Top Ten Worst Draft Picks in NBA History
Written by B-Dub, Thursday June 24 2010
With the NBA draft tonight I thought it would be a good time to look back at some of the worst mistakes in NBA draft history.
I intentionally did not include picks that look terrible because of what a team traded to get the pick. For instance, the Golden State Warriors traded Robert Parrish and the third overall pick in the 1980 draft, which turned out to be Kevin McH ale, for the first pick. The Warriors took Joe Barry Carroll, who actually made an All-Star team. It's what they traded to get Joe Barely Cares that makes the selection look so bad. Let's call that one a dis-honorable mention.
I just wanted to stick with picks that were terrible judged on what the performance of the player selected and what the team could have gotten instead of the stiff they actually chose. So without further ado here is my list of the Top Ten Worst Draft Picks in NBA History.
10. LaRue Martin - Potland Trail Blazers (No. 1, 1972)
I know what you're saying. Who? Well that's exactly my point. This guy was so bad nobody has ever heard of him before. Martin was a 6-11 center from Loyola of Chicago, who only played four seasons in the NBA with a career 5.3 scoring average. Apparently drafting a player just because he's tall goes way back. The trick is actually picking one that can play. Martin certainly couldn't play.
9. Robert Traylor - Dallas Mavericks (No. 6, 1998)
OK this one isn't really on the Mavericks since they drafted Traylor for the Milwaukee Bucks, who then drafted Dirk Nowitzki at No. 9 to complete the trade agreement. It was all about the salary cap ramifications, but the point is that Traylor was selected before Nowitzki, a 9-time All-Star and former MVP and Paul Pierce who is an 8-time All-Star and won a Championship. "Tractor" Traylor had a non-descript career then got three years probation for money laundering for a big-time drug trafficker a few years ago. He is still playing though......in Puerto Rico. Note: My Philadelphia 76ers could be in this spot for taking Larry Hughes at No. 8 instead of Pierce or Dirk. Speaking of my Sixers......
8. Shawn Bradley - Philadelphia 76ers (No. 2, 1993)
I am almost afraid to list this pick since the Sixers have the No. 2 pick in this draft, but how could I ignore the Great White Waste? In a draft that produced Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway and Jamal Mashburn, the Sixers wanted and got Bradley. The 7-6 center out of BYU had almost no real basketball skills except being tall, which allowed him to block some shots. Did you know that he had a role in the 1996 movie, Space Jam? He was one of the NBA stars who lost their talent along with Muggsey Bogues, Charles Barkley, Larry Johnson and Patrick Ewing. I never saw the movie, but I have a question. Wouldn't Bradley have to have talent before he could lose it?
7. Joe Smith - Golden State Warriors (No. 1, 1995)
Smith wasn't the worst player in the world, with a 12.4 career scoring average, but it's the players that the Warriors could have drafted that make it such a bad pick. Here are the selections from No 2 through No. 4; Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace. None of them were superstars, but all were certainly better than Smith. Then you look at who was taken at No. 5 and realize why the Golden State Warriors are always so bad. That would have been Kevin Garnett.
6. Nikoloz Tskitishvili - Denver Nuggets (No. 5, 2002)
I never even heard of this guy until I saw his name on the NBA draft list. Tskitishvili was a European 7-footer playing in Italy when the Nuggets passed on Amare Stoudemire to take him. That bone-headed move ultimately cost GM Kiki Vanderweghe his job. He averaged a whopping 2.9 points per game in his 172 game NBA career with four different teams. I guess hitting open shots in a crappy European league is a little easier than playing in the NBA huh?
5. Marvin Williams - Atlanta Hawks (No. 2, 2005)
Yes, I know it's early in his career to call Williams a bust, but since the Hawks passed on Deron Williams (No. 3) and Chris Paul (No. 4) in the 2005 draft what else can you call this pick? Williams has averaged 11.9 points in his five-year career, but you just know Hawks fans look at him and think "what if".
4. Kwame Brown - Washington Wizards (No. 1, 2001)
This was proof that just because Michael Jordan was a skilled player on the basketball court doesn't mean that he can pick skilled players. Kwame was drafted right out of high school and never lived up to the hype. He's still playing and has career averages of 6.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg, but so what. He's more famous for skipping out of a practice during the 2005 playoffs with what he said was a stomach ailment, only to be seen at a Chinese restaurant later that same night. The Wizards suspended him for the rest of the playoffs and he was traded in the offseason. The Wizards could have drafted Pau Gasol, Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson or Tony Parker. Hell they would have gotten more out of Eva Longoria Parker.
