The 25 most notable NBA first-round draft mistakes

There may not be a more egregious miss in the NBA Draft than Portland’s selection of Oden over Durant. At that time, going with the perceived generational big made the most sense for the Trail Blazers, especially considering their young wing, Brandon Roy, and the idea of pairing Oden with LaMarcus Aldridge. Opting out of the other transcendent player in Durant proved to be obscene. Durant is well on his way to a spot in the Hall of Fame as a two-time champion and Finals MVP, along with being a four-time scoring champ and 11-time All-NBA selection. 

The 2003 Draft was downright jam-packed with talent. Holding the No. 2 pick, it seemed impossible to miss. Yet Detroit botched the selection of Milicic behind the undisputed No. 1 pick, LeBron James. In picking the international prospect who drew comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki, Detroit missed out on the Hall of Farmers who went Nos. 3-5: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade. It’s a tragic miss for a franchise that could have become a dynasty after their 2004 title, had they had a franchise-altering star like the ones who went directly after their picks. Milicic’s career lasted just 96 games. 

Minnesota had two picks at Nos. 5 and 6. They desperately needed a point guard, and they did exactly that by drafting Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn. There were three guards they could have gone with, so of course, the one that they opted out of wound up being none other than Steph Curry. Coming off a tremendous run at Davidson, Curry fittingly went No. 7 to Golden State, and the rest is history. The Warriors landed the game’s greatest three-point shooter, an eventual unanimous MVP, and a four-time champion. Minnesota instead got a player in Flynn who lasted two seasons and Rubio, who stayed overseas for two years before coming to the NBA and being nothing more than a depth player. 

NBA fans recall every step of the Sixers’ tanking process in the 2010s. While many of their top picks wound up resulting in empty hope, the one that sticks out the most for being by far the worst miss was the selection of Markelle Fultz at No. 1. What made it worse was that Philadelphia traded with their rival, Boston, to move up to the top spot, giving them No. 3 and a 2018 first to move up two spots for the guy they loved. The Celtics took that trade, slid down, and landed a five-time All-Star and an NBA champ in Tatum. Fultz hardly played for the Sixers due to injuries. 

Sacramento almost had its face of the franchise in 2018. The top of the board saw DeAndre Ayton go to Phoenix at No. 1, leaving the Kings with a choice: Marvin Bagley III or some kid named Luka Doncic. Oh, and they also were staring straight at Trae Young, who ended up going No. 5. They went with Bagley, who came in without a position and lasted slightly more than two seasons before being shipped away. Ironically, Doncic went No. 3 to Atlanta, who then traded him to Dallas for the rights to Young, so the two teams wound up getting the best players from that draft. 

Most organizations will never get a shot to select someone who could eventually become the greatest player ever. Portland had that shot in 1984 and infamously selected Sam Bowie at No. 2, one spot behind Hakeem Olajuwon, and one spot ahead of Chicago’s franchise-altering No. 3 selection, Michal Jordan. That moment changed the outlook for one team, laying the groundwork for Chicago’s eventual dynasty. Jordan won Rookie of the Year to begin a career that would see him become a six-time Finals MVP, five-time league MVP,  and a 10-time scoring champion. When his playing days were done, he left the hardwood with the most points per game over a career (30.12). 

The Clippers chose to go with the safer pick at No. 1, picking the seven-foot Michael Olowokandi. He was nothing more than a serviceable big at the next level, putting himself among the worst No. 1 picks of all time. It may be unfair to knock the Clippers too hard for the selection, because Nos. 2-4 weren’t franchise-changing players either. For that, we should also include Vancouver, Denver, and Toronto in this discussion for having missed out on Vince Carter (No. 5), Dirk Nowitzki (No. 9), and Paul Pierce (No. 10). Those three hall of farmers were undoubtedly the best of the bunch. Philadelphia, in particular, botched its pick of Larry Hughes at No. 8, forgoing a chance to pair its superstar Allen Iverson with one of Nowitzki or Pierce. 

The 2013 draft class was considered relatively weak, headlined by Anthony Bennett at No. 1. At No. 14, a player named Shabazz Muhammad was picked. The next selection? Future two-time MVP and perennial All-NBA nominee, Giannis Antetokounmpo. This wasn’t just a team like Utah, which picked right before Milwaukee and missed out on him. It’s the 14 teams that all missed out on him. Bringing in a talent like Gianni, who was the highest-picked international player that year,  would have changed any one of those franchises. 

In Michael Jordan’s first-ever pick as Washington’s President of Basketball Operations, he opted to go with the high school talent in Kwame Brown. That meant picking him over names like Tyson Chandler and Pau Gasol, who went in the next spots, as well as another top 10 pick, Joe Johnson. By picking Brown, who is among the most widely regarded busts, Washington missed out on snagging the eventual Rookie of the Year and an NBA champ in Gasol. 

The Raptors longed for another piece alongside Chris Bosh, their established star. They thought they were bringing that piece in when choosing Andrea Bargnani to kick off the 2006 draft. While the European prospect was a solid perimeter player and a decent scorer, he wasn’t what Toronto needed or had hoped for at No. 1. Directly after their pick went LaMarcus Aldridge, a five-time All-NBA selection, and a cornerstone piece in Portland that would have formed an imposing front court alongside Bosh. 

