The WORST Pick From Each Of The Last 10 NBA Drafts

The NBA Draft is where teams are offered a beacon of hope for the future, welcoming in young talent that could potentially change the trajectory of their franchise. It's also an event where, if you don't choose wisely, you can set your team back years. For today's video, we're going to be doing a bit of a history lesson, going through each of the last 10 NBA Drafts, identifying the worst selection from each of them. Not including this year's draft of course, because obviously nobody from this year's class has actually played an NBA game yet. The basis of what makes these players the worst pick will be a combination of their lackluster production, how involved they were in their team's rotations, along with how early in the order they were selected as the first names off the board of course come with greater expectations. Now with that being said, let's dive right in. We'll start off with the 2016 NBA Draft, and the worst selection from this night was the Phoenix Suns taking Dragan Bender 4th overall. This draft class was very star-studded, but it also had quite a few duds to choose from near the top. The Suns made two picks in the top 10 actually, and their other selection was funnily enough another contender for the worst pick of this draft, where they selected Marquise Chris 8th overall, plus the Bucks took Thonmaker 10th which was also in consideration, as was Georgios Papayanis who was taken 13th overall by the Kings, but never even became an NBA player at all. Yet Dragan Bender takes the cake as the worst of the bunch, ultimately because of how much value was passed up on to take him where the Phoenix Suns did. The hype around Dragan Bender came as a result of the Christaps Porzingis craze that was going on at the time, where everybody was trying to find the next unicorn, and Bender was a 7-footer that could kind of shoot the ball which was all teams apparently needed to see. In the NBA however, he was only a career 32% shooter from 3, so his conversion wasn't even good enough to make it worth it at his size, and the rest of his game was kind of a disaster. He was a pretty bad defender, he was a pretty bad finisher in the paint, and he didn't have many on-ball skills to overcome those deficiencies. The Suns didn't even keep him around for the entirety of his rookie contract, declining the 4th year option on his contract, so in his 4th year, he played a total of 16 games with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Warriors, before flaming out of the NBA altogether. For his career, he averaged about 5 points and 4 rebounds per game, shooting below 40% from the field, which is worst case scenario for a top 5 pick. He was taken ahead of players like Jamal Murray and DeMontis Sabonis in the lottery that year as well, making it even worse. Next, moving on to the 2017 NBA draft, the worst pick from this class was the Philadelphia 76ers, taking Markel Fultz first overall. There were definitely a few whiffs in this draft as well, with Lonzo Ball at 2 by the Lakers, Josh Jackson at 4 by the Suns, Frank Nilekina at 8 by the Knicks, all being options, but ultimately, the Markel Fultz pick set the 76ers back quite a bit in the grand scheme of things. As a prospect, Fultz seemed like the perfect NBA guard. He was being compared to guys like Bradley Beal as his floor, and James Harden as his ceiling, because in college, he was a ridiculously crafty 3-level scorer with phenomenal touch around the rim, explosive burst and athleticism, and a lethal pull-up jumper. He had great defensive tools, he stuffed the stat sheet, and there really wasn't a single glaring weakness in his game at the time. But then, after being drafted, everything mysteriously went downhill. He developed what later came out to be Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in his shoulder, which pretty much ruined his shooting ability from the jump, and because of those shoulder injuries, his career was stunted before it could even begin. He only played a total of 33 games with the 76ers, combined in his first two seasons in the NBA, before they traded him to the Orlando Magic for pennies on the dollar, which, in and of itself, is an abject failure for a number one pick. He was supposed to be the missing piece, to combine with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons as an uber-talented young trio rising through the ranks together, but mysterious injuries ruined it. He did end up making a career for himself in Orlando as a decent playmaker for them for five years after that, but he still never came close to living up to the hype. The Sixers traded up to take him over a player like Jason Tatum, which makes it even worse as well. Next up is the 2018 NBA Draft, and the worst selection this year was the Los Angeles Clippers selecting Jerome Robinson 13th overall. This was a tough year to pinpoint the absolute worst pick because there were a few strong contenders. Marvin Bagley at pick number two over Luka Doncic was