wake Forest </span>Career Averages-37.9MPG-50.5FG%-12RPG-3.1APG-.79SPG-2.4BPG-22.1PPGNow actually right before posting this, I went and switched Duncan and James. This was the hardest decision that there has been on the list for me. Although Duncan does everything you could ask a player to do, I just can?t have James as the number one pick. Nothing against Duncan really, its just that James is that kind of player. Now on Duncan, He has all the skills you could ever ask for in a power forward, rebounding, defense, leadership, scoring, etc. He is one of the greatest players we have ever seen in out lifetime. He has been able to lead his team to 3 championships and is the lone player on the list to have a ring. _________________________________________________________<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">1.Cleveland Lebron James Akron OH HSSr.</span> Career Averages-41.5MPG-45.8FG%-6.6RPG-6.6APG-1.81SPG-.7BPG-26.5PPGNow as good as Duncan has been, James is a star player with Jordan-like abilities and marketing ability. Don?t be surprised if ?Be Like LeBron? songs start popping up. James hasn?t even scratched his potential yet, and that in itself is scary. Just look at this season; his 1st playoff experience he has won a first round series and has forced a game 7 against the reigning Eastern Conference Champs. James has every quality to lead his team and himself towards immortality. After its all said and done I believe everyone one be looking for the next LeBron James for years just like they did with Jordan and Dr. J before._________________________________________________________Well I think I did a pretty fair unbiased job on this. Now make your own list and comment on mine.
10. Michael OlowokandiDon't even have to explain myself. If you have seen him play you will know what I'm talking about. He is just a horrid all around player. And to make it even worse the Clippers who drafted him, lost him shortly to the Wolves.9. Kwame BrownMaybe it's what Jordan said to him or mnaybe it's just his low confidence level. I don't know but Kwame just never seemed to get it together. He has always been a good defensive Center in the League, but he is so inconsistent offensively. Some games he could look brilliant and play extraordinarily well in the post. Other games he could let the ball go right through his hands and miss wide open lay ups. You just never know with him. We have seen little signs of improvement with the Lakers. We'll just see how he'll turn out.8. Andrew BogutAlthough Andrew has looked good, he hasnt done anything to totally blow us away. He has not shown as much signs as the other guys ahead of him did. Although it's evident he is a smart player, a good passer, a good rebounder, a good inside player with a decent shot he hasnt dominated in any way, so I will put him here.7. Kenyon MartinWe all love the Kenyon that caught alley oops from J, dunked the ball like the rim just shot his brother, had range and played an all around athletic game. But I put him here a) because he doesnt belong with the people ahead of him and look at the dissapointment he has had in Denver. He hasn't done anything there besides piss off the staff and get suspended from playing in the playoffs.6. Yao MingYao didn't look too good in his first year so that's why I have him here. He is a passive guy on defense and offense. That's why he gets dunked on alot most of the time. At the beginning of his rooie year, he looked like a clown with stilts on. He dropped passes, missed lay ups. Everyone hated on him. I am aware he is averaging 20 and 10 right now. Yeah, okay. Guys like ELton Brand have been doing that for a while now. And they dont get injured as much as Yao does.5. Elton BrandElton Brand. Elton Brand. Man, this dude is so good. He is so dominant inside on both ends. He posts the same numbers over and over again. You can always count on him to get 20 or 22 and 10. He is such an inside presence. He has polished post moves, he can put the ball up inside or shoot it over his defender in the post. He is so hard to stop in the post. For his size (6-9) he is a great rebounder. He has been getting 10 rpg since the Twin Towers attack. It blows my mind. Look at what he has done in the playoffs. I can't pass that up. I dont care about Yao Ming. This guy is what we call a beast.4. Dwight HowardWow, what a talent. Man, this guy is so athletic. I've heard that when he jumps as high as he can his head reaches the rim. The guy is just spectacular. Drafted out of high school. Now at the tender age of 20 he led the League in rpg getting about 12 per game! That is just amazing. People said that he isnt a good scorer but come on, the guy is 20. He doesnt have polished inside moves yet which Im sure he will develop. He is raw. He finishes at the rim with teeth rattling dunks and he is a pretty good shooter too. Now in his second year he has averaged 15 and 12. Shheeesh. He is supposed to be the #1 PF in the game for years to come. I cant pass this guy up either.3. Allen IversonMan, AI. This guy is a new revolution in basketball. He single handedly made the cross over dribble popular. He has broken so many