By the Numbers: Looking back at the top 10 NBA Draft picks from the past decade
Is the No. 1 pick really all it's cracked up to be?
With the NBA Draft lottery set for Tuesday, one franchise will hoot and holler when it lands the top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, which will most likely earn it the rights to Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green or Evan Mobley.
But how has the top pick fared over the past 10 years? What about the other top-10 picks?
Let's let the numbers tell the story of the NBA Draft from 2011 to 2020.
Note: PER stands for Player Efficiency Rating, which boils down a player's by-minute production into a single number. For a deeper dive into the stat, check out this explanation.
NO. 1 PICKS
Kyrie Irving (2011), Anthony Davis (2012), Anthony Bennett (2013), Andrew Wiggins (2014), Karl-Anthony Towns (2015), Ben Simmons (2016), Markelle Fultz (2017), Deandre Ayton (2018), Zion Williamson (2019), Anthony Edwards (2020)
All-Star selections: 21 (Davis – 8, Irving – 7, Simmons – 3, Towns – 2, Williamson – 1)
All-NBA selections: 9 (Davis – 4, Irving – 3, Towns and Simmons – 1)
Rookie of the Year awards: 4 (Irving, Wiggins, Towns, Simmons)
All-Rookie Team selections: 8
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 4 (Davis)
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 4 (Irving, Davis, Towns, Williamson)
Average PER: 19.31
NO. 2 PICKS
Derrick Williams (2011), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Victor Oladipo, Jabari Parker, D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Marvin Bagley III, Ja Morant, James Wiseman (2020)
All-Star selections: 4 (Oladipo – 2, Russell and Ingram – 1)
All-NBA selections: 1 (Oladipo)
Rookie of the Year awards: 1 (Morant)
All-Rookie Team selections: 8
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 0
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 0
Average career PER: 15.17
NO. 3 PICKS
Enes Kanter (2011), Bradley Beal, Otto Porter Jr., Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, RJ Barrett, LaMelo Ball (2020)
All-Star selections: 12 (Embiid – 4, Beal – 3, Tatum and Doncic – 2, Brown – 1)
All-NBA selections: 7 (Embiid – 3, Doncic – 2, Beal and Tatum – 1)
Rookie of the Year awards: 2 (Doncic, Ball)
All-Rookie Team selections: 7
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 4 (Embiid and Doncic – 2)
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 3 (Embiid, Doncic, Beal)
Average career PER: 18.39
NO. 4 PICKS
Tristan Thompson (2011), Dion Waiters, Cody Zeller, Aaron Gordon, Kristaps Porzingis, Dragan Bender, Josh Jackson, Jaren Jackson Jr., De'Andre Hunter, Patrick Williams (2020)
All-Star selections: 1 (Porzingis)
All-NBA selections: 0
Rookie of the Year awards: 0
All-Rookie Team selections: 7
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 0
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 0
Average career PER: 13.46
NO. 5 PICKS
Jonas Valanciunas (2011), Thomas Robinson, Alex Len, Dante Exum, Mario Hezonja, Kris Dunn, De'Aaron Fox, Trae Young, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro (2020)
All-Star selections: 1 (Young)
All-NBA selections: 0
Rookie of the Year awards: 0
All-Rookie Team selections: 3
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 0
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 1 (Young)
Average career PER: 13.85
NO. 6 PICKS
Jan Vesely (2011), Damian Lillard, Nerlens Noel, Marcus Smart, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Isaac, Mo Bamba, Jarrett Culver, Onyeka Okongwu (2020)
All-Star selections: 6 (Lillard)
All-NBA selections: 6 (Lillard)
Rookie of the Year awards: 1 (Lillard)
All-Rookie Team selections: 5
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 5 (Lillard)
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 1 (Lillard)
Average career PER: 15.14
NO. 7 PICKS
Bismack Biyombo (2011), Harrison Barnes, Ben McLemore, Julius Randle, Emmanuel Mudiay, Jamal Murray, Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr., Coby White, Killian Hayes (2020)
All-Star selections: 1 (Randle)
All-NBA selections: 1 (Randle)
Rookie of the Year awards: 0
All-Rookie Team selections: 5
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 1 (Randle)
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 0
Average career PER: 13.08
NO. 8 PICKS
Brandon Knight (2011), Terrence Ross, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Nik Stauskas, Stanley Johnson, Marquese Chriss, Frank Ntilikina, Collin Sexton, Jaxson Hayes, Obi Toppin (2020)
All-Star selections: 0
All-NBA selections: 0
Rookie of the Year awards: 0
All-Rookie Team selections: 3
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 0
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 1 (Sexton)
Average career PER: 12.34
NO. 9 PICKS
Kemba Walker (2011), Andre Drummond, Trey Burke, Noah Vonleh, Frank Kaminsky, Jakob Poeltl, Dennis Smith Jr., Kevin Knox II, Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija (2020)
All-Star selections: 6 (Walker – 4, Drummond – 2)
All-NBA selections: 2 (Walker and Drummond – 1)
Rookie of the Year awards: 0
All-Rookie Team selections: 4
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 0
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 0
Average career PER: 13.93
NO. 10 PICKS
Jimmer Fredette (2011), Austin Rivers, CJ McCollum, Elfrid Payton, Justice Winslow, Thon Maker, Zach Collins, Mikal Bridges, Cam Reddish, Jalen Smith (2020)
All-Star selections: 0
All-NBA selections: 0
Rookie of the Year awards: 0
All-Rookie Team selections: 2
Top-10 MVP voting finishes: 0
Career 20-plus PPG scorers: 0
Average career PER: 11.88
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