All-time Draft (with real positions where the players were picked)

[-Luke-]

I went through all drafts and tried to determine who is the best player ever picked at this position.

With some players it was difficult. George Gervin, for example, was drafted 40th overall by the Phoenix Suns, but played in the ABA and never for the Suns. For opportunistic reasons, I included him anyway. Same with Dr. J. Harry Galatin, for example, was drafted three times.

Players in bold are the best at this position in my opinion. If there is only one player there, there were no other candidates. If several players are there and one is bold, it wasn't 100% clear to me and I wanted to at least mention other players. If no one is bold, I couldn't decide or didn't care because none of the candidates were good (42-44 for example).

I hope I didn't forget anybody.

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James (honorable mentions: Magic, Duncan, Hakeem, Shaq, …)
2. Bill Russell (hm: Bob Pettit, Jerry West, Kevin Durant)
3. Michael Jordan
4. Dolph Schayes, Bob Cousy, Rick Barry, Dave Cowens, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook
5. Walt Frazier, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade
6. Larry Bird
7. Stephen Curry
8. George Yardley, Sam Jones, Robert Parish, Jack Sikma
9. John Havlicek, Dirk Nowitzki
10. Jack Twyman, Paul Westphal, Paul Pierce, Paul George
11. Jamaal Wilkes, Reggie Miller, Klay Thompson (maybe future: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Domantas Sabonis)
12. Larry Costello, Rudy LaRusso, Paul Silas
13. Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant
14. K.C. Jones, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, Maurice Lucas, Clyde Drexler
15. Steve Nash, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard
16. John Stockton
17. Bill Sharman, Richie Guerin, Shawn Kemp, Jermaine O'Neal
18. Calvin Murphy, Joe Dumars, David West
19. Tiny Archibald
20. Harry Gallatin, Cliff Hagan, Gus Williams, Larry Nance
21. Jerry Sloan, Michael Finley, Rajon Rondo
22. Truck Robinson, Johnny Davis, Norm Nixon, Jarrett Allen
23. Wayne Embry, A.C. Green, Alex English
24. Terry Porter, Arvydas Sabonis, Sam Cassell, Latrell Sprewell, Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle Lowry
25. Bob Weiss, John Drew, Jeff Ruland, Mark Price, Gerald Wallace, Tony Allen
26. Vlade Divac, Kevin Martin, George Hill, Taj Gibson
27. Dennis Rodman, Rudy Gobert, Pascal Siakam
28. Tony Parker, Dan Roundfield
29. Dennis Johnson
30. Spencer Haywood, Jimmy Butler
31. Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, Gilbert Arenas
32. Slater Martin, Bill Bridges, Caldwell Jones, Rashard Lewis
33. Jack Coleman, Kevin Duckworth, Grant Long, Joe Harris, Jalen Brunson
34. Norm Van Lier, Don Buse, Jae Crowder
35. Rick Mahorn, Carlos Boozer, Draymond Green
36. Bob Love, Maurice Cheeks, Clifford Robinson
37. Don Ohl, Archie Clark, Nick Van Exel
38. Mehmet Okur, Chandler Parsons, Spencer Dinwiddie, (possibly Ayo Dosunmu in the future)
39. Al Attles, Kevin Porter, Khris Middleton
40. Gar Heard, Dino Radja, Monta Ellis, Lance Stephenson, Will Barton, Josh Richardson
41. Nikola Jokić
42. John Tresvant, Matt Geiger, Zaza Pachulia, Bruce Brown, Patrick Beverley
43. Andy Phillip, Fred Carter, Johnny Moore, Eric Snow, Stephen Jackson, Michael Redd, Trevor Ariza
44. Clemon Johnson, Malik Rose, Brian Cardinal, Mike Muscala
45. Bob Dandridge, Antonio Davis, Lou Williams, Goran Dragić
46. James Edwards, Jerome Kersey, Jeff Hornacek, Matt Barnes, Danny Green, Jordan Clarkson, Norman Powell
47. Vernon Maxwell, Gerald Wilkins, Mo Williams, Paul Millsap
48. Marc Gasol
49. Eddie Johnson
50. Larry Kenon
51. Kyle Korver
52. Steve Kuberski, Joe Hassett, Donald Royal, Fred Hoiberg, Kenyon Martin Jr.
53. Anthony Mason, (Nando De Colo)
54. Bob Hansen, Sam Mitchell
55. Patty Mills, E'Twaun Moore
56. Manu Ginóbili, Luis Scola
57. Frank Brickowski, Marcin Gortat
58. Tom Owens, Henry Bibby, Kurt Rambis
59. Pat Cummings
60. Michael Cooper, Dražen Petrović, Isaiah Thomas

