NBA Draft: 25 lottery picks who should have been better pros

Here’s a look at 25 NBA Draft lottery picks since 2000 who underachieved in the NBA.

Every year, the NBA Draft is filled with anticipation, excitement, and the hope that your team has landed a future superstar that will lead his new squad to the promised land.

Sometimes, your team has struck gold. Some of the most memorable picks in draft history have been those of players that almost instantly lifted their drafted team to new heights.

However, that is unfortunately not always the case.

Between scouting, predicting, and ultimately picking, it is impossible to hit on every single draft pick, especially in the lottery.

In fact, more often than not, it seems as if players drafted in the lottery don’t perform to their proper billing. Those players are affectionately called “busts”.

The. NBA Draft lottery can be more than just a “game of chance”.

Before we kick off the list, there is a disclaimer. This is not a list of the top 25 busts since 2000. This is a list of the top 25 players picked in the NBA Draft lottery who clearly underperformed. Certain picks have certain expectations, and this is ultimately a list of players that did not meet those expectations.

Here are a couple of other things to keep in mind before diving into the list:

• This list only dates back to 2000. Going back to the start of the NBA Draft would be impossible, considering the fact that it would be pretty tough to measure the expectations that players picked before our time had.
• For the most part, players picked in recent years were also left off. As the NBA gets younger, players in their teenage years are being selected. Saying that a 21-year-old who was picked three years ago has underperformed is unfair and frankly incorrect.
• Finally, this list is obviously completely subjective. Whether it be from his college or high school hype, team situation, or performance coming out of the gate, every single player on this list had high expectations at some point. While the entire list will be up for debate, it should be a consensus that none of these players reached their ceiling.

Now that we’ve gotten those few points out of the way, let’s get started. Here are the top 25 NBA Draft lottery picks since 2000 that should have been better pros.