#1 Overall Picks in the NBA Draft (Part 2) Quiz

Answer:

The second ever NBA draft was held in 1948 - those first two drafts the 1947 and 1948 drafts were actually when the NBA was the BAA, and Andy Tonkovich was the first pick overall in 1948. He was a graduate of the Marshall University Thundering Herd. As team captain he was drafted by the now-defunct Providence Steamrollers, a team that rolled over and died by 1949.

In 1957, The Cincinnati Royals had the first pick in the NBA draft and they picked Rodney Clark "Hot Rod" Hundley. He played guard for the West Virginia Mountaineers in college and after the Royals drafted him, they immediately traded him to the Minneapolis Lakers, where he played his entire 6-year career. So far, as of 2025, West Virginia was the only college to have had two players picked number one overall in the draft.

Cazzie Russell became a member of that legendary New York Knicks team that won the NBA Championship in 1970, when he was drafted first overall by them in 1966. He was taken from the Michigan University Wolverines and played Guard/Forward for the Knicks, one of the best "6th Man" players to play the game.

1975 saw the Atlanta Hawks with the first pick and they chose David Thompson from North Carolina State University. He was the obvious best player in the draft, so that made him a risky pick because the upstart ABA league had the Denver Nuggets picking first in that league's draft, and they also picked Thompson. Thompson wound up going with the Nuggets.

Mark Aguirre of DePaul University was the Naismith College Player of the Year award winner and was picked first in the 1981 draft by the Dallas Mavericks. He was only a junior when he was picked, the second underclassman ever picked first in the draft.

Patrick Ewing, one of the best NBA players of all time never to win a championship was drafted first in 1985 by the New York Knicks. It was a draft loaded with great prospects. Who can forget the Knicks' General Manager Dave DeBusschere's excited reaction when the envelope was pulled out of the drum revealing that his Knicks would have the first pick? Ewing at least did win an NCAA Championship with the Georgetown Hoyas.

Center Shaquille O'Neal of LSU was chosen first in 1992, by the Orlando Magic. He proved his potency, winning the Rookie of the Year Award. He would go on to win 4 NBA Championships, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and another with the Miami Heat.

2002 was considered a relatively weak draft year, but it did however offer Yao Ming the towering 7'6" center who was drafted number one by the Houston Rockets who drafted Ming from the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He would be elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

The 2008 NBA draft was the first time that the first three picks were college freshman, and Derrick Rose of The University of Memphis Tigers was the first one of the three, taken by The Chicago Bulls. Fittingly, Rose was a Chicago native. The point guard proved a solid choice, winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

For the first time in their history, the Minnesota had the first pick in the draft and they chose center Karl-Anthony Towns from the Kentucky Wildcats. Towns was the first Dominican Republic player (although born and raised in New Jersey) to be the first overall pick in the draft.

In the 2024 NBA draft, when the Atlanta Hawks picked first, they chose forward Zaccharie Risacher from France, the second consecutive French player to be drafted number one. It was the first time that a country other than the United States, had at least three native players chosen in the top ten of the draft: Risacher, Alex Sarr (a Frenchman drafted from the Australian team the Perth Wildcats), and Tidjane Salaün.

Here are the answer choices that were not #1 picks in the draft, despite some of them becoming absolute superstars in the NBA:
---- Larry Bird was drafted 6th in 1978 (by the Boston Celtics) but stayed in college to finish his senior year. He then joined the Celtics and would win 3 MVP Awards.
---- Joe Dumars was the 18th overall pick in 1985, chosen by the Detroit Pistons. He became a 6-time NBA All-Star, 3-time All-NBA Team, 4× All-Defensive First Team, and 1989 Finals MVP.
---- Alex English was picked 23rd overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976. He would go on to score 2,000+ points in 8 consecutive seasons (1981-1989)-only 4 players have bested that.
---- Walt Frazier was drafted 6th overall, winning Rookie of the Year, and becoming the heart of the Knicks' 1970s championship teams. My favorite pro athlete in sports.
---- George Gervin was already playing for the Virginia Squires in the ABA when the Phoenix Suns drafted him 40th overall in 1974. But he signed with the San Antonio Spurs instead and would become a 4-time NBA scoring champion.
Serbian Nikola Joviæ was picked 27th overall in the first round, chosen by The Miami Heat in 2002.
---- Karl Malone was picked 13th overall, but would win 2 NBA MVP Awards in his career.
---- In one of the deepest drafts in NBA history, Chris Mullin was drafted 7th overall by the Golden State Warriors and would go on to be a 5-time NBA All-Star, 4-time All-NBA Team, 1992 Olympic "Dream Team" Member, and the first player in NBA history to have over 200 three-point shots and over 200 steals in a single season.
---- Bill Sharman was picked 17th overall in 1950 by the Washington Capitols. He would become a 4-time NBA Champion with the Celtics (1957, 1959-1961), and an 8-time All-Star, and 4×-time All-NBA First Team.
---- The 9× NBA All-Star (1963-1971) Lenny Wilkens had legendary competition in the draft: fellow guards Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. So, no wonder Wilkens was drafted only 6th by the St. Louis Hawks.