TheObiewan12 | Cavaliers

191 | 3 hours ago

I mean maybe Andrew Wiggins. Some may consider him a bust because he was the first pick but he was a good player for a long time

NoLimitSoldier31

83 | 3 hours ago

Wolves fan here. Hated the way he turned out. No way a 4th best player on a good team is a good use of #1

pinkpony254 | Bulls

47 | 3 hours ago

He peaked as the #2 on a title team.

Easy_Money_40 | Cavaliers

18 | an hour ago

In the finals.

He wasn’t a clear number 2 that whole year.

freshprince44

-20 | 3 hours ago

dray is so much obviously better, this was a silly thing people said at the time, but even sillier that people still say it

wiggins trying to rebound for one single playoff run was special as hell though, crazy what putting effort did for his production

Tough_Flight_8107 | San Francisco Warriors

32 | 2 hours ago

dray was not better that 2022 run come on now

Economy-Berry2704

-5 | an hour ago

he absolutely was lmao

freshprince44

-6 | 2 hours ago

? defense and playmaking don’t matter anymore?

dray anchored the defense, outrebounded wiggs and was the main playmaker on the team

klay even outshoots and outscores wiggins.

Wiggins had an outlier bunch of games playing really hard, his defense was super impressive, but dray was still doing way more on that end and the offense isn’t as cut and dry either.

fnslahu

13 | an hour ago

wiggins defense was insane that playoffs. locked up tatum and luka like it was nothing

freshprince44

-10 | an hour ago

the cool thing is, perimeter defense without interior defense is basically worthless :)

wiggins played great, the warriors played great TEAM defense too, with dray being the obvious and unquestioned leader and best performer on that end.

nobody gets locked up 1v1 in basketball, it is a 5v5 sport, we don’t need to blow so much air into this casual nonsense

Mbanicek64

6 | an hour ago

I don’t know what you are going on about, but I know it is wrong.

freshprince44

-1 | an hour ago

lol, appreciate you completing the circle, nba fans really hate having to talk about basketball

dray was much more impactful than wiggins that run, it isn’t the least bit complicated

Accomplished-Law-652

5 | 2 hours ago

Dray is a much better player but he was not more important to that one specific title run.

freshprince44

-3 | 2 hours ago

this seems like a silly semantic argument. wiggins was WAY more replaceable than dray on that specific run.

What made that run special was wiggins finally accepting his role as a hustle wing

dray was still anchoring the defense and running the offense. those roles are way more important than POA defender with decent spacing and solid rebounding

fake-tall-man

1 | 38 minutes ago

Honestly any functional center would’ve been better for gs that year. Dude was benched for being terrible and them playing way better with looney at 5 & Wiggins at the 4

freshprince44

1 | 33 minutes ago

this is completely overblown, wiggins played 64 more minutes over the entire playoffs, like 3 minutes per game

he wasn’t at his best at all, yet he still ran their offense and defense despite some bad matchups and personal struggles

looney at the 5 and wiggins at the 4 is completely unsustainable, something working for short stints doesn’t mean it is actually best. situations and context matter, dray still played a major role the entire playoffs

yoshisohungry | Warriors

2 | 2 hours ago

There were large stretches where the team was better when we benched dray for looney and otto

freshprince44

0 | 2 hours ago

large? wiggins barely played more minutes and dray was better on defense and the boards and was the main playmaker on offense for the warriors.

klay also outshot and outscored wiggins. wiggins had a big outlier in focus and production for a solid chunk of games, he wasn’t more impactful than dray at all though.

fake-tall-man

2 | 40 minutes ago

Bro draymond was benched in that playoff/finals for being ass. That should’ve been he last year in gs but the fo is soft

freshprince44

1 | 32 minutes ago

he barely played less than wiggins, this is completely overblown. dude wasn’t at his best at all, but he still was the main playmaker and main defender for the team

ARGHETH | GSW

15 | 3 hours ago

He was the second option who guarded Luka and Tatum, no way he was the fourth best player.