Territorial Pick: Wilt Chamberlain
Undrafted: Ben Wallace, John Starks, Brad Miller, Raja Bell,...
Picked after 60th: Randy Smith, Gerald Henderson, Bill Laimbeer, James Donaldson, Mark Eaton, Michael Adams

Where do you see it differently and who is the No. 1 for you at the positions where I couldn't decide?

[penbeast0]

I believe Wilt was a territorial pick so even though he clearly would have gone #1, Philly got to draft him with their pick.

[-Luke-]

I believe Wilt was a territorial pick so even though he clearly would have gone #1, Philly got to draft him with their pick.

Correct, he was a territorial pick. These early drafts are really nasty for an exercise like that.

[HeartBreakKid]

You should have a separate section for territorial picks similar to what you did with undrafted.

[-Luke-]

You should have a separate section for territorial picks similar to what you did with undrafted.

Done. I have edited the starting post. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone

[Owly]

I went through all drafts and tried to determine who is the best player ever picked at this position.

With some players it was difficult. George Gervin, for example, was drafted 40th overall by the Phoenix Suns, but played in the ABA and never for the Suns. For opportunistic reasons, I included him anyway. Same with Dr. J. Harry Galatin, for example, was drafted three times.

Players in bold are the best at this position in my opinion. If there is only one player there, there were no other candidates. If several players are there and one is bold, it wasn't 100% clear to me and I wanted to at least mention other players. If no one is bold, I couldn't decide or didn't care because none of the candidates were good (42-44 for example).

I hope I didn't forget anybody.

