[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

Best: Dirk Nowitski (1998)
Nowitski was actually selected by Milwaukee but they had agreed prior to trade the pick with Pat Garrity to Dallas for the sixth pick (Robert Traylor). It proved to be one of the best draft day trades in the history of the league. Dirk would go on to become the face of the Mavericks franchise for the next 2 decades as the best shooting big in history, becoming an MVP and NBA champion.
Other contenders: JoJo White (1969) Rolando Blackman (1981) Tracy McGrady (1997) Shawn Marion (1999) Amare Stoudemire (2002) DeMar DeRozan (2009) Kemba Walker (2011)

Worst: Patrick O’Bryant (2006)
O’Bryant was a 7 footer with limited basketball experience who screamed “project” heading into the draft. Golden State decided to gamble on his length and athleticism. It turned out to be a bad gamble. He reportedly had a poor work ethic, never developed much, and never proved to be a reliable or consistent contributor. He was out of the league for good by 2010. Ed O’Bannon was a close second.
Other contenders: Larry Demic (1979) Brad Sellers (1986) Rodney White (2001) Mike Sweetney (2003)

[dmo21Participant]

Best: Nowitzki, hands down. Makes it even better that Dallas swindled Milwaukee in that trade to get him.

Worst: I’ll agree with O’Bryant. He just wasn’t a good basketball player when they drafted him and never really turned into anything. I could potentially see Knox becoming one of the worst #9 picks too as he was taken ahead of SGA and the Bridges.

[Author]

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