defiantcross | Suns

0 | an hour ago

Even worse you traded prime Kevin Love to get him

cubs223425 | Bulls

2 | 42 minutes ago

At the same time, if you look at Kevin Love’s tenure with the Wolves, is that the success you’d want as a franchise? If you take Kevin Love #1 and get his Wolves seasons as the result, how do you feel? 0 winning seasons, 0 playoff appearances, multiple seasons under 20 wins, and just won with 35+ wins (40-42 in Love’s last season).

defiantcross | Suns

1 | 40 minutes ago

Sure but you would have prob traded KLove for something better if you knew Wigs wasnt a game changer

Optimal_Cook_851

1 | 2 minutes ago

Wasn’t Wiggins the most hyped prospect in a long time. And it was the #1 pick and the wolves were rebuilding so that trade wasn’t bad at all

NoLimitSoldier31

1 | 39 minutes ago

I believe Love forced his way out IIRC

Even_Tangerine_4201

37 | 3 hours ago

I’m old enough to remember when tank battles had nicknames like “Riggin’ for Wiggins” and “Sorry for Jabari.”

How well did tanking work out for those teams?

Repulsive-Throat5068 | Lakers

33 | 3 hours ago

Cavs got a ring out of it so pretty well

Over_Use_8474 | Lakers

5 | 3 hours ago

I’d shift the outcome of this pick to the wolves. They are the ones that took the gamble

Repulsive-Throat5068 | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

Yeah that’s true but they were talking about tanking. Cavs and wolves didn’t tank that year

cubs223425 | Bulls

1 | 40 minutes ago

But the Wolves were also already a sorry team. They actually made the playoffs once with Wiggins (barely, and after also picking up Butler), something that didn’t happen with Love on the team.

So, overall, the move didn’t do anything to hurt them.

N7VHung

10 | 3 hours ago

Jabari and Giannis would have been hacks had Jabari not blown his knee.

I guess The Bucks can’t be too salty about how Jabari ended up for them. Giannis does a good job of making us forget that ever happened.

ThinkSoftware | Hawks

8 | 3 hours ago

Like Brock Purdy and Trey Lance

SnooChipmunks4208

1 | 10 minutes ago

Tanking got so bad bill simmons stopped giving nicknames

Smekledorf1996

21 | 3 hours ago

People assume a bust needs to be a bad player, but it’s a player that didn’t meet the expectations of where they were picked

Wiggins peaked out as a 1x undeserved all star that was a great role player for one championship run

Do you honestly think the Wolves would still use their #1 pick on this? A team that was in a rebuild and needed star players to build around?

Bukmeikara | Warriors

7 | 2 hours ago

People also should compare the player to their respective draft class. For example if you draft Fultz as the number one pick but the other 59 players don’t play a minute in the NBA then Fultz who is an overall bad nba player, is still the best possible pick in that year. Is he a bust?

Wiggins was the 3-4th best player in his draft class I think. Him being number is not bad if the other better players are Embiid, Gordon, Lavine. You want to pick them in a perfect scenario but this is not an extreme example like Curry in 09 or Doncic. You can live with it. Wiggins compared to his draft class shouldn’t be considered a bust. He is still a top 5 player and close enough in the margins

itgoesdownandup

4 | an hour ago

Jokic is also in that draft class. Him alone raises the quality of the draft class.

cubs223425 | Bulls

1 | 22 minutes ago

In the case of “how bad can you be to be seen as a successful #1 pick?” I don’t think this is as important. To me, the question is “if you have the #1 pick next year, what’s the NBA comparable for the worst player you’d be happy to have?” I think it’s meant to be much more of a general talent expectation.

Ja is the only player from his draft to receive an All-NBA appearance, but would you be happy with him as your #1 pick right now? Zion would be the #1 pick, but has he panned out in a way you’d want from the top pick? The 2003 NBA Draft is stacked, but I don’t think that makes you unhappy to have Chris Bosh, if you’re drafting next season, and I think that’s what the question is interested in knowing.

Smekledorf1996

-2 | an hour ago

For example if you draft Fultz as the number one pick but the other 59 players don’t play a minute in the NBA then Fultz who is an overall bad nba player, is still the best possible pick in that year. Is he a bust?

