History of the 1st Pick

Welcome to Corner Three’s Draft Pick History (more here)! How valuable is the 1st pick?

Of the 26 picks since 1995:

  • 15 players have made All-Star Teams (58%)
  • 14 players have made All-NBA Teams (56%)
  • The median career Win Shares is 48.0

Expected player values for the 1st pick would be:

BestLeBron James
MedianKenyon Martin
WorstAnthony Bennett

The mean 1st pick has averaged:

Points/game16.5
Rebounds/game7.0
Assists/game3.2
Steals/game0.9
Blocks/game1.0

Here’s what the latest contract for the 1st pick looks like:

YearSalaryNotes
1$9,757,440
2$10,245,480
3$10,733,400Team Option
4$13,534,817Team Option
5$17,595,263Qualifying offer

And here’s every 1st pick since 1995:

PlayerTeamYearAll-Star TeamsAll-NBA TeamsWin Shares
Anthony EdwardsMIN20200.8
Zion WilliamsonNOP2019 10.6
Deandre AytonPHO201817.4
Markelle FultzPHI20173.1
Ben SimmonsPHI2016 30.4
Karl-Anthony TownsMIN201555.8
Andrew WigginsCLE201418.9
Anthony BennettCLE20130.5
Anthony DavisNOH2012 86.8
Kyrie IrvingCLE2011 68.7
John WallWAS201044.1
Blake GriffinLAC200977.2
Derrick RoseCHI200842.8
Greg OdenPOR20077.3
Andrea BargnaniTOR200618.9
Andrew BogutMIL200550.6
Dwight HowardORL2004138.2
LeBron JamesCLE2003 242.0
Yao MingHOU200265.9
Kwame BrownWAS200120.8
Kenyon MartinNJN200048
Elton BrandCHI1999109.6
Michael OlowokandiLAC19982.5
Tim DuncanSAS1997206.4
Allen IversonPHI199699
Joe SmithGSW199560.3
Italicized players are still active

Thanks to our sources, Basketball Reference and Spotrac.

Draft History compiled by Derek Reifer & RJ Garcia.