Being the NBA No. 1 pick is the dream of every young basketball player. But if you’re lucky enough to be that guy, you will have to produce.
That hasn’t always been the case. Especially in recent years. Two of the past three No. 1 picks have not been able to keep their teams from being the worst in their respective conferences.
One of these picks is part of a franchise that has experienced the worst start in its history. Another is on a team that has rolled up a record number of consecutive losses.
First, let’s look at the field in order of how they were picked.
Related: Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns and the best scoring season in NBA history
NBA No. 1 picks since 2013
- Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) | 2023
- Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic) | 2022
- Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons) | 2021
- Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves) | 2020
- Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans) | 2019
- Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns) | 2018
- Markelle Fultz (Philadelphia 76ers) | 2017
- Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers) | 2016
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves) | 2015
- Andrew Wiggins (Cleveland Cavaliers) | 2014
- Anthony Bennett (Cleveland Cavaliers) | 2013
Rating NBA No. 1 picks since 2013; franchise fixes to busts
We’re not looking for the guys with the best numbers. We’re not looking for the showmen, the highlight guys.
We’re looking for the NBA No. 1 picks who helped their teams the most. Which of these guys were franchise saviors?
Based on team results, here is our list.
Related: Ranking the best 5 trade deadline deals of the past 5 years
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves) | 2020
The self-proclaimed best player in the NBA followed up a fantastic performance in the Timberwolves‘ playoff series loss to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets (31.6 points, 5. rebounds, 5.2 assists, 48% FG) with a within-striking distance of MVP start to the 2023-24 season. He has led the Timberwolves to the best record in the Western Conference.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | 42 | 25.7 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| Career | 265 | 22.5 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves) | 2015
Towns is ranked behind his teammate Edwards because as good as he has been throughout his career, his team had a losing record in five of his first six seasons. As the No. 1 pick, Towns hasn’t dominated in the way the Timberwolves had hoped. It took Edwards’ presence to get them to the next level.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | 44 | 22.7 | 8.8 | 3.0 |
| Career | 555 | 23.0 | 11.0 | 3.2 |
Andrew Wiggins (Cleveland Cavaliers) | 2014
Our third member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wiggins was drafted by Cleveland, but two months after the draft, he was part of a three-team trade that sent him to Minnesota (along with Anthony Bennett, we’ll get to him in a minute). He was a decent player with the Timberwolves, but like Towns, never helped them become a contender. He has been better at Golden State and was the second-best player for the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | 38 | 12.0 | 4.2 | 1.5 |
| Career | 673 | 18.7 | 4.4 | 2.3 |
Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic) | 2022
The jury is still out on Paolo Banchero, but we’re rating him here because he has led the Orlando Magic to a decent turnaround in his second season, going from 34-48 last season (and he won Rookie of the Year) to an 18-12 start to this season. The Magic’s offense goes through him. He has improved his 3-point shooting and still needs to work on his defense, but it looks like Banchero is going to be the linchpin of Orlando’s growth.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | 44 | 22.5 | 7.0 | 4.8 |
| Career | 116 | 20.9 | 7.0 | 4.2 |
Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans) | 2019
Williamson was one of the most-hyped players coming into the NBA since LeBron James. He was a do-everything player at Duke — a physical specimen who had explosive quickness and was almost impossible to guard. But he has missed more time than he has played since being drafted in 2019. Williamson has shown flashes of stardom, then moments of being a bust. His low moment this season was in the semifinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament when LeBron James and the Lakers dared him to take over and he couldn’t do it.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | 36 | 21.9 | 5.6 | 4.8 |
| Career | 150 | 24.9 | 6.6 | 3.9 |
Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) | 2023
This ranking might not be fair. Victor Wembanyama hasn’t even played half of a season yet. But he came into the league with more promise than any player in years, maybe ever. He’s 7-feet-5, can handle the ball like a guard, can shoot like a guard. He can rebound and defend the basket. He should be changing the game with his presence. But that’s not happening now. The San Antonio Spurs are one of the worst teams in the league. Wembanyama was supposed to change that. Maybe he will down the road, but right now, not so much.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season (career) | 38 | 20.4 | 10.1 | 2.9 |
Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns) | 2018
A traditional center who puts up serviceable numbers, it’s hard to call Ayton a bust, but he hasn’t been a franchise savior either. Ayton was a part of the Phoenix Suns team that went to the Finals in 2021, but by no means did he “lead” them there. He was basically the centerpiece to Portland as part of the package that sent Damian Lillard out of Portland. With Portland, he ranks near or at the bottom of the league in offensive and defensive rating.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | 28 | 12.7 | 10.5 | 1.6 |
| Career | 331 | 16.3 | 10.4 | 1.6 |
Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons) | 2021
Cade Cunningham has a win shares rating of -0.5 for his career. We could leave it right there. Oh, but there’s more. His turnover percentage, or number of turnovers for every 100 possessions, is 16.4 for his career (it’s slightly better, or 15.6 this season). His 3-point shooting percentage per 100 possessions is 31.5%. These aren’t numbers a top pick should be putting up. Detroit isn’t winning. They need the recent No. 1 pick to change that, and change his game.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | 36 | 22.8 | 4.1 | 7.3 |
| Career | 112 | 19.4 | 5.1 | 6.2 |
Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers) | 2016
You often hear the saying, “If there’s one play that exemplifies player x …” For Ben Simmons, that one play came in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals with the Philadelphia 76ers trailing the Atlanta Hawks by two with 3:30 to go. Simmons faked out Danilo Gallinari, went to the basket and instead of getting the easy bucket, passed to Matisse Thybulle, who was fouled. The Sixers went on to lose that game and the series. Simmons has barely played since. He missed the entire 2021-22 season and has played 48 games since. Simmons was no franchise savior. He had no desire to be. It has been a disappointing career for a guy with potential to be much better.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | 6 | 6.5 | 10.8 | 6.7 |
| Career | 323 | 14.6 | 7.9 | 7.5 |
Markelle Fultz (Philadelphia 76ers) | 2017
There are strange stories, then there is the story of Markelle Fultz. He was at the top of everyone’s draft board in 2017. He averaged 23.7 points, shot 50% from the floor and 41% from 3-point range. When the 76ers traded up and took him at No. 1, it was widely believed to be the right move, that Fultz would be the showcase guard of the future. Instead, as soon as he got to camp, something was off. He suddenly couldn’t shoot. There were myriad explanations: he changed his form, he didn’t change his form, he’s hurt, he’s not hurt, he has family issues. Nothing was right and nothing worked, and he played 14 games his rookie season. Fultz was later diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. He was traded to Orlando and his shooting started to improve, but he has since suffered a torn ACL and then toe injuries.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | 12 | 8.3 | 3.0 | 3.7 |
| Career | 203 | 11.6 | 3.4 | 5.0 |
Anthony Bennett (Cleveland Cavaliers) | 2013
You always want to be at the top of the charts for something. The best this, the best that. But for Anthony Bennett, his chart-topping description is painful. Bennett has been the biggest draft bust in NBA history. It took five games for Bennett to score his first field goal and 33 games (the Cavaliers’ 45th game) before he scored in double figures. He was so bad that season that he played in 52 games and averaged a little more than 12 minutes. Cleveland traded him to Minnesota before his second season. The Timberwolves waived him after one season. He signed with Toronto in 2015 and was waived in March. He signed with Brooklyn before the next season and was waived in January. He had two other chances with teams but was cut in training camp both times.
| Games | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
| 2023-24 season | – | – | – | – |
| Career | 151 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 0.5 |