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We rank 'em. You react. That's how the Daily List rolls.6/23/2008 02:30:00 PM Worst NBA Draft Lottery Picks of All-Time
By Lang Whitaker, SI.com
Michael Olowokandi has averaged 8.3 points per game for his career.v/Getty Images
Once again, the NBA Draft is upon us, meaning GMs around the League will once again get a chance to show us that they know talent. And while picking later in the Draft gives teams a chance to gamble on players they think are underrated, teams selecting in the Lottery are expected to find sure things, guy who just can't miss. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way. Here are my top five worst NBA Draft Lottery picks of all time.
1. Darko Milicic: Darko's actually turned out to have a fair NBA career, recently signing a lucrative contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. Still, his production has never matched the expectations that came with him being drafted second overall in the 2003 NBA Draft ahead of players like Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, among many others.
2. Michael Olowokandi: Snagged first overall in the 1998 Draft by the Clips, The Kandi Man never managed to make everything he touched satisfying and delicious.
3. Kedrick Brown: The Celts selected this JuCo star 11th in the 2001 Draft, much higher than most experts had him projected (at least, those who had heard of him). He most recently played in the NBA's D-League.
4. Kwame Brown: Drafted first overall in 2001 and endorsed by none other than Michael Jordan, NBA fans are still waiting for Brown's skills to catch up with his body.
5. Robert Swift: It's still early to completely write Swift off, his career has been defined by injuries thus far. At least he's found a good tattoo parlor in Seattle to fill his downtime.
Who is the worst NBA Draft Lottery pick of all-time? Let us know below…
Lang Whitaker is the executive editor of SLAM magazine and writes daily at SLAMonline.composted by SI.com | View comments |
Comments:
Sam Bowie!! drafted over MJ
Hands down the worst everrafael araujo from toronto. what a waste.Never Nervis Pervis EllisonCan you say LaRue Martin? If you don't have a frame of reference, look it up.Two of these inglorious five currently reside on the Memphis Grizzlies' roster - Kwame Brown and Darko. But we got rid of Mr. Soft - the Spaniard. Oh, boy.You've missed some of this biggest
1. Chris Washburn - GSW
2. Len Bias - BOS - Some may quible, but his death really set the franchise back.
3. Rafael Araujo TOR - mentioned already
4. Ed O'Bannon NJN -Until we find out whether he can come back from his injury, Greg Oden has to be on the list.1. Len BiasDefinitely Pervis Ellison... or at least any Kings lottery pick from the late 80s to mid 90s -- and I'm a Kings fan!Ralph Sampson!I thought Baby Jordan aka Harold Minor was a bad choiceAlfrederick Hughes. As Bob Ryan said about San Antonio immediately following that draft -- "someone must have spiked their nachos."FIZERChris WashburnTodd Fuller,11th overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft by Warriors. Fuller was taken ahead of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Peja Stojakovic, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jermaine O'Neal, all of whom became NBA All-Stars.What about Pearl Washington. He was terrible!Joe Barry CarrollShawn BradleySam Bowie and LaRue Martin were not in the draft lottery.Orlando's pick in the 2005 Draft, #11 overall Fran Vazquez. This bum never even donned a uni for the Magic.Jon Koncak, Big Country Reeves, Chris Washburn, Rameel Robinson, Shawn Bradley et al.
This list could never end.
Sam Bowie was a decent NBA player. Because he was picked before Jordan, people think that he was a bust. Portland needed a big man to go with Drexler. I think Bowie gets a pass on that one.I'd have to say Len Bias.
So much potential, though we'll never know. Sent the Celtics in a downward spiral that took years toi recover from.Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. He set the tone for basketball in Vancouver.Eddie Griffin was hardly worth what the Rockets gave up....!Look at any Cavs lottery pick other than LeBron James, Brad Daugherty, and Ron Harper.keith lee, shawn bradley, christian welp! welp is the guy the sixers drafted when they had the number 1 pick and could have took brad daughertyI HAVE ALOT OF NAMES TO MENTION AND HERE IS SUM OF THEM:
LAETNER
JASON WILLIAMS
BOBBY HURLEY
SHELDEN WILLIAMS
LANGDON
GRANT HILL
SEAN AVERY
ELTON BRAND
CHEROKKE PARKS
AND THE LIST GOES ON
DUKE=BUSTSJay WilliamsJason Collinselton brand???????????
how aboout danny ferryYinka daredanny ferryuwe blabStromile Swift.I get it, some people hate "Duke" so do I, but you can not put Elton Brand on this list: Rookie of the year, 2 time all star, 05-06 All NBA 2nd Team, Member of USA 2006 FIBA World Championship Team, Averaging 20.3 pts and 10.2 rebounds per game for career.
