The Best and The Worst

After some time re cooperating from a long work week which involved me standing out in mid 90 degree heat with no shade and surrounded by more than a thousand soccer moms, I am back with my "The Best and The Worst" draft picks in NBA history from picks 5 through 1. Thank you to those that voted for the best #1 pick of all time. Hopefully ten years from now I will be able to put Chicago's Derrick Rose on the list. After much debate over the best, I am going to go with my public and announce a tie. Without further ado here is the top 5 best and worst #1 picks in the history of the NBA Draft.

THE 1ST OVERALL PICK

BEST

1. Magic Johnson 1979 LA Lakers - Johnson was the face of this franchise for 12 seasons, before announcing an early retirement because of the HIV virus. He was the ultimate showman in a city filled with them. Might be the best point guard in NBA history. If winning his first NBA title wasn't enough, he became the only rookie to take home the Finals MVP Award. Among his accomplishments, 5-time NBA Champ...3-time NBA MVP...12-time All-Star...3-time NBA Finals MVP...9-time NBA All-1st team...and a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary team.





1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1969 Milwaukee - At that time known as Lou Alcindor, he was an ultimate force for the Bucks, playing 6 seasons with the team winning the NBA MVP Award 3 of those seasons and a NBA Championship. Although Abdul-Jabbar always spoke well of Milwaukee and its fans, he said that being in the Midwest did not fit his cultural needs and requested a trade to either New York or Los Angeles in October 1974. In 1975, the Lakers acquired Abdul-Jabbar and reserve center Walt Wesley from the Bucks for center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters, and rookie "blue chippers" Dave Meyers and Junior Bridgeman. One of the worst trades in NBA history. His career achievements include: the all-time leading point scorer in NBA history, 6-time NBA MVP, 6-time NBA Champ, 19-time All-Star, 10-time NBA All 1st team, and a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary team.



3. Oscar Robertson 1960 Cincinnati

4. Hakeem Olajuwon 1984 Houston

5. Tim Duncan 1997 San Antonio

WORST

1. LaRue Martin 1972 Portland - A 6-foot-11 center out of Loyola, LaRue Martin entered the NBA with much fanfare in 1972. Unfortunately, he never quite lived up to the hype, spending four seasons on the Portland Trail Blazers’ bench before retiring in 1976. In four seasons Martin never scored more than 7.0 points per game, and he never shot better than .452 from the field. He notched both of those numbers during the 1974–75 season, when Walton missed most of the year with injuries. Martin retired in 1976, one year before the Blazers won their first NBA Championship. In four seasons he tallied 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

2. Pervis Ellison 1989 Sacramento

3. Michael Olowokandi 1998 LA Clippers

4. Art Heyman 1963 New York

5. Kent Benson 1977 Milwaukee

Other notables that were selected in the number 1 slot include:

Allen Iverson, Patrick Ewing, Derrick Coleman, Kenyon Martin, Glenn Robinson, Chris Webber, Andrea Bargnani, Lebron James, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Andrew Bogut, Kwame Brown, Larry Johnson, Joe Smith, Elton Brand, Bill Walton, James Worthy, and Danny Manning