$Every NBA Team\'s Worst Draft Pick of All Time$

Every NBA Team's Worst Draft Pick of All Time

By Jacob Kornhauser

There’s nothing worse in sports than missing on a key draft pick when the franchise needs a star to turn things around. It still happens all the time, though, especially in the NBA. Here is the worst draft pick in the history of each NBA franchise. Surely, each of them regrets these terrible picks.

$Every NBA Team\'s Worst Draft Pick of All Time$

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Atlanta Hawks - Marvin Williams — Year, pick: 2005, 2nd overall. Coming out of North Carolina, Williams was supposed to make a big impact in the NBA right away. Of course, that's why the Hawks drafted him so high. However, he never quite panned out, averaging barely 10 points a game over the course of his career. He's still a serviceable NBA player, but he's nowhere near what you'd expect from a No. 2 overall pick.

Boston Celtics - Len Bias — Year, pick: 1986, 2nd overall. Of course, Len Bias was part of one of the greatest tragedies in NBA history as he died from a drug overdose before ever playing a game for the Celtics. He was a dominant college player and appeared to have a great NBA career ahead of him, but we never got to find out how good he could have been.

Brooklyn Nets - Dennis Hopson — Year, pick: 1987, 3rd overall. Hopson was supposed to be able to pour in points with the best of them in the league, but he never got close to having a reputation as a bona-fide scorer. The Nets saw this firsthand as he struggled in his three seasons with the team. By five seasons after the draft, he was out of the league due to his ineffectiveness.

Charlotte Hornets - Adam Morrison — Year, pick: 2006, 3rd overall. Coming out of Gonzaga, Morrison seemed like a can't-miss prospect, but boy, did he miss. The Bobcats learned that the hard way as they took him with their third overall pick and never got consistent production from him. The awkward big man played in just 161 games in his NBA career and averaged fewer than 10 points and two rebounds per game.

Chicago Bulls - Eddy Curry — Year, pick: 2001, 4th overall. Curry seemed promising early on for the Bulls, who took him with a top-five pick, but he never quite realized his potential during his time in Chicago. He did last a while in the NBA as a nice bench player, but he just didn't cut it as someone who came in with huge expectations.

Cleveland Cavaliers - Anthony Bennett — Year, pick: 2013, 1st overall. It might be too early to call Bennett a bust, but he's doing everything he can to earn that title. Cleveland has to be kicking itself since taking Bennett with that pick, as it was a stretch to begin with. Luckily for them, they don't have to worry about him in a Cavalier uniform since he was dealt to the Timberwolves.

Dallas Mavericks - Doug Smith — Year, pick: 1991, 6th overall. Coming out of Missouri, Smith was supposed to be a big-time playmaker at the next level, but he never became that type of player. In his five NBA seasons, he shot below 43 percent from the field, an absolutely terrible figure for a big man who regularly takes high-percentage shots. His inability to improve the scoring aspect of his game is ultimately what forced him out of the league early.

Denver Nuggets - Raef LaFrentz — Year, pick: 1998, 3rd overall. The Nuggets haven't exactly had the strongest history of drafting, but 1998 might have been their low mark. They took LaFrentz, who was blooming into a star at Kansas, and his development abruptly ended once he arrived in Denver. He did manage to last 11 seasons in the league, but he was never very effective with the Nuggets, who essentially wasted a top-three pick on him.

Detroit Pistons - Darko Milicic — Year, pick: 2003, 2nd overall. Milicic is truly one of the worst draft picks in NBA history for a number of reasons, but who the Pistons could have taken before him is what makes it beyond terrible. The three guys taken after Milicic were Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Ouch. In a draft where it was hard to go wrong, that's exactly what the Pistons did.

Golden State Warriors - Chris Washburn — Year, pick: 1986, 3rd overall. Coming from NC State, Washburn was ready to compete right away -- or at least that's what the Warriors thought when they drafted him. In reality, the 6'-foot-11 center ended up being terrible. His career lasted just 72 games across two seasons, and he was forever forgotten.

Houston Rockets - Eddie Griffin — Year, pick: 2001, 7th overall. The Rockets haven't made that many terrible draft picks over the years, but they will be the first to admit drafting Griffin was a mistake. The Seton Hall forward was forced to miss the entire 2003-04 season with substance abuse issues and was never the same after. It's just a shame that such talent was never able to pan out at the highest level.

Indiana Pacers - Rick Robey — Year, pick: 1978, 3rd overall. Oh, how the Pacers messed this one up. There was a player by the name of Larry Bird playing in their backyard during his amazing college days, and somehow the Pacers failed to select him in this draft. Instead, they took Robey, who played for eight very average seasons. Ironically, he would go to the Celtics later in his career.

Los Angeles Clippers - Michael Olowokandi — Year, pick: 1998, 1st overall. You can't miss on the first overall pick in any sport. You just can't. Well, that's exactly what the Clippers did in 1998 with their pick of Michael Olowokandi. He would go on to average just over eight points per game over the course of his career and he helped L.A. continue their run as one of the saddest franchises in the sport.

Los Angeles Lakers - Javaris Crittenton — Year, pick: 2007, 19th overall. After getting Kobe and being able to pay other top free agents, the Lakers haven't had a lot of pressure to draft well until lately. That's good for them because their pick of Crittenton in 2007 turned out to be an atrocious one. He played in the league for just two years and is now serving 23 years in prison after accepting a plea deal in a murder case.

Memphis Grizzlies - Hasheem Thabeet — Year, pick: 2009, 2nd overall. It didn't seem possible for a 7-foot-3 center to be a bust in the NBA, but the Grizzlies learned the hard way that it is very possible. The UConn star absolutely flopped at the next level and could never quite get his footing in the NBA. It's a shame for someone who had the size to dominate the league for a decade.