The person who should be on the list is Shaun Livingston (4th overall draft pick).elton brand ur crazy hes an allstar...
grant hill ur also crazymike dunlevey... he suck when he was in the warriors.....adam morrisonIts hard to say darko was a bad move... i mean i know he sucks but the pistons did win a title that year, and who knows what would of happened with a carmello or wade...Grant Hill? Really? The guy averages over 19ppg over his 14 year career and he's a bust?
Maybe he's not a Hall of Famer, and I'm certainly not a huge Hill fan, but he's a decent player, nonetheless.grant hill?dude is still a badass...maybe his injury has prevented him from playing during his prime years...but he is by no means a bust...he was worth the pick by the pistons......jaytang - you lost all credibility by mentioning elton brand. he is one of the most consistent players in the NBA today. very underated. can easily put 20/10 night in and night out.Adam Morrison
MJ deserves two picks on this list. I think I would rather have Kwame.i hated kwame brown so much.i saw him try the same layup 3 times and get blocked 3 times in the same play. its like the defender wanted to get the rebound cuz he knew what he would try. the laker crowd booed his sorry ass after that and im pretty sure i saw him cry.Wow, thats exciting. Almost like watching paint dry! LOL
JT
http://www.iurlz.com/demtools@jaytang
Grant Hill?
Are you serious? You obviously know very little about NBA basketball!!!Hey Jaytang
Williams, Hurley both fell victim to unfortunate accidents, and although Hill has many injury plauged seasons I definitly wouldn't call him a bust since hes averaged 19-6-5. Brand over his career has averaged 20 and 10. Don't be a hater because of the colors they wear. On another note Sam Blowie and Rafael Araujo should definiltly be on the list.any magic 1st round draftee that is not Oneil, Haradway, Anderson, or Howard.Toronto selecting Charlie Vallenueva over Chris Paul. ESPN didn't even have any footage of Valleneuva at the draft, and had to piece together a montage - and the montage was of Vallenueva turning the ball over, fouling, etc. If TO had seen the video before the draft, they would have thought otherwise.What a lazy, useless article. Robert Swift has one half-decent year and gets injured for 2 years, after being the 12th pick, and suddenly he's the 5th worst lottery pick of all time? Was the research time for this article measured in seconds or microseconds?Gotta compare the pick to the rest of the draft. Joe Smith picked first over names like Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett. "This is one of the biggest blunders in the history of professional sports." - Bill WaltonYou missed about Sam Bowie & Yinka dareLen Bias. What a waste of a pickFred Weis, who the NY Knicks drafted, he never even played.Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson1. Hakeem Olajuwon
2. Sam Bowie?!?!?
3. Michael JordanSomeone that never gets mentioned.
Scott MayJoe Smith was drafted #1 over McDyess, KG and Rasheed Wallace.
Same Bowie over MJJon Koncak - Atlanta Hawks, 5th pick overall.
Ahead of Karl Malone, Charles Oakley, Detlef Schrempf, Chris Mullion, Terry Porter, others,Lebron Jamesbad bad badlen bias, hands down.Adam Morrison...I called it from the jump.I'm gonna agree with anonymous..
Ed O'Bannon. Is he really a car salesman now? Say it ain't so.ANYONE FROM DUKE!joe barry carroll has to b the worst lottery pickShawn Bradley was a terrible pick for #2, to be sure. But his draft position unfairly tarnishes his career. He scored in double digits for 4 NBA seasons, and consistently had 3-4 blocks per game for the first half of his career. 8 rebounds a game was probably an under achievement given his size.
Has Bradley been picked up at 20 or later, he would be judged in a much more positive light. But you can't fault him for taking the contract that Philadelphia was so foolish to give him, or for Philadelphia's foolish decision to take him over Anfernee Hardaway.dajuan wagner--#6 (02)
steve francis--#2 (99)
jonathan bender--#5 (99)--prep?-lol
Korleone Young---#40 (98)helped in the prep jump!
every one from Duke! except Grant and Shane!! LOLChris WashburnTodd FullerFREDERIC WEIS, B**CHES!
