NBA Draft 2019: Best draft picks from No. 1-30 since 2000
By Joey Loose
As we approach the 2019 NBA Draft, let’s take a look at the best selection at each pick of the first round since the year 2000.
Optimism abounds as we approach the NBA Draft. Regardless of what happened the previous season, each team has a chance to find the franchise’s next top talented players. In years past we’ve seen top picks become legends of the game, but it’s also true that late selections have shined as well. The bottom line is that you don’t need a high lottery pick to land talent.
While some of the league’s most talented players were lottery picks, there have been stars who have been taken later in the first round, in the second round, or went undrafted at all. We’re going to attempt to identify the best player taken at each of the first 30 picks of the draft, at least since the turn of the century. We’re going to show that while those highly talented players go earlier in the draft, that some of these lower picks tend to develop into elite basketball players.
Just because your team doesn’t have a top 10 pick doesn’t mean you can’t land a future star. We’ve narrowed this down to one player for each of those first 30 picks, but it wasn’t a simple process. The players were selected based off how their career has progress in the NBA, though accolades and longevity were used to make some of the choices. There hasn’t been an All-Star taken at all 30 picks, but there’s certainly been talent available late in the first round.
One final thing to note is that these selections were not purposely made based on who was available at the time in the draft, or taken directly after them. These selections are mentioned on the specific pages, but these are solely the most talented NBA players taken at each first round pick. Without further ado, let’s dive right in.