That’s not a realistic example that’s based in reality - what NBA drafts best player had a Fultz type career and everyone else wasn’t an nba calibre player

Teams with the #1 pick generally want a franchise cornerstone they can build around

Wiggins was the 3-4th best player in his draft class I think. Him being number is not bad if the other better players are Embiid, Gordon, Lavine.

He was drafted 1st and ended up playing for a rebuilding Wolves team that needed a franchise cornerstone - Wiggins highlight of his career was being a great role player for a title team one year

Him being number is not bad if the other better players are Embiid, Gordon, Lavine.

You’re forgetting that stars like Randle, Jokic and great role players like Marcus Smart and Clint Capela were in that draft as well

Ask any GM if they would use the number 1 pick on a player that peaked out by being a great role player for another teams title run

It’s a pretty simple question

itgoesdownandup

4 | an hour ago

I feel like it’s kinda wild Joel is tossed into this conversation so casually. The dude is good enough that I think he raises the quality of the draft class. Like I don’t think they are wrong we have to observe it in the context of who’s in the draft. This draft just also has a lot of star power.

Bukmeikara | Warriors

0 | an hour ago

The star power is Jokic and Embiid. And Jokic was the 44th pick.

Embiid’s resume is boosted by the MVP but from team perspective - his presense equals to a decent all star. He never passed the 2nd round … in the East

itgoesdownandup

2 | an hour ago

I mean regardless of opinions on Embid. I still feel like it’s wild to just casually toss him into the likes of Gordon and Lavine. I feel like he clearly stands out as better. Like even if you disagree with his MVP. He’s still very much a top level guy when healthy.

cubs223425 | Bulls

1 | 17 minutes ago

Most of those failures with Embiid’s teams are from things that go beyond his control though. He had one of the worst coaches in the league in Doc Rivers. He had some bizarre injuries in those playoffs (including the time Doc left him in after a game was decided and he got hit in the face). His team was a miracle shot away from beating the Raptors, who won the title that year. He didn’t make Ben Simmons have a mental breakdown or push out James Harden over a contract dispute.

Bukmeikara | Warriors

0 | an hour ago

You say that my example is not realistic and yet you provide Jokic as an alternative? Was it realistic for anyone to pick Jokic over Wiggins in 2014?

Also Smart and Capela are worse players than Wiggins. Randle, Lavine and Gordon are in the same ballpark.

Embiid is better but also he played half the games, didn’t play a minute in his first two seasons, it’s not a modern prototype of a star that leads you to a Championship.

With all that context, Wiggins is not a great pick but he is not bad either. Part of him not reaching higher level is also on the Wolves which were a terribly run organization.

Everyone wants a franchise player like Curry as the number 1 pick but they are rarely available. You should get what you have on market.

Smekledorf1996

1 | an hour ago

You say that my example is not realistic and yet you provide Jokic as an alternative? Was it realistic for anyone to pick Jokic over Wiggins in 2014?

It’s not, and I didn’t say it was? I’m just pointing out that you missed a few names in your original comment

Also Smart and Capela are worse players than Wiggins. Randle, Lavine and Gordon are in the same ballpark.

Smart and Capela were fantastic defenders at their positions - Smart even won multiple all defensive and a DPOY

Embiid is better but also he played half the games, didn’t play a minute in his first two seasons, it’s not a modern prototype of a star that leads you to a Championship.

Are you trying to imply that Wiggins was a more appropriate pick than Embiid? What’s your point here?

Embiid is in a different tier than Wiggins and would be selected 10 out of 10 times over him knowing how his career turned out

Bukmeikara | Warriors

0 | 43 minutes ago

Embiid was knowingly going to miss the following season and was a major injury concern given his build up.

Embiid is the better player, that doesn’t make Wiggins a bust or bad pick.

Fun-Jellyfish-61 | Timberwolves

19 | 3 hours ago

Wiggins was absolutely a bust for the Timberwolves.

MuppetEyebrows | Cavaliers

1 | 3 hours ago

Would you have kept Kevin in retrospect, or just taken a different player?