strongly considered, Mo Bamba at 6, and Kevin Knox at 9 were also in the running, but ultimately what led me to the selection of Robinson at 13 is the fact that he, at no point in his career, ever even became an NBA contributor, unlike the other guys. All of those players I just named at the very least served in rotations for a few years, even if they fell way short of expectations. Robinson, on the other hand, largely only ever made appearances in garbage time during a few brief stretches and got some extended run, but was pretty bad when he did. Robinson was drafted in the lottery under the guise of being someone who could be an impactful scoring threat at the shooting guard position. The problem is that he was one of the least efficient and most unreliable scorers in the entire NBA during his brief tenure in the league. As a rookie, he hardly ever saw the floor at all for the Clippers, and in year two, the team tried to give him more chances, but he only got worse as he averaged about 3 points per game, shooting 34% from the field and 28% from 3 with them in that second season. At the trade deadline that year, the Clippers included him in a trade that sent him to the Washington Wizards, admitting defeat on the selection and giving up on him. The next season with the Wizards somehow got even worse, and after that, Robinson was out of the NBA completely being sent down to the G League, so in the end, a lottery pick was completely wasted. Next up is the 2019 NBA draft, and the worst pick this year was the Minnesota Timberwolves, selecting Jarrett Culver 6th overall. The Wolves got the short end of the stick in this draft class, with players like Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, RJ Barrett, and Darius Garland all being picked in the top 5, and then at 6, the available talent level dropped off pretty noticeably, so they had a tough choice to make. There were quite a few productive role players that would go on to be taken immediately after him, but unfortunately, the Wolves ended up with the player that would flame out of the NBA fastest of the bunch. Culver was the prospect in this class, who looked like he could be one of the most well-rounded on both ends of the floor, who provided high upside potential defensively as a versatile wing defender who could disrupt, holding his own against several different positions. And on offense, in college at least, he displayed some intriguing shot making and playmaking traits, but he was a bit stiff as a shooter and as a ball handler, and ultimately, he struggled with the more talented defenders at the NBA level. As a rookie, he averaged about 9 points per game off of sheer volume and freedom, because the team was still tanking, and the he shot pretty terribly from the outside, offered very little creation skills on the ball, and wasn't much of a playmaker either. In year 2, his production fell off a cliff, and after that season, Minnesota traded him away in a deal for Patrick Beverly. He would go on to be a benchwarmer for the Grizzlies and Hawks in the next two years, before fizzling out and being relegated to the G League, where he has been playing ever since, until this current year where he decided to go sign and play in Japan. He never once shot over 30% from 3 in a season, his defense wasn't nearly as good as advertised, and it left Minnesota with a nothing burger of a wing talent who they used valuable draft capital on. Next is the 2020 NBA Draft, and the worst pick from this year was the Golden State Warriors selecting James Wiseman's second overall. This is another draft that actually featured quite a few notable busts, with Patrick Williams, Isaac Okoro, Killian Hayes, and Keira Lewis all falling way short of expectations as lottery picks, but Wiseman was a gamble taken number 2 overall that blew up in Golden State's face, and it's honestly one of the bigger reasons why the Warriors dynasty didn't last quite as long as it could have. Wiseman was one of the biggest mysteries as a prospect as we've seen in recent years, as someone who played just three games in college before he faced potential suspension from the NCAA, so instead of dealing with that, he just chose to drop out entirely and prepare for the NBA Draft on his own. This was a risky move which resulted in there being very little footage of Wiseman playing against reasonable competition, but ultimately his stock didn't really suffer at all that much because he is still a 7'1 athletic freak with the size and length that NBA teams salivate over at the center position. Who did suffer, of course, was the Warriors, who took a chance on the mystery box that was James Wiseman, and they got rewarded with an absolute stinker. Wiseman, despite his physical gifts, just couldn't process the game of basketball at a level where he could put those gifts to use consistently enough to actually make a positive impact. His defensive awareness was pretty abysmal, he would make countless mental mistakes, and offensively he had clear skill that he would flash