peoples ankles that they wouldnt have enough room to fit them all in a hospital. He has a sweet mid range J that he will use agaisnt you over and over again. People hated him because of his size. So what? He plays big. He will go to the rim with such force that you would think he is mental with that frame. He will cross you up then go to the rim in about 2 seconds. With such grace and ease it will scare you to think of what he can do when he is really trying. By now, he has posted beyond a shitload of 30's. This guy is amazing.2. Tim DuncanTimmy D. Man, this guy was a star before he stepped onto an NBA court for the first time. He has been the Power Forward of the 90's. He is Mr. Fundamental for a reason. Probably because of the fact that he is the most polished inside player, maybe, ever. He will back you down and put it up. He will do whatever, he will shoot. He will get you 24 well playing stellar defense on the other end, he will pass the ball which he does very well, he will get you championships, he will blow up when it matters. Some people say that he has always had a supporting cast. I challenge you to look at that '03 squad. His second best player was freaking Stephen Jackson. He has gotten 2 MVP awards and 3 NBA Finals MVP awards for a reason. He will do it all.1. Lebron James.I dont know if anyone will ever be better than Jordan, but if someone ever will be better, it's going to be this guy. He came into the League all hyped up. Well he has played even better than the hype. He is a dominant scorer, he will take it to the rim and drive through the lanes and put it up and get fouled for an and 1. You have no idea how many times I and you too have seen the guy do it. Probably breaking the 1000 barrier now. When he sets his feet he can be a very good shooter too, although he is sometimes streaky. He is a dominant rebounder. When he puts his head into it, he can rack up 10 rebounds, easily. What sets him apart is his court vision. It's like watching Magic Johnson. That's the last person that had size and better court vision than this kid. He will see the court very well and will air mail you a pass so quickly that you dont even see it flail throught he air. Boom, pass. Boom, score. He can do it all, offensively. He has some room to be desired defensively but dont most young players have that same problem? Im sure he will improve on that end. And maybe the most impressive thing is that the kid, the Chosen 1, the King is only at a tender 21 years old. He will dominate the league for 20 years coming. Watch out. It is time for the reign.
LeBron for me. With the potential he has, I'll take him over anybody in the NBA right now. But Duncan and Howard are close behind.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>8. Andrew BogutAlthough Andrew has looked good, he hasnt done anything to totally blow us away. He has not shown as much signs as the other guys ahead of him did. Although it's evident he is a smart player, a good passer, a good rebounder, a good inside player with a decent shot he hasnt dominated in any way, so I will put him here.</div> Wow CB4...Besides Chris Paul what rookie has 'dominated?'...He played out of position with one of the top 10 rebounders in the NBA, played with a deep rotation with Joe Smith, Dan Gadzuric, Toni Kukoc and Jamaal Magloire, Stotts didn't give him enough plays in the offense. He was huge for us this year winning us threes games with clutch plays. When Magloire is traded he will go back to center and get more minutes.
I would have Brown last, mainly because he didn't do anything for the team that actually drafted him. He might well become a great player, but for the Wizards he sucked ass.Bogut will keep improving I think and if you were to do this in 2/3 years time he would be alot higher.
Um last time I checked Duncan had some serious harware in his trophy case and LeBron has umm...a ROY trophy? C'mon now. Also Martin over Bogut, I don't think this makes much sense. I true 7'0 with a great all around game seems a bit better than an undersized 4 whose contract may be bought out.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DRob-50-Forever @ May 21 2006, 05:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Um last time I checked Duncan had some serious harware in his trophy case and LeBron has umm...a ROY trophy? C'mon now. Also Martin over Bogut, I don't think this makes much sense. I true 7'0 with a great all around game seems a bit better than an undersized 4 whose contract may be bought out.</div>umm.. i think this is based on what they do over their entire career. It wouldn't be fair for LeBron if they were just to do it on previous accomplishments. Also, LeBron is a better player right now.
I wouldn't say that Lebron is that much of a better player right now, than TD...just look at what Timmy is doing in the playoffs.I like the list overall, with the exception of TD going at #1 and Lebron at #2.And I"m not saying this just because Timmy has 3 titles...but the Big Fundamental, is still one of the best players of all time, and top 3 today...I'd still take him over Lebron right now, a 7 footer, with all the skills he has?