Fun-Jellyfish-61 | Timberwolves

3 | 3 hours ago

Well Wiggins was drafted when the Wolves made the trade. But yeah, keeping Love seems preferable to me.

cubs223425 | Bulls

1 | 14 minutes ago

Would Kevin Love, who had 0 winning seasons, 0 playoff appearances in 6 seasons with the Wolves, be a bust as the #1 pick?

I liked him a lot, and I’d say no, but when you have someone supposedly that good, but no team success, I think it ends up being really hard to make sense of the answer to the question. If Love and Davis can’t make their teams good enough to impact the playoff picture, how good do you have to be?

imdrzoidberg | Lakers

13 | 3 hours ago

2022 GSW Wiggins sure, but absolutely a bust for the team that drafted him.

defiantcross | Suns

6 | an hour ago

I mean…cleveland got Kevin Love for drafting him. Good enough!

PANGIRA | LAL

1 | an hour ago

He was only a bust relative to his salary

Twolves at the time just handed him money

cubs223425 | Bulls

1 | 44 minutes ago

Cleveland was 100% happy to trade him for Kevin Love and make the LeBron reuinion happen.

DefaultConan | Bulls

4 | 3 hours ago

He was a decent player but not a superstar you would think the Number one overall pick should be, If He was picked late in the first around People would seem him as having a good career at the start than having a disappointing one

Mysterious_Emotion63 | Cavaliers

4 | 3 hours ago

Probably the perfect answer, fits the mold one for one

notheretoarguee

2 | 3 hours ago

Wiggins was my first thought as well. Didn’t work out for the team that drafted him, but a very solid contributor on a championship team eventually

ericaepic | Pistons

1 | an hour ago

He’s done so well against the Formics

DirkNowitzkisWife | Mavericks

1 | 41 minutes ago

I don’t think so. I think someone did some research and said the average number one pick ends up being John Wall. Multiple time all star, fringe all NBA. Wiggins’ only all star appearance was a weird fan vote and he peaked as 4th best player on a weak title team

TW_Yellow78 | Minneapolis Lakers

1 | 26 minutes ago

Not worth it for the wolves

ericjr96 | 76ers

1 | 22 minutes ago

That was my exact first thought as well

UnkemptRandom

-6 | 3 hours ago

Wiggins is not a bust. Disappointment given his draft position, sure. But, he’s not a bust.

Smekledorf1996

4 | 3 hours ago

‘Wiggins isn’t a bust, he’s only *insert the definition of a bust’

cubs223425 | Bulls

1 | 12 minutes ago

It’s a terrible way to evaluate the question because no draft’s outcomes match the draft order. Is Blake Griffin a bust? James Harden and Steph Curry wer drafted later and better. If Giannis got picked at 15, does everyone picked in the top-15 need to be better than Giannis?

Smekledorf1996

1 | 7 minutes ago

Blake isn’t really a disappointment for his draft position

He’s a 6x all star, 5x all nba, peaked out as a top 3 MVP candidate and will probably eventually be voted in the HoF

His only problem was injuries, but he still ended up being a perennial all star. Would a GM be happy if their first pick ended up with those accolades?

Probably yes

But would a GM be happy if they used a number 1 pick on a guy that peaked out as a great role player for another teams title run?

I think the answer to that is pretty easy here

UnkemptRandom

-3 | 3 hours ago

Yeah, he’s not a bust. Someone like Anthony Bennett is a bust. Wiggins? He was just disappointing. Wiggins is an all-star and was a significant contributor to a team that won a championship. In what world is that type of player a bust?

Smekledorf1996

2 | 3 hours ago

Wiggins all star selection is considered one of the worst in NBA history and was insanely questionable when he got voted in by a bunch of KPop fans

A bust doesn’t have to be a bad player, but a player that didn’t meet the expectations of where they were picked and unfortunately, Wiggins was picked first

Ask yourself this

Do you honestly think that any GM with the first pick - a chance to get a star before any other team in the league - would pick a guy who ended up being a great role player for another teams title run?

cubs223425 | Bulls

1 | 10 minutes ago

A bust doesn’t have to be a bad player, but a player that didn’t meet the expectations of where they were picked

That’s the question of the topic though. What ARE the expectations of the #1 pick? Who’s the worst player to match those expectations? Seems like you don’t want to answer it, just tell others they’re wrong.

