A staple of the NBA calendar, the Draft enables franchises to take their pick from thousands of college and international ballplayers to bolster their squads for the forthcoming season and the years beyond.
Being the number one overall draft pick carries a significant degree of expectation. Some players go on to fulfil their potential as stars of the NBA, while others unfortunately buckle under the pressure and never live up to their lofty billing.
Clifton McNeely was the very first draft pick in NBA history when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Ironmen in 1947. However, the Texas Wesleyan graduate was not interested in signing with the team, and therefore never played a game of professional basketball.
A total of 20 number one draft picks have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, including Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming.
Several more have been selected All-Stars, with the likes of Victor Wembanyama (2023) and Paolo Banchero (2022) most recently joining the illustrious list of number one draft picks to feature in the annual NBA All-Star Game.
NBA No. 1 overall Draft picks
Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
1947 | Clifton McNeely | Pittsburgh Ironmen |
1948 | Andy Tonkovich | Providence Steamrollers |
1949 | Howie Shannon | Providence Steamrollers |
1950 | Charlie Share | Boston Celtics |
1951 | Gene Melchiorre | Baltimore Bullets |
1952 | Mark Workman | Milwaukee Hawks |
1953 | Ray Felix | Baltimore Bullets |
1954 | Frank Selvy | Baltimore Bullets |
1955 | Dick Ricketts | Milwaukee Hawks |
1956 | Sihugo Green | Rochester Royals |
1957 | Rod Hundley | Cincinnati Royals |
1958 | Elgin Baylor | Minneapolis Lakers |
1959 | Bob Boozer | Cincinnati Royals |
1960 | Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati Royals |
1961 | Walt Bellamy | Chicago Packers |
1962 | Bill McGill | Chicago Zephyrs |
1963 | Art Heyman | New York Knicks |
1964 | Jim Barnes | New York Knicks |
1965 | Fred Hetzel | San Francisco Warriors |
1966 | Cazzie Russell | New York Knicks |
1967 | Jimmy Walker | Detroit Pistons |
1968 | Elvin Hayes | San Diego Rockets |
1969 | Lew Alcindor | Milwaukee Bucks |
1970 | Bob Lanier | Detroit Pistons |
1971 | Austin Carr | Cleveland Cavaliers |
1972 | LaRue Martin | Portland Trail Blazers |
1973 | Doug Collins | Philadelphia 76ers |
1974 | Bill Walton | Portland Trail Blazers |
1975 | David Thompson | Atlanta Hawks |
1976 | John Lucas | Houston Rockets |
1977 | Kent Benson | Milwaukee Bucks |
1978 | Mychal Thompson | Portland Trail Blazers |
1979 | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers |
1980 | Joe Barry Carroll | Golden State Warriors |
1981 | Mark Aguirre | Dallas Mavericks |
1982 | James Worthy | Los Angeles Lakers |
1983 | Ralph Sampson | Houston Rockets |
1984 | Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets |
1985 | Patrick Ewing | New York Knicks |
1986 | Brad Daugherty | Cleveland Cavaliers |
1987 | David Robinson | San Antonio Spurs |
1988 | Danny Manning | Los Angeles Clippers |
1989 | Pervis Ellison | Sacramento Kings |
1990 | Derrick Coleman | New Jersey Nets |
1991 | Larry Johnson | Charlotte Hornets |
1992 | Shaquille O'Neal | Orlando Magic |
1993 | Chris Webber | Orlando Magic |
1994 | Glenn Robinson | Milwaukee Bucks |
1995 | Joe Smith | Golden State Warriors |
1996 | Allen Iverson | Philadelphia 76ers |
1997 | Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs |
1998 | Michael Olowokandi | Los Angeles Clippers |
1999 | Elton Brand | Chicago Bulls |
2000 | Kenyon Martin | New Jersey Nets |
2001 | Kwame Brown | Washington Wizards |
2002 | Yao Ming | Houston Rockets |
2003 | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers |
2004 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic |
2005 | Andrew Bogut | Milwaukee Bucks |
2006 | Andrea Bargnani | Toronto Raptors |
2007 | Greg Oden | Portland Trail Blazers |
2008 | Derrick Rose | Chicago Bulls |
2009 | Blake Griffin | Los Angeles Clippers |
2010 | John Wall | Washington Wizards |
2011 | Kyrie Irving | Cleveland Cavaliers |
2012 | Anthony Davis | New Orleans Hornets |
2013 | Anthony Bennett | Cleveland Cavaliers |
2014 | Andrew Wiggins | Cleveland Cavaliers |
2015 | Karl-Anthony Towns | Minnesota Timberwolves |
2016 | Ben Simmons | Philadelphia 76ers |
2017 | Markelle Fultz | Philadelphia 76ers |
2018 | Deandre Ayton | Phoenix Suns |
2019 | Zion Williamson | New Orleans Pelicans |
2020 | Anthony Edwards | Minnesota Timberwolves |
2021 | Cade Cunningham | Detroit Pistons |
2022 | Paolo Banchero | Orlando Magic |
2023 | Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs |
2024 | Zaccharie Risacher | Atlanta Hawks |
2025 | Cooper Flagg | Dallas Mavericks |