He broke the Knicks brain.how can you possibly assert that len bias was a bad draft pick?!?!?! sure he died of a cocaine OD, but the Celtics had no way of knowing that. granted, it did set the franchise back, but at the time, it was an amazing pick. too bad about his coke habit, but c'est la vie.
http://addicted2sports.blogspot.comUntil somebody actually dies on the podium as they're shaking Stern's hand, the worst pick of all time will always be Len Bias.How come no one mentioned JOE SMITH? He was picked #1 by the Warriors over Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Brent Barry and Michael Finley. That's bad enough, but he also destroyed the Timberwolves franchise for years to come later.Lang Whitaker doesn't go back nearly far enough for his all-time worst list. Darko isn't anywhere close to the worst all-time lottery pick. As mentioned previously, Chris Washburn is worse. So is William Bedford.
other guys who didn't work out:
Jay Williams
Nikoloz Tskitishvili
Dajuan Wagner
Shawn Respert
Sharone Wright
Lamond Murray
Eric Montross
Billy Owens
Bo Kimble
Dennis Hopson
Benoit Benjamin
Joe Kleine
then pre-lottery:
Joe Barry Carroll
Greg Kelser
and many othersTHANK YOU! Finally someone brought up Glen "Big Dog" Robinson. Picked ahead of Grant Hill?? What a joke. Injuries and all, Hill is still a solid contributor. Is Glen Robinson still in the NBA??Darko was a HUGE BUST. I know Detroit won the NBA title his rookie year, which he sat on bench, unless it was 30 seconds left, even in huge lead games. So he is not a bust, because Detroit won the NBA title, and he was on the roster? He was worse than Greg Kite and Chuck Nevitt of the 80's Boston and LA teams! I would add Benoit Benjamin to the bust list.Anyone drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks over the last 20 years.The #1 all time worst draft pick...boston giving up the #1 pick in the draft for Robert Parish and the number 3 pick which turned out to be Kevin McHale. 2 Hall of Famers for Joe Barry Carroll. Red Auerbach was a Genius.Everybody says Len Bias I disagree When You draft sombody and somthing unfortunate happens. It does not makeit a bad draft choice.
Sam Bowie was and has to be the worst and the other choices of the trailblazers can be ranked in the majority of bad choices.Andrea "Bargain"iani. Single-handedly brought the euro fascination to a screeching halt.Ndubi Ebi, such a clownhow about mateen cleaves.Yes! They were the worst ever.Robby angeles of caloocan city is the best!! mj will just suck his ass.. wait for him in 2010!!!!The Wash. Bullets selecting Kenny Green (Wafe Forest) over Mailman Malone.Picking Joe Forte, one pick ahead of Tony Parker, when we needed a PG more than any other position, was the worst draft decisino the C's made in the past 20 years. And that's saying something!michael beasleysam bowie over mj
worst ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i am from chicagobig country!anyone from carolina post dean smith eraNdudi Ebi. He was the only thing we had, after the Joe Smith unpleasantness, and he played like 14 minutes in his career. Ultimate clown. That guy couldn't hack it in a suburban rec league, I'd take Mark Madsen over him any day.anyone from carolina post dean smithDo you people pay attention. Sam Bowie was pre lottery. Frederic Weis was not a lottery pick, the Knicks were a playoff team then, I know that's a bit hard to remember.
Chris Washburn, Ed O'Bannon, Bo Kimble take the cake to me.ANyone FROM UNC!!!!!Duke haters... ain't got a clue.... that will always have the respect... carlos B, shane, and grant... the others are workin it like everyone else would have done coming from that programEvery draft is different. A number one pick for a particular year has little bearing on the same for another year. Based upon the strength of the draft it is really who you fail to choose with a high pick that really matters. That makes the answer easy...Sam Bowie. It's not how poorly the guy you picked performed, rather it's how good was the guy you passed on.Harold Minor, AKA "Baby Jordan", NOT! I've got his rookie card if anybody wants it.If it's only about the how good the guy you passed on was, then that would make busts out of Olajuwon (Jordan was taken later), Bibby (Nowitzki), and depending on who you think is better Anthony or Bosh (Wade). Nothing is that black and white.Recent Posts
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