UnkemptRandom

-3 | 2 hours ago

Anthony Bennett = bust-worthy candidate.

Andrew Winggins = disappointing career given draft position.

There’s a difference.

Smekledorf1996

-1 | 2 hours ago

Again, you basically just described Wiggins as a bust without calling him a bust

So there isn’t a difference

UnkemptRandom

0 | 2 hours ago

According to your definition, I suppose. I distingush dissapointing and full-blown bust, which is something you don’t.

Smekledorf1996

2 | 2 hours ago

You don’t have to be a putrid player like Bennett to be considered a bust - is Kwame Brown not a bust anymore because he still managed to be a role player in league for a decade?

Your description of Wiggins ‘disappointing career given draft position’ applies to Bennett as well

There is no difference

UnkemptRandom

0 | 2 hours ago

There’s a fundamental difference, and you need only to look at their accomplishments and achievements to see it.

AceMcStace | Trail Blazers

102 | 3 hours ago

Currently this player is Paolo banchero

FightThru2

10 | 44 minutes ago

Am I crazy for thinking that Paolo is definitely above the line? Like he has yet to average under 20 pts 6 board and 4 assists. Last year he was 26 8 and 5… and he’s 23 years old. I would never even consider if this is a bust as the #1 pick.

OtherwisePurple2379

1 | 13 minutes ago

Paolo hate the corniest thing in basketball right now.

TheGloomWalker

-8 | 3 hours ago

Do you see him improving anytime soon?

AceMcStace | Trail Blazers

26 | 2 hours ago

Certainly, he’s only 23

DirkNowitzkisWife | Mavericks

3 | 40 minutes ago

He is theoretically 4 years away from his peak.

Deely_Boppers | Suns

45 | 3 hours ago

It’s debated whether Wiggins was a bust or not, so I’d say he’s the line.

EDIT: the debate in the comments under this speaks for itself.

jambr380

17 | 3 hours ago

Hard to call an important contributor to a Title team and all-star an all-out bust. The Celtics sure wish Wiggins was more of a bust in the 2022 Finals

Smekledorf1996

10 | 3 hours ago

He was drafted first for a rebuilding team that needed star players to build around - not role players

Knowing how his career turned out, do you honestly think the Wolves still would have drafted him first (Or technically traded for him)?

cubs223425 | Bulls

1 | 5 minutes ago

At the same time, they supposedly had that better star player, Kevin Love, and has 0 winning seasons and playoff seasons to show for it.

By your logic, Kevin Love isn’t good enough to meet the criteria, and you seemingly want to put a REALLY high bar on it that doesn’t seem fair. You basically need to be the rare fringe-lottery team that lucks into the #1 pick and get a star that makes you a competitor, which really only applies to someone like Derrick Rose or Anthony Edwards. Expecting that every draft doesn’t seem reasonable.

[deleted]

-6 | 3 hours ago

[deleted]

Smekledorf1996

6 | 3 hours ago

It’s absolutely because of his career

Ask any GM if they would use their #1 pick - the opportunity to draft a star player before anyone else - on a guy who was a good role player during a title run for another team

Some people have this assumption that a bust is always a bad player - it’s a player that didn’t meet the expectations for where they were drafted

[deleted]

-4 | 3 hours ago

[deleted]

Smekledorf1996

2 | 3 hours ago

I think the fact that you keep bringing up Jokic or Embiid when I didn’t means that you know the answer already

Again, ask any GM if they would use the number 1 pick on a guy that peaked out as a great role player for another teams title run

It’s a pretty simple question

SwizzGod | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

Yup. I’d consider him a bust but I can see why people say he’s not.

General-Promotion274

14 | 3 hours ago

Is Wiggins a bust?

_Wash | Timberwolves

15 | 3 hours ago

absolutely.

not a bad player but sure as hell a bust for a #1 pick who was nicknamed ‘maple jordan’

XkrNYFRUYj | NBA

3 | 42 minutes ago

But if Wiggins is a bust I’d say you have to categorize more than half of the first picks as busts and that doesn’t make sense.

