The best ever players at every lottery draft pick

The NBA Draft is probably the most important part of the offseason. The future of the league is quite literally decided by the draft. Entire franchises can be decided by who they bring in through the draft. If they bring in a franchise player like Michael Jordan, then they can expect to be successful for however long that superstar stays with their team. On the flip side, they can also completely flop, like Anthony Bennett did for the Cavaliers. In this article, we will look at every draft lottery spot(1st overall to 14th overall) and see who the best player drafted at that spot was, based of their personal success, the success they brought the team that drafted them, and their accomplishments (such as All-Star Games, All-League appearances, etc.)

Disclaimer: All stats are courtesy of Basketball Reference.

Pick Number 14: Clyde Drexler

Clyde “The Glide” Drexler is one of the best ever NBA players. If it wasn’t for the dominance of Michael Jordan and the Bulls, Drexler would probably have more than just one ring. He averaged 20.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists across his 1,086 career games, and never averaged below ten after his rookie season. Those are incredible numbers, and befitting of a Hall Of Fame player. It is likely that Drexler would have become a superstar on the level of Kobe Bryant, had it not been for the unfortunate occurrence of Drexler playing in the same era and position as one Michael Jordan. However, Drexler deserves this spot as the best 14th overall pick of all time.

Accomplishments:

10x All-Star

1x NBA Champion

5x All-NBA

Pick Number 13: Kobe Bryant

The late Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest players of all-time, serving the Lakers loyally for two decades after his draft rights were traded by the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for fan-favorite Vlade Divac in 1996. In hindsight, the Lakers definitely got the better end of the deal, as Bryant became one of the all-time greats and a franchise icon, who played 1346 games for the Lakers, and was a crucial part of 5 championship teams in his 20 years with the Purple and Gold. Averaging 25 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, Bryant is an alltime great, and easily the best ever 13th overall pick of all time.

Accomplishments:

18x All-Star

5x NBA Champion

12x All-Defensive

1x MVP

2x League Scoring Champion

15x All-NBA

2x Finals MVP