New Orleans Pelicans: Ranking the Top 40 No. 1 Picks of All-Time

New Orleans Pelicans: The Top 4 number one draft picks of all-time

#4: Hakeem Olajuwon- Houston Rockets (1984)

“The Dream” was as dominant as centers get in the NBA. He was so good that he was drafted ahead of Michael Jordan and no one blames Houston for taking him. In his 18 seasons, Olajuwon averaged 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 1.7 steals and that’s including his last five seasons in which he was injured and his numbers dipped significantly. At one point he was arguably the best offensive and defensive player in the game and there’s a strong argument that he is the best defensive big and best pure post player of all-time.

#3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar- Milwaukee Bucks (1969)

Kareem played a staggering 20 seasons, averaging 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game for his career. His “sky” hook was the most unstoppable shot of all-time and he had some of the most prolific seasons in NBA history. He had a season where he averaged 34.9 points, 16.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and more than four blocks per game. He is the all-time scoring leader in the NBA, though at some point may be passed by the next guy.

#2: LeBron James- Cleveland Cavaliers (2003)

Let’s get something straight, by the end of his career, LeBron James will be at the top of this list, and pretty much any other list you’d like to make regarding achievements in the NBA. He is in year 17 and still one of the top-five players in the game, an MVP candidate and leading one of the best teams. He doesn’t have the rings that some of these other guys have, but no one in NBA history dragged such awful teams to the Finals. LeBron’s numbers are staggering, 27.1 points, 7.4 assists, 7.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and nearly a block per game for his career. These are even more impressive when you consider he is one of the few players to do it in the social media era, where there has been a spotlight on his every move since he was a teenager. LeBron is arguably the greatest player of all-time and will overtake the next guy, but he hasn’t yet.

#1: Magic Johnson- Los Angeles Lakers (1979)

Magic Johnson re-defined the point guard position, won five titles, three MVPs and became a vocal social advocate after contracting HIV. He lost four seasons to the disease, so his overall numbers would be even more impressive had he played in those seasons. Still, Magic averaged 19.5 points, 11.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game as one of the most versatile and exciting players of all-time. Magic was the face of one of the most iconic teams and the NBA itself during most of his career.