RealGM

Well it looks like that streak is about to end.

Of course theres three HOF candidates on the team but still, the weird correlation between top 3 picks and winning a championship will soon come to an end.

Maybe theres still hope yet?

yeah but both finals teams have an early generation highschool player. when that phenomenon hit, it was still a risk to take a kid with no college experience so they werent going very high. i see a correlation between that new trend and the lack of a top three pick. after all, if kobe and garnett had played a year or two of college, they would have been top 3 when they came out.

Well, Boston does have a top 5 pick (Allen), and a 10th pick that they drafted on their own (Pierce). The direct correlation was actually already lost (Lakers, Shaq was signed, and Kobe wasn't drafted top 10). The point that you still need to draft a superstar, and that it gets infinitely more likely to do so when you have a top pick, still stands.

Wasn't Gasol 3rd overall? If the Lakers somehow win 2 in Boston, the streak continues...