here and there, but there tended to be with him coming in a step too slow to actually put those moves together. This got him stuck in Coach Steve Kerr's doghouse a lot, and unfortunately he lost his entire second season because he tore his meniscus, which set him back even further. The Warriors would end up trading him away in his third season, and now over the last two years, he's been pretty much out of NBA teams rotations entirely, stuck as a permanent benchwarmer. The Warriors passed on LaMelo Ball, who was picked with the very next pick after him, and in hindsight, that makes this one of the biggest whiffs of the decade. Next is the 2021 NBA Draft, and the worst pick this year was the San Antonio Spurs selecting Josh Primo 12th overall. The candidates for this draft happened to be all picked back to back to back, with Zyre Williams picked at 10, and James Booknight picked at 11 right before this Primo selection. They've all flopped pretty hard, but ultimately the choice was between Booknight and Primo, and I slightly gave the edge to Josh Primo because of the circumstances that happened off the basketball court. Primo on draft night was also viewed as a pretty big reach as it was, so under the circumstances, the selection looks even worse in hindsight, as he was never really viewed as lottery talent to begin with. He was another player who came in very young as a teenager, with solid size for a combo guard, and with his score first playstyle, the hope was that he could at least be a decent injection of creation into their lineup down the line. But he only lasted one season before things went down the drain, and his rookie season was also pretty poor on top of it. As a rookie, Primo averaged about 6 points per game, shooting just 37% from the field and 30% from three, so as someone who is supposed to be a scorer by nature, he wasn't even good at that. Shortly after his second season began, he then faced allegations of inappropriate behavior with a Spurs employee, and from there, his career was pretty much over. The Spurs waived him pretty much immediately as a result of those allegations, and he would only go on to play two total games in the NBA after that. Next is the 2022 NBA Draft, and the worst pick that year was the Washington Wizards selecting Johnny Davis 10th overall. The top of this draft has actually largely all been filled with successful picks to varying degrees, so the selection of Davis in the top 10 sticks out like a sore thrum as the clear answer today. Davis entered the NBA with a lot of momentum, having just averaged 20 points per game in college, and he was named First Team All-American that year too, so it's not like he was some scrub with raw skills that needed development, at least at the time. He was a confident, aggressive bucket getter in college, with proven production which made him feel like a safe pick to at least be able to translate as an impact sub that can spark a team's offense at the next level. But unfortunately, this is evidence that in the draft, nothing is ever certain, because Davis just never got settled in at the NBA level at all, and was one of the worst players the league seemingly had every time he stepped on the floor. As a rookie, he spent most of his season down in the G League, getting the occasional appearance in garbage time with the Wizards here and there, and on the season as a whole, he averaged about 6 points per game, shooting 38% from the field and 24% from three, which for a player who was drafted solely because of his scoring talent, is a nightmare. His shot looked clunkier form-wise once he got to the NBA, he lost all confidence in it, and he avoided taking three point shots like the plague because of it. The next year, things got even worse for him despite making more appearances with the Wizards, as he averaged just 3 points per game, and then the year after that, he was back out of the rotation and he got traded midway through the season to Memphis, who then went on to wave him. He's been in the G League ever since, and I'm not sure he's going to ever get another serious second chance in the NBA. Next is the 2023 NBA draft, and the worst pick from this year was the Orlando Magic selecting Jett Howard, 11th overall. As we get closer and closer to the present, we're going to see fewer and fewer clear busts as options because these guys are still so young, but out of all of the players drafted in the lottery in 2023, only one player is currently no longer on an NBA roster, and that one happens to be Jett Howard. Howard is unfortunately another example of a pick where even on draft night, the Magic taking him 11th overall felt like a pretty big reach because he was never really pegged as a lottery caliber talent at the time, and in hindsight, that reach is looking even worse. Howard has good size for a wing at 6'8", and in college he was a competent floor spacer with some scoring chops that at least should have resulted in him being a useful shooter and possible 2-way role player at the next