Acrobatic-Regular-56

1 | 36 minutes ago

Why doesn’t thst make sense? A majority of NBA drafted players can’t cut it.

NoLimitSoldier31

0 | 3 hours ago

Fuck yes

Upset-Nebula-2264

14 | 3 hours ago

Andrew Bogut

Rich_Ad_4886 | Knicks

8 | 2 hours ago

Tbh Bogut was on the rise before Amare pulled his arm out of its socket.

dirtynashtyfilthy | Slovenia

4 | 3 hours ago

First name I thought of also

Proof-Umpire-7718 | Lakers

12 | 3 hours ago

Wiggins

ontheru171 | Knicks

11 | 3 hours ago

I think a guy like RJ Barrett would be a good choice.

More or less a 20/5/4 guy when healthy - very consistent in his performance and some linear progression as an all around basketball player.

Bone_Dogg | Bulls

7 | 3 hours ago

It’s entirely dependent on who else is in that draft class

Deely_Boppers | Suns

15 | 3 hours ago

That’s not true. Hakeem Olajuwon isn’t a bust just because Jordan was in the same draft. AI wasn’t a bust just because Kobe was taken later.

Dinobot2_ | Raptors

11 | 3 hours ago

There needs to be a certain level of actual bad or disappointing play for someone to be considered a bust, it can’t just be relative to the rest of their draft class. I don’t think anyone even considers Andrew Bogut a bust even though Chris Paul was drafted three picks later.

DirkNowitzkisWife | Mavericks

1 | 37 minutes ago

That’s true, but I would also say the Marvin Bagley pick is made worse by the fact that Luka, Trae, and SGA were drafted 1, 3 and 9 picks later.

Bone_Dogg | Bulls

2 | 3 hours ago

I agree. Those are hall of fame players. Obviously guys like that are not going to be the answer to this question.

Kenyon Martin was picked first. He wasn’t bad but he definitely wasn’t what you hope to get from a first pick. Never called a bust because no one else in his draft was significantly better. If Wade and Carmelo were in his draft, he’d be a bust.

kanakaishou

1 | 31 minutes ago

Yeah—nobody clowns on the rockets for picking the Dream over MJ. You mean we picked a solid MvP level, got a chip for us player at 1? Great. The only flaw is that you picked that guy over a GOAT contender. Whoops, sorry not sorry.

cubs223425 | Bulls

1 | 2 minutes ago

I don’t think that’s the point of the question. Rather, it’s “if you have the top pick in an upcoming draft, what level of talent do you expect to get from the player you pick?” Individually, that might vary between years, but I also don’t think the crappy 2013 draft would make you happy to pick at #1 when the best player in the top-10 is Victor Oladipo.

SomebodyExists

6 | 3 hours ago

Not to hate on him, but Zubac is prob a good answer, played at an all-star level for the last 2-3 years, but you cant really build around him.

ninjamanatee1640

0 | an hour ago

I would say he’s pretty easy to build around as a plug and play center. The issue would be more that he is not the focal point of a team. And if he’s a first Rd pick you wouldn’t want to give him #1 option money

Ok_Possible_5702

5 | 3 hours ago

Wiggins

saltyclambasket

4 | an hour ago

Kenyon Martin

dennythedinosaur

3 | 3 hours ago

Glenn Robinson maybe?

He was an effortless scorer who came into the league right away averaging 20ppg. But he never really improved his defense or playmaking. Made a couple of All-Star teams and at his peak, was the 3rd best player on a ECF team.

But in that draft, you much rather have Jason Kidd or Grant Hill.

Old_Supermarket_7575 | Thunder

2 | 3 hours ago

Depends on the year tbh

Professional-Play-38 | Rockets

2 | 3 hours ago

Honestly a player you can’t build a team around, someone who’s very one dimensional

infernalbastard

2 | 3 hours ago

Just a matter of opinion, but for me a player can turn out to be quite good (even considerably better than Zach Lavine) and still be a first pick bust. The line for me is championship caliber second banana level. So I’d say the worst actual top pick non-bust is someone like Kenyon Martin. But, sticking with the Nets, I think Derrick Coleman falls just short of solid second banana status, so I consider him a bust as a first pick.

newBreed | Warriors

1 | 38 minutes ago

Who in the 2024 draft fits this mold? Maybe Castle… Sometimes drafts suck.

