Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesFor the second time in three years, the first overall pick in the NBA Draft will have to sit out his rookie season due to injury. It happened to Greg Oden in 2007 when he underwent microfracture surgery to repair his ailing right knee, and happened this season with the Clippers' Blake Griffin.The pressure of being the first pick is never easy, and the scrutiny only increases with the delay of Griffin's debut.The 2000s were tough on rookies. Out of 10 picks, only two went on to be voted Rookie of the Year. That numberReebok Washington Redskins #98 ORAKPO Realtree camo Jersey
stands in start contrast to the seven first picks that were voted Rookie of the Year in the 90s.The success of a rookie depends largely on the situation around him.Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Yao Ming, and Blake Griffin were drafted to be centerpieces for their respective organizations. Howard and James have reached the finals, while Ming has struggled with injuries. Griffin has yet to see a single minute in the NBA.Nothing is ever certain except for the attention the first overall pick gets.In the last 20 years, the NBA Draft has produced big names, stunning disappointments, and utter wastes of talent. They are The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.The GoodThe San Antonio Spurs have had two first overall picks in the last 30 years. In 1987, they drafted David Robinson. His career highlights include Rookie of the Year, two-time NBA Champion, Defensive Player of the Year, NBA MVP and a career double-double average.Ten years later, the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan and never looked back.Duncan's resume is impressive even when compared to Robinson's. 1997 Rookie of the Year, four-time NBA Champion, three-time NBA Finals MVP, two-time NBA MVP, and a career double-double of his own.Duncan is arguably one of the most consistent performers in the NBA today and he certainly lives up to his nickname of "The Big Fundamental". Especially in a league that seems devoid of anything resembling the basics of basketball.The Orlando Magic have Dwight Howard leading them to bigger and better things these days, but they owe much of their past success to the original Superman.In 1992, the Magic drafted Shaquille O'Neal with the first pick. In his second year, the Magic had reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. By his third year, they were in the NBA Finals.The Magic reached the playoffs three times in Shaq's four years with the team, but couldn't stop him from signing with the LA Lakers in the offseason.Shaq went on to win four championships, three with LA and one with Miami, earn three finals MVP awards, one league MVP award and eliminate any doubt that he is the most dominant center in the modern day NBA.Even though the Magic only got a taste of the glory that followed Shaq, they can take credit for bringing the beast, the Diesel, into the NBA.And with Howard looking like a monster himself, I don't think they miss him that much anymore.The BadThe word bust is thrown around quite a bit when taking about first round picks, but the conversation picks up when the first overall pick is in question.The Milwaukee Bucks spent their first pick in the 1994 draft on Glenn Robinson. Robinson immediately held out for a lucrative deal. His asking price wasn't too steep.He only wanted 13 years, $100 million for his rookie contract.He got 10 years and $68 million instead, but it still stands as the most lucrative rookie contract in NBA history. Statistically speaking, Robinson sort of earned it.He holds career averages of 20 points and six rebounds, but that only earns him slightly above average status. In his eight years with the Bucks, he only helped them to one playoff berth in which they reached the Eastern Conference finals to Philadelphia.Before his deal was up, the Bucks traded Robinson to the Hawks for Toni Kukoc, Leon Smith and a first round pick in the 2003 draft.He only lasted a year in Atlanta before being traded to the 76ers over the summer of 2003. His tenure with Philadelphia would only last the year and he was traded to the Hornets for Rodney Rogers and Jamal Reebok Pittsburgh Steelers 43 Troy Polamalu Realtree camo Jersey
Mashburn. He was waived by the Hornets almost immediately.Robinson was a member of the Spurs for their 2005 championship run, but didn't play a significant role in the victory.He missed 88 games over his eight years with the Bucks, a majority of those games coming in two years from 1997-1999. Injuries, particularly to his knees, spelled the end of his career.Needless to say, the Bucks did not get their moneys worth with Robinson.I bet if the Golden State Warriors could go back to 1995 and re-do their first pick, they certainly wouldn't pick Joe Smith again.Not that Smith is awful, but he doesn't seem quite worthy of the first overall pick consider the four players taken after him all have All-Star appearances and he does not.Imagine what the Warriors would be like if they had taken a leap and drafted eventual fifth overall selection Kevin Garnett. Or fourth overall pick Rasheed Wallace. Or third overall pick Jerry Stackhouse. Or second overall pick Antonio McDyess.Garnett and Wallace would go on to in championships, while Smith never reached the finals.While still active, Smith has become expendable late in his career. In the last five years, he has been a part of eight teams. He had decent showings early in his career, but never lived up to his status as first overall selection.The UglyTwo players drafted in the last 20 years have become synonymous with the term bust. Both were considered to be the future for their respective teams and neither lived up to the hype.Michael Olowokandi was supposed to be a force on the inside, a veritable second coming of Shaq. He had all the measureables: height, weight, everything.He failed miserably to live up to his draft status. The word pedestrian is almost too generous to label his career.He missed 37 games his rookie year with the Clippers and 46 games in his final season with Clippers in 2002-2003. In the meantime, he averaged just 10 points and eight rebounds per game.Over the remaining four years of his career, The Kandi Man spent time with Minnesota and Boston, but never turned his career around in any fashion resembling a first overall pick.To make matters worse, Dirk Nowitski, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, and Antawn Jamison were among the players picked after Olowokandi. The Clippers have only recently recovered from the grave overvaluing of Olowokandi, and he isn't even the biggest bust to come out of the last 20 drafts.Kwame Brown stands out as the biggest draft bust in the last two decades solely because of the landscape of the NBA at the time.The influx of high school players declaring for the draft was at its peak in the 2001 draft. Out of the top ten, four of the draftees were straight out of high school. The other three players have proven to be just as bad as Brown, but they don't have the first overall selection label on their careers.Tyson Chandler, Eddie Curry, and DeSagana Diop are not first round talent and were highly overvalued by scouts. Brown turned out to be particularly bad because behind him, Pau Gasol was available.Ironically enough, Brown was shipped to the Lakers and then traded to the Grizzlies in the trade that brought Gasol to LA.Brown's time in Washington was unforgettably forgettable. His career high averages with the Wizards were 10 points and seven rebounds in his third year. The Reebok Green Bay Packers 21 Charles Woodson Realtree camo Jersey
next year, he would prove to be an immature highschooler.Brown skipped meetings, practices, and argued with teammates and coaches. He was suspended for the Wizards' playoff series in 2005 after missing practice due to a stomach virus, but being spotted later that evening at a Chinese eatery.Since the rule change that requires players to be one year removed from high school or 19 years old by the end of the calender year, there have been less instances of the straight out of high school bust. It is a shame that the Wizards couldn't have had the first overall pick in any of the three drafts following 2001, because they could have had Yao Ming (2002), LeBron James (2003) or Dwight Howard (2004).The NBA Draft is an imperfect science at best.Drafting for need can lead a team to draft Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. Drafting the best player available can lead to drafting Pervis Ellison. It is nearly impossible to predict what bumps will come along the road of a first overall pick's career, but it is easy to look back and see exactly what went wrong.
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