Miami Heat - Michael Beasley — Year, pick: 2008, 2nd overall. Beasley was one of the most dominant college players in several years when he came out of Kansas State, but the Heat likely would have changed their draft strategy if they knew he'd have so many off-court issues. He has settled down lately and is a pretty effective player, but he's by no means a starter. That's just not good enough for a second overall pick.

Milwaukee Bucks - Yi Jianlian — Year, pick: 2007, 6th overall. Milwaukee hasn't been the best drafting team in the league, but Yi was likely their worst pick ever. He lasted just five seasons in the league, largely as a reserve, and never figured things out. His size and athleticism should have at least made him an average player in the league, but it never did.

Minnesota Timberwolves - Jonny Flynn — Year, pick: 2009, 6th overall. Flynn seemed like a stretch, even when the T'Wolves took him with their sixth pick, and the selection looked worse and worse throughout his rookie season. He wasn't able to be the type of playmaker he was at Syracuse and, ultimately, he folded. After just three seasons in the NBA, his career was over.

New Orleans Pelicans - Austin Rivers — Year, pick: 2012, 10th overall. Rivers was a high school sensation, then was decent in college and has been pretty bad in the pros so far. It doesn't seem like high school phenoms who struggle in college ever end up panning out in the league, but the Pelicans decided to give him a try anyway. Now that he's gone, they can move on from the failed experiment.

New York Knicks - Tom Riker — Year, pick: 1972, 8th overall. The Knicks have regretted this pick for a while. Riker seemed like the right pick at the spot as one of the better college big men in the country, but it turned out to be the worst pick in franchise history. The center played in just 82 games across three seasons and never earned his title as the eighth overall pick in the draft.

Oklahoma City Thunder - Bud Stallworth — Year, pick: 1972, 7th overall. Back when the Thunder were the Sonics, they made a pretty bad selection in Bud Stallworth in the early 70s. Out of Kansas, Stallworth entered the league looking like an instant superstar, but he never became that. He mightily underachieved, playing just five seasons in the league, while scoring less than eight points per game. That's not quite what you're looking for out of the seventh pick in the draft.

Orlando Magic - Mike Miller — Year, pick: 2000, 5th overall. Yes, Miller has put together a very solid career for himself in the NBA, but based on how little he produced for the Magic, he is still classified as a draft bust. He played just two seasons with the team that drafted him in the top five, and he struggled to be much more than a scorer. Lately, though, his game has experienced a renaissance, which must make the Magic regret not sticking with him longer.

Philadelphia 76ers - Freddie Boyd — Year, pick: 1972, 5th overall. As a guard who really knew how to put the ball in the basket, Boyd was brought in to score right away for the 76ers, but he never learned how to do that at the highest level. Unbelievably, he averaged just nine points and three assists over the course of his disappointing six-year career. That's hardly what you're looking for out of a top-five pick.

Phoenix Suns - William Bedford — Year, pick: 1986, 6th overall. It seems like 1986 was a bad year for drafting in the NBA as there were several busts. Bedford might have been the biggest one. Phoenix thought it was getting a dominant 7-foot center, but they actually got a player whose troubles on and off the court were too much to overcome. Substance abuse forced him to miss the entire 1988-89 season, and he just never put together any strong stretches in his career.

Portland Trail Blazers - Sam Bowie — Year, pick: 1984, 2nd overall. Poor, Sam Bowie. He will forever be remembered as the player taken in front of Michael Jordan. For that reason, he might always be considered the biggest draft bust ever. He did average over 10 points per game and was decent throughout his career, but he was nowhere near MJ's level, which will make the Trail Blazers forever regret taking him.

Sacramento Kings - Jimmer Fredette — Year, pick: 2011, 10th overall. Fredette was one of the purest scorers college basketball had ever seen, which made everyone in the NBA believe he could at least score 15 a game at the next level. Of course, he has yet to reach that point in his career, and it's looking increasingly unlikely he will ever become a premier scorer in the NBA.

San Antonio Spurs - Livio Jean-Charles — Year, pick: 2013, 28th overall. Finding a Spurs draft bust is like grasping at straws, especially since they never draft inside of the top 20, but one of their most recent picks could be classified as a bust. Jean-Charles, who was their first-round pick in 2013, hasn't played in the NBA yet. To be fair, he's playing in LNB Pro A league in Europe, so he's been getting reps and might pan out eventually. Again, finding a Spurs draft bust is hard to do.

Toronto Raptors - Rafael Araujo — Year, pick: 2004, 8th overall. The Raptors haven't exactly had the best luck in drafts, and Araujo was the worst of the worst. At 6-foot-11, the center averaged less than three points a game and didn't even average three rebounds a game with his size. How someone could be so unproductive with those natural attributes makes no sense.

Utah Jazz - Enes Kanter — Year, pick: 2011, 3rd overall. Kanter could've really helped the Jazz, but he just wasn't feeling it in Utah. Now that he's with the Thunder, he's actually a pretty productive player, but he never panned out with the Jazz. That's not what you need from a player you take third overall. You need a decade from someone taken in that slot.

Washington Wizards - Kwame Brown — Year, pick: 2001, 1st overall. Kwame Brown was supposed to be the NBA's next superstar out of high school, but he never lived up to his potential. He spent four unproductive seasons in Washington before moving on and becoming a running joke among sports writers and fans. Fair or not, he's generally viewed as the biggest draft bust in NBA history because of how good he was expected to be.

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