level, but in Orlando, that just never came to be. As a rookie, he spent a lot of time down in the G League, and when he did get on the court for the Magic, it was very sparingly. He averaged less than 2 points per game as a rookie and Then in year 2, he got more opportunity but didn't really do much with it as he averaged about 4 points per game, shooting 37% from the field and 29% from 3. Being an effective score was supposed to be one of his best attributes, but as has been the theme in this video, it just didn't translate and he was consistently one of the worst scorers in the whole NBA. The Magic declined the option on the fourth year of his contract, so he hit free agency this very summer, and he is currently signed on a 2-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks, meaning he'll likely be spending a lot of time down in the G League. Being on a 2-way contract 3 years after being drafted in the lottery is a disaster no matter how you try to spin it, which is why he is the pick for this class. Next is the 2024 NBA Draft, and the worst pick from this year was the Minnesota Timberwolves selecting Rob Dillingham 8th overall. The pick came down to either Dillingham or Cody Williams being picked 10th. And let me tell you, I went back and forth between these two for a while, but ultimately, despite them both being similarly disappointing for the teams that drafted them, Dillingham was the one who was taken two picks earlier, so he slightly gets the nod. Dillingham came out of Kentucky looking like an electrifying playmaker with creativity on the ball that rivaled the most crafty players in the NBA, and a quick shooting stroke that he converted incredibly efficiently at the college level. As a freshman, he averaged about 15 points per game, shooting 48% from the field and 44% from three, so obviously the hope was that he could at the very least provide a spark to an offense with his speed, shot making, and playmaking talent. It was well documented that he was very undersized for a guard who at the combine weighed in as the lightest player in the whole draft class and is still one of the lightest players in the NBA, so defense was always going to be an issue, but the hope was that the offense could make it worth it. Well, unfortunately, that offensive efficiency never translated for him, so he ended up being a massive defensive liability with way too inconsistent of offensive output to ever be trusted by a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves who were trying to contend in the playoffs. The point guard position is a while, and they hoped that Rob Dillingham could be that for them long term, but it quickly became clear that it wouldn't happen, and last season they included him in a trade package for Ayo Desumo, so now Dillingham is in Chicago trying to get his career back on track. And finally, the last draft up is the 2025 NBA Draft, and the worst pick from this year was the Portland Trailblazers selecting Yong Hansen 16th overall. Because this is the draft where the players have only gotten one season under their belts so far, it's tough to make a definitive statement, but Hansen is my choice because of the context that went into the pick in the first place. It dates back to the combine for this draft class. Hansen entered the combine seen by scouts as second round talent as a Chinese prospect who was making quite a name for himself in the Chinese pro league, but didn't quite seem ready for the NBA level of competition yet as things stood. At the combine though, Yong Hansen dominated the scrimmages at the event as a center who showcased a ton of skill as a perimeter shooter, as a post player, and as a facilitator. And in today's day and age, if a big man has that kind of game, you already know that scouts are ready to overreact in the quest to find the next Nikola Jokic. So because of a few scrimmages against second round caliber talent, Hansen's stock shot up and it resulted in him becoming a mid first round pick. Unfortunately, that momentum came crashing back down to earth when the season began and Hansen just couldn't keep up with the speed of play at the NBA level. Hansen, to put it simply, is a pretty slow footed big man so he struggled mightily on defense. There's also a big difference between playing against GLE talent and NBA talent and the impressive playmaking skills that he showed in those scrimmages didn't quite translate right away in the NBA because everyone is bigger, faster, and stronger. It became clear that Hansen was not ready for the NBA level because he averaged just two points and one rebound per game as a rookie, shooting 31% from the field and 11% from three. And while I'm not here to say that he won't ever pan out, I do think the pick was a major reach in hindsight. And with that being said, that's all I have for you today. Make sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and comment down below what you think the worst pick from the last 10 years was. Thanks for watching and I'll see you all next time.