There may have never been a more consequential draft day trade than Charlotte's decision to move the rights of Kobe Bryant in the 1996 Draft. After selecting him at No. 13, they immediately flipped him to Los Angeles for Vlade Divac. There were some external factors behind this move, including Bryant potentially threatening to play overseas if he didn't land in a major market. Regardless, it's a trade that Charlotte fans can't help but wonder, "What if?" He went on to win five titles with the Lakers and make an All-NBA team 15 times over his career. 

In 2025, Maxey is proving to be one of the game's best scorers. There were questions about his viability as a scoring guard coming out of Kentucky, but he's squashed this rather quickly in Philadelphia. The irony behind his rapid rise to stardom is that 20 teams bypassed him in the 2020 Draft. There are a lot of teams that would love to have a guard capable of 30 points every night in their backcourt.

Dallas was staring at two college stars, Mark Aguirre and Isiah Thomas. The Mavericks went with the former, allowing Detroit to take Thomas. He would go on to become a face of the franchise, a two-time NBA champ, and a Hall of Fame player in the Motor City. Aguirre was a good player in his own right, but Dallas would have certainly loved to have the 1990 Final MVP on their roster. 

There was a strange loophole in 1978 that saw Bird claim he would return to Indiana State. However, he was draft eligible because his class at Indiana, where he began, had graduated. Boston waited around at No. 6 and decided he was so good they could wait a year. Looking back on it, this isn't that bold of a strategy considering many international players get drafted and wait years to come over. Still, it was a monumental move that changed Boston's trajectory immediately when Bird signed the following season after leading Indiana State to the title game. He would win three championships in Boston, three regular-season MVPs, and etch his name in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

Concerns about playing at a small school and his attitude led Malone to slide to No. 13. in 1985. The move by Utah paired him with the prior year's first-round pick, John Stockton. With that decision, the Jazz landed one of the game's best pick-and-roll pairs ever, creating a duo that would give the organization newfound relevance. Malone was a 14-time All-Star and a two-time MVP, finishing his career third on the all-time scoring list. 

The Kings, who find themselves on this list multiple times, really dropped the ball in 2006. At No. 19, a handful of guards were available. They chose to go with Rutgers product, Quincy Douby, who was a total miss. Shortly after their selection, Rajon Rondo went at No. 21 and Kyle Lowry at No. 24. The opportunity to land a foundational floor general was there for the taking, but Sacramento chose wrong. Rondo would be a key cog for Boston's title runs, while Lowry helped lead Toronto to a title in 2019. 

Anyone who watched college basketball in the late 2000s saw the freak athlete that was Hasheem Thabeet. His size and frame, however, didn't translate to the next level, leaving Memphis with an empty No. 2 pick. The next pick was when Oklahoma City snagged James Harden, finding an eventual Sixth Man of the Year-turned-2018 MVP. 

The Bucks were well aware they needed to add someone who could knock down some 3s. They correctly identified the issue and chose the best to do it in college: Jimmer Fredette. They then quickly flipped him on draft night, acquiring Tobias Harris (who they would flip, too), and eventually landing with a bust in Beno Udrih. Had they been given a chance to do it all over again years later, there's no doubt they'd go with the guy who went right after them: Klay Thompson. 

The Kings -- yep, once again they're on this list -- drafted Thomas Robinson at No. 5. They're not the biggest culprits here, however. That would be Cleveland at No. 4, who went with the fellow point guard Dion Waiters. He was a nice NBA player, but certainly not on the level of the No. 6 selection, Damian Lillard. Portland found its face of the franchise in the seven-time All-NBA sharpshooter. 

Memphis had two studs from UCLA right there. Instead, Russell Westbrook went at No. 4 and Kevin Love, who actually was drafted third by the Grizzlies, would be flipped to Minnesota for O.J. Mayo, who went at No. 5. Memphis would have been a totally different team had they paired someone like Westbrook or Love with Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Tony Allen in the backcourt. 

Every team had a shot at Jokic. Yet, no one bit in the first round. Jokic would go on to become arguably the greatest draft-day steal after 40 players went ahead of him. He would go on to be one of the most dominant players ever to grace the hardwood, winning three MVPs and leading Denver to the 2023 championship. 

This one may be unfair to call a mistake. Hurley's career was derailed after a near-fatal car accident just 19 games into his career. He would eventually return, but would never regain the form that had made him the No. 7 pick in 1993. No one questioned Sacramento's selection at the time, but some notable guards went after their pick, including Allan Houston, Sam Cassell, and Nick Van Exel. 

The Lakers chose a player who would literally never play an NBA game with the 23rd pick in 1986. A few picks later, an eventual household name would get drafted: Dennis Rodman. Could you imagine Rodman playing alongside the Showtime Lakers? Though that had happened, we never would have gotten Detroit's "Bad Boys" era. 

The Thunder would eventually enter their competitive era a decade later. Still, it's fair to wonder what would have happened had they chosen either Draymond Green or Khris Middleton at No. 28 instead of Perry Jones III, a project that never panned out. It's not a giant miss since those two players would slip to the top of the second round, but it's certainly notable considering the position of need that the Thunder attempted to address. 

This is a fun one to look back on because a decade later, the Timberwolves would finally land their guy in Rudy Gobert. In the 2013 Draft, though, they had executed a series of trades that netted them Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng. After trading the No. 26 pick, it would be Gobert who would go one spot later at No. 27. Gobert has won four Defensive Player of the Year awards and is on his way to Springfield after becoming one of the best defenders the game has ever seen.