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James (honorable mentions: Magic, Duncan, Hakeem, Shaq, …)
2. Bill Russell (hm: Bob Pettit, Jerry West, Isiah Thomas, Kevin Durant)
3. Michael Jordan
4. Dolph Schayes, Bob Cousy, Rick Barry, Dave Cowens, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook
5. Walt Frazier, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade
6. Larry Bird
7. Stephen Curry
8. George Yardley, Sam Jones, Robert Parish, Jack Sikma
9. John Havlicek, Dirk Nowitzki
10. Jack Twyman, Paul Westphal, Paul Pierce
11. Jamaal Wilkes, Reggie Miller (maybe future: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Domantas Sabonis)
12. Larry Costello, Rudy LaRusso, Paul Silas, (Julius Erving)
13. Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant
14. K.C. Jones, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, Maurice Lucas, Tim Hardaway
15. Steve Nash, Giannis Antetokounmpo
16. John Stockton
17. Bill Sharman, Richie Guerin, Shawn Kemp, Jermaine O'Neal
18. Calvin Murphy, Joe Dumars
19. Tiny Archibald
20. Harry Gallatin, Cliff Hagan, Gus Williams, Larry Nance
21. Jerry Sloan, Michael Finley, Rajon Rondo
22. Truck Robinson, Johnny Davis, Norm Nixon, Jarrett Allen
23. Wayne Embry, A.C. Green, Alex English
24. Terry Porter, Arvydas Sabonis, Latrell Sprewell, Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle Lowry
25. Bob Weiss, John Drew, Jeff Ruland, Gerald Wallace, Tony Allen
26. Vlade Divac, Kevin Martin, George Hill, Taj Gibson
27. Dennis Rodman, Pascal Siakam
28. Tony Parker
29. Dennis Johnson
30. Spencer Haywood, Jimmy Butler
31. (Harry Gallatin), Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, Gilbert Arenas
32. Slater Martin, Bill Bridges, Caldwell Jones
33. Jack Coleman, Kevin Duckworth, Grant Long, Joe Harris, Jalen Brunson
34. Norm Van Lier, Don Buse
35. Draymond Green
36. Bob Love, Maurice Cheeks
37. Don Ohl, Nick Van Exel
38. Mehmet Okur, Chandler Parsons, Spencer Dinwiddie, (possibly Ayo Dosunmu in the future)
39. Al Attles, Kevin Porter, Khris Middleton
40. (George Gervin)
41. Nikola Jokić
42. John Tresvant, Matt Geiger, Zaza Pachulia, Bruce Brown
43. Andy Phillip, Fred Carter, Johnny Moore, Eric Snow, Stephen Jackson, Michael Redd, Trevor Ariza
44. Dave Robisch, Clemon Johnson, Malik Rose, Brian Cardinal, Mike Muscala
45. Bob Dandridge, Antonio Davis, Lou Williams, Goran Dragić
46. James Edwards, Jerome Kersey, Jeff Hornacek, Matt Barnes, Danny Green, Jordan Clarkson, Norman Powell
47. Vernon Maxwell, Gerald Wilkins, Mo Williams, Paul Millsap
48. Marc Gasol
49. Eddie Johnson
50. Larry Kenon
51. Kyle Korver
52. Steve Kuberski, Joe Hassett, Donald Royal, Fred Hoiberg, Kenyon Martin Jr.
53. Anthony Mason, (Nando De Colo)
54. Bob Hansen, Sam Mitchell
55. Patty Mills
56. Manu Ginóbili
57. Frank Brickowski, Marcin Gortat
58. Tom Owens, Henry Bibby, Kurt Rambis
59. (Sam Jones), Pat Cummings
60. Michael Cooper, Dražen Petrović, Isaiah Thomas

Territorial Pick: Wilt Chamberlain
Undrafted: (George Mikan), Moses Malone


Where do you see it differently and who is the No. 1 for you at the positions where I couldn't decide?

Things that can junk it: territorial, ABA, players picked more than once, forfeited (and I guess abstained) picks (Reference and Wiki both have Minny's forfeited pick as the final, 29th pick of the first round in 2001, 2002 and so the first pick of the second is the 30th, but then in 2004 [with the Bobcats now in] Minny don't seem to take up a slot and the first pick of the second round remains the 30th pick [Varejao])

First glance.
Don't see the need to list Thomas with a bunch of perennial MVP candidates at 2.
Comfortable taking Paul at 4
Comfortable taking Reggie at 11
I might not have a strong preference at 13, know I'm probably on an island here (and more RS tilted than most).
Clyde Drexler missing at 14 (probably take?)
Add Cassell to shortlist at 24 (certainly above Sprewell)
Add Price at 25
Comfortable taking Vlade at 26
Add Gobert, maybe Elden Campbell at 29
Add Roundfield at 28
Add Rashard Lewis at 32
Add (probably select) Hairston at 33
maybe add Crowder at 34
maybe add the field at 35 (Boozer, D Jordan, Corbin, Mahorn)
36 select Cheeks, add Clifford Robinson
37 add maybe select Archie Clark (maybe cut Ohl?)
I'll stop semi-close looking there
from the field selected don't see much reason to to pull the trigger on selecting 46 Hornacek, 47 Millsap

Possible, slightly dated, cheat-sheet source: https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/19657372/the-best-picks-every-nba-draft-slot (though they seem to have some older players off from their official draft position perhaps something about how/if they're counting territorial picks).

