The best ever players at every lottery draft pick
Pick Number Two: Jerry West
Jerry West is one of the greatest shooters of all time. Besides his rookie year, where he averaged 17.6 points, West never averaged below 20 points and shot 47.4% from the field. He also remains the only player to ever win the Finals MVP while playing for the losing team. Along with Elgin Baylor, West made the Finals 9 times, but won only once, due to the brilliant Boston Celtics of his era. When Wilt Chamberlain ended up in LA, West finally won the championship that he deserved. After he retired, he was permanently immortalized by the NBA, who modeled their new logo after him.
Accomplishments:
1x NBA Champion
14x All-Star Games
1969-70 Scoring Champion
12x All-NBA
5x All-Defensive
1968-69 Finals MVP
Pick Number One: Kareem Abdul Jabbar
This was probably the hardest pick to decide because so many superstars and legends of the game were taken as the first overall pick. Although it’s possible that LeBron could be considered the best No. 1 pick in a few years, he isn’t right now.
The likes of Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, and Patrick Ewing were all taken with the No. 1 pick, and there is little to separate these icons from the actual pick shown here. In fact, the main reason why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was picked is because of his longevity. Over a remarkable 20 year career, Kareem Abdul Jabbar averaged 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists.
He also made 19 All-Star appearances, missing out only in the 1977-78 All-Star game. He also is the top scorer in the history of the NBA and a 6-time MVP. He helped the newly-formed Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA championship in 1971, winning the Finals MVP, then helped them reach their second and most recent Finals appearance in 1974, where they lost to the Boston Celtics.
He then moved to the LA Lakers, where he won 5 more championships alongside superstars such as James Worthy and Magic Johnson. All of these accomplishments help cement his place as the best ever No.1 pick in NBA history.
Accomplishments:
19x All-Star Games
6x NBA Champion
11x All-Defensive
2x Finals MVP
Rookie of the Year 1969-70
2x Scoring Champion
15x All-NBA
6x MVP