MahomesMccaffrey | Slovenia

2 | 2 hours ago

Andrew Bogut

NZafe | Raptors

1 | 3 hours ago

I think it entirely depends on who else came out of the draft.

RealCanadianDragon

2 | 3 hours ago

In a way that’s true but even that depends.

Is Iverson a bust because Kobe could’ve been taken?

Is Hakeem a bust because Jordan could’ve been taken?

I’d say if you go #1 to not be considered a bust you must be at worst a multi time all star player if not a hall of famer (which we obviously can’t judge until the guys career is over) and/or a top 5 player from your class.

Andrew Bogut for instance, #1 pick, never made an all star team, and the obvious top player from that draft looking back on it now was Chris Paul, but he was still a borderline top 5 player in that class which wasn’t exactly a strong class.

Going back to Iverson, he wasn’t even top 2 in his class in MVP awards! Similar with Hakeem, obviously not the top player of his class, but would you even put him above Barkley when you compare full careers?

IrishPorpoise

1 | an hour ago

Rissacher

dnix22

1 | an hour ago

Lol a bunch of people sitting on a couch calling a dude that averages over 18 for what 14 years now a bust? Peak reddit behavior

Zotzotbaby

1 | an hour ago

There was an analysis a few years ago determining that Paul George was the average impact of a #1 pick. Anthony Edwards/Kyrie Irving is the bare minimum you want out of a #1 overall pick.

Brief-Web-676

1 | 41 minutes ago

Someone actually ran the data a while back and the answer was that the average 1st overall is as good as Paul George, so that’s probably the line.

MichelleMcLaine

1 | 32 minutes ago

The first name that popped into my head was Paul Millsap, but I think you could do worse. Now I’m thinking about 2005-2010 Jazz (not a fan, but I watched A LOT of NBA then). Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, AK47, Gordan Hayward are guys that wouldn’t be busts, but you would hope for better with the first pick.

cleofisrandolph1 | Vancouver Grizzlies

1 | 30 minutes ago

Bogut?

10+ year career

Borderline all-star but never All-NBA.

Ok-Experience-4470

1 | 25 minutes ago

I think first over all picks are not a bust as long as they at minimum have a long career 10+ years as a steady starter and at least one all start game apperance. I would then exclude the players who had career ending injuries.

S-ClassRen | SAS

1 | 22 minutes ago

The John Wall line

Beautiful-Coconut-96

0 | 35 minutes ago

The criteria for me would be a 2nd or 3rd option offensively who’s still a winning player and doesn’t actively hurt the team with their limitations on either side of the ball. Anything less and you’re disappointed. Zach Lavine would absolutely be considered a bust.

Jrue Holiday, Zubac, Derrick White, Trey Murphy, Scottie Barnes,

we actually have a nearly perfect test case of this with Chet right now. Not a #1 pick but not looking like he’ll ever be a #1 option or super elite at anything. Just a very good winning player.

prfrnir

-2 | 3 hours ago

Mike Bibby and Emeka Okafor both went #2 and neither ever made an all star game or all nba team.

New_Essay_4869 | Thunder

-5 | 3 hours ago

It pains me to say this, but Ben Mathurin so far. But i believe he will turn into an MVP level player soon and make this comment look foolish. Rooting for that to be the case

BlueThunder92 | Thunder

1 | an hour ago

hell nah

Green_Repeat_6938

0 | 3 hours ago

Not a crazy take. He really stepped up in the finals. Just needs to be more consistent.

NarwhalLow2264 | Thunder

0 | 3 hours ago

I was surprised the pacers traded him. Reverse sga move for the clips.

AnonimousMn471 | Bucks

-5 | 3 hours ago

From this year’s draft? Colin Murray Boyles. He’s been great for the Raptors with lock-down defense and servicable offense, but compared to Kon Knuppel breaking shooting records, Dylan Harper in the 2nd seeded Spurs, or Cooper Flagg, just not as good but not a bust even if picked #1.

Who is the worst player that could be taken at the first pick without being considered a bust?