Every year, the bottom-ranked NBA teams are gearing up to pick the top pick in one fell swoop as an opportunity to turn around. But history tells us that even the top pick doesn't guarantee that the players selected by the team will become superstars in the future
In the history of the NBA draft, some of the top picks have not reached the expected heights after entering the league, and some have even become parallel goods in the mouths of fans and experts.
Here are the top five parallel picks in the draft over the past 25 years.
5. Andrea Bagnani, 2006
Bagnani's NBA career wasn't catastrophic, but it was nowhere near what he should be like as a top pick.
In his rookie season, Bagnani showed some potential and even finished second in the Rookie of the Year selection. However, his career did not skyrocket as one might expect. He was never named to the All-Star team and had a dismal 3-8 record in the playoffs.
Despite this, Bagnani has been in the league for more than a decade and averages 14.3 points per game, which is enough to prove that he has what it takes to score in the NBA. Especially in his fifth season with the Toronto Raptors, Bagnani averaged 21.4 points per game, which was unmatched by the other four parallel toppers.
4. Markle Fultz, 2017
Fultz's road to the NBA has not been smooth. He was supposed to be a future superstar, but unfortunately he suffered a variety of unfortunate injuries at the beginning of his career.
In his first two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, he played in just 33 games due to injury. What's even more embarrassing is that he suffers from a rare form of yips, which makes him lose his shooting ability, and every time I see him struggling at the free throw line, it is even more embarrassing.
Still, Fultz found a new lease of life in Orlando. In his first full season with the Magic, he put up decent numbers, averaging 14.0 points, 4.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. These numbers are not impressive, but they are not to be underestimated.
Although he averaged just 11.1 points per game in his career, he has grown into a respected NBA role player and managed to avoid the embarrassment of becoming a parallel commodity.
Fultz ranks ahead of star players like Tatum, Fox and Donovan Mitchell in the draft, but his accomplishments do look a little bleak compared to these rising stars.
3. Kwame Brown 2001
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In 2001, Kwame Brown became the top pick in the NBA Draft as a high school student, a choice that has made his mentor, Michael Jordan, still controversial to this day. Brown's NBA career didn't go as brilliant as expected, and instead became a failure for Jordan as the team's president.
Brown's high school performances were impressive, and he confidently assured Wizards head coach Doug Collins, "If you pick me, you'll never regret it." However, it turned out to be a decision that both sides regretted. Brown hasn't been recognized by the team or fans in his four seasons with the Wizards, and he hasn't shown the level of a first-round show. He averaged just 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his best season with the Wizards, which was not enough for a first-round pick player.
During his career in the NBA, Brown not only failed to produce convincing statistics, but also gained notoriety for his conflicts with teammates, especially the long-standing feud with Arenas in Washington, which became a major stain on his career.
After leaving the Wizards, Brown went through many teams such as the Lakers, Grizzlies, Pistons, Bobcats, Warriors, Bucks and 76ers, and retired in the NBA for 12 years until he was cut by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013. But he averaged only 6.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in his entire career, and he was really sorry for the title.
2. Greg Auden 2007
Greg Oden was a standout performer in high school, and his rookie season at Ohio State proved his potential. With that aura, he was drafted with the first pick by the Portland Trail Blazers and hailed as the most anticipated NBA rookie since LeBron James.
However, fate played a cruel joke on Oden, and his NBA path was far from as smooth as expected.
It now appears that the Trail Blazers' choice at that time, as much as their decision to choose Sam Bowe before Michael Jordan in 1984, became one of the biggest regrets in NBA history. Oden's health never allowed him to truly show his talent in the NBA.
Oden's career was ruthlessly cut short by a knee injury. He missed his entire rookie season due to injury, and his health has been up and down in his second and third seasons, although he played in 82 games. In the end, Auden was abandoned by the Trailblazers and became what people call a loser.
In 2014, at the age of 26, Oden did not give up, and he shocked the entire NBA when he tried to make a comeback with the Miami Heat. Unfortunately, this comeback was also not lasting, and after only 23 games, Oden disappeared from the NBA arena again, leaving fans with endless regrets and reverie.
Oden is considered one of the most unfortunate No. 1 picks in NBA history, and if it weren't for the injury trouble, he could have become one of the greatest centers in NBA history.
1. Anthony Bennett 2013
In 2013, when Anthony Bennett became the No. 1 overall pick, Cavaliers fans were more confused than ever. After all, the Canadian player wasn't widely favored in his pre-draft predictions.
And at the start of the season, Bennett failed to shoot a single shot in his first four games, and in the first 43 minutes of his NBA career, he missed all 16 shots, which raised the voices that questioned him.
In the end, Bennett averaged only 12.8 minutes per game in his debut season with the Cavaliers, and all 52 games were off the bench, averaging only 4.2 points and 3 rebounds per game, which was unbearable for a first-round pick.
Few players in the history of the NBA have been labeled as parallel goods as quickly as Bennett, and that label seems to have stayed with him all the time.
After Bennett's rookie season, the Cavaliers quickly dropped him and traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, the Timberwolves also chose to give up after Bennett's second season, leaving him as a free agent.
During his years in the NBA, Bennett played just 42 games each for the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets. His NBA career was like a meteor streaked across the night sky.
In his career, Bennett appeared in 151 appearances and averaged just 4.4 points per game.
Today, he is considered by many to be one of the most disappointing No. 1 picks in NBA history.
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