[-Luke-]

Things that can junk it: territorial, ABA, players picked more than once, forfeited (and I guess abstained) picks (Reference and Wiki both have Minny's forfeited pick as the final, 29th pick of the first round in 2001, 2002 and so the first pick of the second is the 30th, but then in 2004 [with the Bobcats now in] Minny don't seem to take up a slot and the first pick of the second round remains the 30th pick [Varejao])

First glance.
Don't see the need to list Thomas with a bunch of perennial MVP candidates at 2.
Comfortable taking Paul at 4
Comfortable taking Reggie at 11
I might not have a strong preference at 13, know I'm probably on an island here (and more RS tilted than most).
Clyde Drexler missing at 14 (probably take?)
Add Cassell to shortlist at 24 (certainly above Sprewell)
Add Price at 25
Comfortable taking Vlade at 26
Add Gobert, maybe Elden Campbell at 29
Add Roundfield at 28
Add Rashard Lewis at 32
Add (probably select) Hairston at 33
maybe add Crowder at 34
maybe add the field at 35 (Boozer, D Jordan, Corbin, Mahorn)
36 select Cheeks, add Clifford Robinson
37 add maybe select Archie Clark (maybe cut Ohl?)
I'll stop semi-close looking there
from the field selected don't see much reason to to pull the trigger on selecting 46 Hornacek, 47 Millsap

Possible, slightly dated, cheat-sheet source: https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/19657372/the-best-picks-every-nba-draft-slot (though they seem to have some older players off from their official draft position perhaps something about how/if they're counting territorial picks).

Thanks for your reply! I have no idea how I missed Drexler at 14 and Price at 25. Added both of them and tend to have Drexler as the best at 14. Price is probably the best at 25.

Will think about the other suggestions. Just wanted to add Drexler and Price quickly.

Edit: I had some of the names you mentioned (Crowder, Gobert, Cassell, Clifford Robinson, Rashard,...) in an earlier draft (no pun intended) and cut them for whatever reason. Some of those cuts were not consistent if I look at some of the people I mentioned in other spots. Added most of them back in. Hairston was picked at 35 and not 33 if I see it correctly.

[Owly]

Things that can junk it: territorial, ABA, players picked more than once, forfeited (and I guess abstained) picks (Reference and Wiki both have Minny's forfeited pick as the final, 29th pick of the first round in 2001, 2002 and so the first pick of the second is the 30th, but then in 2004 [with the Bobcats now in] Minny don't seem to take up a slot and the first pick of the second round remains the 30th pick [Varejao])

First glance.
Don't see the need to list Thomas with a bunch of perennial MVP candidates at 2.
Comfortable taking Paul at 4
Comfortable taking Reggie at 11
I might not have a strong preference at 13, know I'm probably on an island here (and more RS tilted than most).
Clyde Drexler missing at 14 (probably take?)
Add Cassell to shortlist at 24 (certainly above Sprewell)
Add Price at 25
Comfortable taking Vlade at 26
Add Gobert, maybe Elden Campbell at 29
Add Roundfield at 28
Add Rashard Lewis at 32
Add (probably select) Hairston at 33
maybe add Crowder at 34
maybe add the field at 35 (Boozer, D Jordan, Corbin, Mahorn)
36 select Cheeks, add Clifford Robinson
37 add maybe select Archie Clark (maybe cut Ohl?)
I'll stop semi-close looking there
from the field selected don't see much reason to to pull the trigger on selecting 46 Hornacek, 47 Millsap

Possible, slightly dated, cheat-sheet source: https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/19657372/the-best-picks-every-nba-draft-slot (though they seem to have some older players off from their official draft position perhaps something about how/if they're counting territorial picks).

Thanks for your reply! I have no idea how I missed Drexler at 14 and Price at 25. Added both of them and tend to have Drexler as the best at 14. Price is probably the best at 25.

Will think about the other suggestions. Just wanted to add Drexler and Price quickly.