3. Michael Olowokandi - Los Angeles Clippers (No. 1, 1998)
The Candy Man was a complete bust. You can't teach size, which Olowokandi had at 7-0, but he didn't have much else. He averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in his 10-year, 500-game NBA career. The 1.8 blocks is the most galling stat since he was 7-0. He should have blocked more than that by accident. I already told you that the 1998 draft class included Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce, but the Clippers also passed on Antawn Jamison (No. 4) and Vince Carter (No. 5). Oh well, at least he was better than Robert "Tractor" Traylor. I think.
2. Darko Milicic - Detroit Pistons (No. 2, 2003)
It wasn't the Pistons fault that they missed out on LeBron James, who went No. 1 overall in 2003, but taking Milicic No. 2 when there were players like Carmello Anthony (No. 3), Chris Bosh (No. 4) and Dwayne Wade (No. 5) still available makes this one unforgivable. GM Joe Dumars should have known that Larry Brown never plays rookies anyway. The lack of minutes destroyed any confidence that the youngster from Yugoslavia might have had, if he even had any talent. He said recently that he was going to retire from the NBA and return to playing basketball in Europe. I guess playing a year for the Knicks will do that to you.
1. Sam Bowie - Portland Trail Blazers (No. 2, 1984)
Who else? Bowie is famous for one thing and that is being the guy who was drafted before Michael Jordan. What most people don't know is that the Blazers lost a coin toss for the No. 1 pick in the 1984 draft and missed out on Hakeem Olajuwan, taken first overall. Yeah, that just makes it worse doesn't it? And another sure-fire Hall of Famer, Charles Barkley was taken by my Sixers at No. 5.
There were even warning signs with Bowie. He missed the entire 1982 and 83 seasons at Kentucky due to a broken left tibia he suffered while jumping for a photo shoot. Yes, really. Bowie actually had a decent rookie season before he had a few injuries in his second season. Then he broke his right tibia five games into his third season. Nope, not done yet. He missed the rest of his third season and then broke the same bone in the same place during warm-ups of an exhibition game the next season. If he was a race horse they would have taken him out and shot him. Which makes it quite ironic that Bowie now owns a race horse.
There really is no doubt that Sam Bowie was the worst NBA draft pick of all time. Hell, he's probably the worst draft pick of all-time in any sport.
There were even warning signs with Bowie. He missed the entire 1982 and 83 seasons at Kentucky due to a broken left tibia he suffered while jumping for a photo shoot. Yes, really. Bowie actually had a decent rookie season before he had a few injuries in his second season. Then he broke his right tibia five games into his third season. Nope, not done yet. He missed the rest of his third season and then broke the same bone in the same place during warm-ups of an exhibition game the next season. If he was a race horse they would have taken him out and shot him. Which makes it quite ironic that Bowie now owns a race horse.
There really is no doubt that Sam Bowie was the worst NBA draft pick of all time. Hell, he's probably the worst draft pick of all-time in any sport.
So there you have it. The ten worst draft picks in NBA history. I just hope my Sixers aren't on this list years from now with the No. 2 pick in this draft.
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3 comments
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rkrepp, I considered Oden, but left him off since he hasn't been around long enough to really build up a legit Bust label. Darko has to be #2 simply because the Pistons passed on 3 All-Stars in Anthony, Wade and Bosh to take him. Bradley still hurts, so let's never speak his name again. Big Fan, glad you liked the joke at poor Sam Bowie's expense. It was too easy.
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I never knew about Larue Martin in 1972, Blazers fans have it rough; speaking of - its a bit early, but add Greg Oden to the list, his career will be over in 4 more agonizing years. He'll tear an acl this year by Christmas, just watch. He moves like he's a 300 lb ex-football player in a 40's and over rec league, no way he plays past age 32. Plus, KD will average 30+ about 3 of the next 6 years, and bag an MVP next year or the following. Joe Smith had the best upside of a suspect 1995 draft (remember, KG started that straight from high school trend - Shawn Kemp in 1990 was the only since Moses I believe and there was no solid evidence of success). No way that pick was worse than Shawn Bradley. I hate that guy for ruining the Sixers throughout the mid 90's. You cant mention it in the article, but MJ supposedly called Kwame a faggot. I'd say that makes him the 2nd worst pick ever. About Kwame Brown -
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"If he was a race horse they would have taken him out and shot him" hahahaha