Edit: I had some of the names you mentioned (Crowder, Gobert, Cassell, Clifford Robinson, Rashard,...) in an earlier draft (no pun intended) and cut them for whatever reason. Some of those cuts were not consistent if I look at some of the people I mentioned in other spots. Added most of them back in. Hairston was picked at 35 and not 33 if I see it correctly.

Hairston appears to depend on source. Reference (on player page and draft page) has him 35, Wikipedia has 33. I think 33 would be off not counting territorial picks so whilst where exactly to count those picks gets junky, those picks were above him so I would probably agree that he's best thought of as 35.

[eminence]

Gobert was a 27th pick (hence the number), not 29th.

Most picks look pretty reasonable.

[Owly]

Gobert was a 27th pick (hence the number), not 29th.

Most picks look pretty reasonable.

That'd be off my typo (though perhaps noticeable in that it came before opinions on 28) relating to him and Campbell, so I'll take some responsibility for that.

[-Luke-]

Gobert was a 27th pick (hence the number), not 29th.

Most picks look pretty reasonable.

Right, thank you! Changed it in the starting post.

[-Luke-]

I also noticed that I missed Klay Thompson at 11. Added him.

Also added David West at 18. Not better than Dumars, but I wanted to mention him.

Edit: Also added a bunch of alternatives to 40 because George Gervin is kind of cheated.

[-Luke-]

Added the category "picked after the 60th pick" with the candidates Randy Smith (104th pick in 1971), Gerald Henderson (64th pick in 1978), Bill Laimbeer (65th - 1979), James Donaldson (73rd – 1979), Mark Eaton (72nd – 1982), Michael Adams (66th – 1985). Left out players that were drafted by NBA teams but played in the ABA (Billy Paultz, Charlie Scott, Dan Issel,...) and players who were drafted a second time later on (Elgin Baylor).

To make it more consistent, I applied the same rules to the other picks. So Dr. J. and George Gervin are out. Gallatin only counts at 20 and Sam Jones at 8. That makes Pat Cummings the only 59th pick ever to have a noteworthy NBA career (unless 2020 pick Jalen Harris manages to get back to the NBA and has a career.

[Lou Fan]

Man Kawhi doesn't even get a mention at 15.

[Owly]

Added the category "picked after the 60th pick" with the candidates Randy Smith (104th pick in 1971), Gerald Henderson (64th pick in 1978), Bill Laimbeer (65th - 1979), James Donaldson (73rd – 1979), Mark Eaton (72nd – 1982), Michael Adams (66th – 1985). Left out players that were drafted by NBA teams but played in the ABA (Billy Paultz, Charlie Scott, Dan Issel,...) and players who were drafted a second time later on (Elgin Baylor).

To make it more consistent, I applied the same rules to the other picks. So Dr. J. and George Gervin are out. Gallatin only counts at 20 and Sam Jones at 8. That makes Pat Cummings the only 59th pick ever to have a noteworthy NBA career (unless 2020 pick Jalen Harris manages to get back to the NBA and has a career.

Think this would cut Moses from undrafted too.

And in that (no technicalities) spirit you probably get rid of Mikan, too, I would think. I think the NBL Gears just recruited Mikan (and then Lakers then got his rights by rising from the ashes of the worst team Detroit Gems).

If so that means starting looking at the likes of Ben Wallace, Brad Miller ...

[-Luke-]

Man Kawhi doesn't even get a mention at 15.

You're right. Brain fart on my part. He definitely deserves a mention. Pick 15 is strong.

And in that (no technicalities) spirit you probably get rid of Mikan, too, I would think. I think the NBL Gears just recruited Mikan (and then Lakers then got his rights by rising from the ashes of the worst team Detroit Gems).

If so that means starting looking at the likes of Ben Wallace, Brad Miller ...

Yes, this would make Ben Wallace the obvious choice if I didn't forget anybody as always. John Starks, Brad Miller and Fred VanVleet are the only other players I could find who made at least one All-Star team. Plus you have guys like Raja Bell, Haslem, Barea, Seth Curry,...