Every year, millions of NBA fans await the NBA Draft to see if their favorite team will either select their next franchise star or use their pick in a trade for an already established one. The NBA Draft is a time of wonder and uncertainty for all 30 NBA franchises. Every draft has had its share of All-Star talent come through, whether that be early in the first round or a diamond in the rough in the second round, like Nikola Jokic or Draymond Green. Along the way, there have been some NBA Draft classes that failed to live up to expectations or have disappointed in terms of top talent from that draft disappointing at the NBA level.
Take the 2019 NBA Draft class for example. There have been some major disappointments from the 2019 class just five years into their careers. Ja Morant is staring down the barrel of a lengthy suspension due to repeated offenses involving firearms. Zion Williamson has missed most of his NBA career due to injury and is currently caught in a drama-filled love triangle involving a woman he is having a baby with. Jordan Poole signed a lucrative deal in 2022 with the Warriors, only to get knocked out by his teammate during the offseason and fail to live up to the money he was earning in year one of his deal. They aren’t the only draft class to disappoint over the 76 years of NBA history, and they won’t be treated as such either, while there is still enough time for them to obtain better status as a draft class.
These are the 10 most disappointing draft classes in NBA history.
10. 1989 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Pervis Ellison, Danny Ferry, J.R. Reid, George McCloud, Tom Hammonds
In order for a draft class to be a disappointment, you have to take a look at the top 10 picks as well as the totality of the draft. When it comes to the 1989 NBA Draft, nine players would make it to the All-Star Game at least once in their career, but zero players would reach 100 career win shares. Players like Tim Hardaway, Shawn Kemp, and Glen Rice were all considered stars at one point, but after that, things get a little bleak for the Class of 1989.
Number one overall pick Pervis Ellison had a few good seasons early in his career but was never an All-Star, although he was the 1992 Most Improved Player. Danny Ferry, the No. 2 overall pick has just two seasons in which he averaged 10.0 PPG or better and never averaged more than 13.3 PPG. Fifth overall pick J.R Reid has a 12-year career but was nothing special in the league. Ninth overall pick Tom Hammonds would play 12 seasons as well and average 5.3 PPG and 3.3 RPG for his career. Every player just mentioned was selected in the top 10 of the draft. There would be no other way to kick off our list than with the 1989 draft.
9. 2006 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Andrea Bargnani, Adam Morrison, Tyrus Thomas, Shelden Williams
The 2006 NBA Draft class is filled with some of the biggest college-to-NBA busts in basketball history. Just five players from this class were ever selected to be All-Stars, with LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Lowry, and Rajon Rondo having the brightest careers. Brandon Roy was on his way to superstardom before his knees disintegrated on him in one of the biggest what-ifs in NBA history. J.J. Redick also had a decent career as one of the best three-point shooters ever but never made an All-Star Game either.
Enough about the decent players to come from this draft, this is about the disappointments. First-overall pick Andrea Bargnani is perhaps one of the most disappointing number-one picks ever, as he lasted just 10 seasons averaging 14.3 PPG. Solid, but not the number one overall pick material. Adam Morrison was the National Player of the Year in college at Gonzaga and was selected third overall by the Bobcats but suffered an injury in his second season and played just a total of three seasons in his career. Hey, he has a ring, though. Tyrus Thomas and Shelden Williams were also top-five picks but ended up being busts in the NBA with very short-lived careers.
8. 2002 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Jay Williams, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Dajuan Wagner, Chris Wilcox, Jared Jeffries
The 2002 NBA Draft started off in the right way, with Hall of Famer Yao Ming going first overall to the Rockets. As great for the game globally as Yao was, even he experienced tremendous disappointment with injuries over the year which always seemed to come at the worst possible time for Houston. The only All-Stars from this class include Yao, Caron Butler, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Carlos Boozer. Everybody else was either serviceable or completely irrelevant.
Jay Williams was the second overall pick to the Bulls in 2002 but would play just one season before injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash ended his career at 22 years old. Picks numbers five and six, Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Dajuan Wagner, would each play just four seasons in the NBA, Tskitishvili with four teams and Wagner with two. Chris Wilcox and Jared Jeffries were also selected in the top 11 picks, and each had careers spanning over a decade but produced numbers worthy of the second round rather than in the lottery. Overall, a truly disappointing draft class in NBA history.
7. 1971 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Elmore Smith, Ken Durrett, George Trapp, Cliff Meely, Stan Love
At first glance, things may not seem all that bad when it comes to disappointments from the 1971 NBA Draft class. There were seven All-Stars in the class, including number-one overall pick Austin Carr, aka “Mr. Cavalier” but even he only made it once, averaging 16.2 PPG in nine seasons in Cleveland. Among the madness in this draft were two Hall of Fame centers, Artis Gilmore and Spencer Haywood, who opted to begin their career with the ABA and excel at high levels there. There was also Sidney Wicks, who made four straight All-Star games to begin his career with Portland and had a decent 10-year career
Looking at the bigger picture in this draft, there were a total of 237 picks made and 19 rounds of draft action. Above I mentioned four players worth being noted who make up .016% of the entire draft. Those numbers are exponentially disappointing. Third-overall pick Elmore Smith is most remembered for being involved in the lopsided deal that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from the Bucks to the Lakers. Ken Durrett was the fourth overall pick of the Cincinnati Royals and lasted just four seasons, averaging 4.0 PPG. Out of all 237 players selected in this draft, only nine played at least 10 seasons in the NBA.
6. 1990 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Derrick Coleman, Bo Kimble, Felton Spencer, Lionel Simmons
At the top of the 1990 NBA Draft, you will find a precarious pair of top-two picks. Starting with the good, Gary Payton is one of the greatest two-way point guards in NBA history and a former Defensive Player of the Year, NBA champion, and nine-time All-Star. At number one overall, we have Derrick Coleman, whose career started off great with a Rookie of the Year award and an All-Star selection of his own. However, after five seasons with the Nets, it seemed like nothing could motivate Coleman to want to play or stay in good enough playing shape to help his team. He may have had a 15-year career, but for a number-one overall pick, he was a letdown.
Bo Kimble was one of the most promising college prospects as well, going eighth overall to the Clippers but lasted just three seasons in the NBA and never averaged more than 6.9 PPG. Between Payton and Kimble, many mid-level players were taken, such as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who was blackballed by the NBA after refusing to stand for the National Anthem. Others include Kendall Gill and Dennis Scott, who were talented and exceeded in their roles but were never close to superstar status. Toni Kukoc is also a notable second-rounder from this draft but, overall, an extremely disappointing class in terms of results.
5. 1983 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Ralph Sampson, Steve Stipanovich, Rodney McCray, Sidney Green
The 1983 NBA Draft Class is highlighted by Clyde Drexler, who accounts for most of the accolades accumulated by this class, and Ralph Sampson, one of the biggest disappointments of the draft class. Sampson was the first overall pick of the Houston Rockets in the 1983 draft and began his career looking like he was going to be the next superstar in the NBA. After four All-Star seasons, Sampson’s body began to betray him, and back and foot issues hindered the rest of his career. The Rockets moved on and traded him to Golden State and by 1988, Samspon was all but done physically.
Other notables in this draft class are former Fadeaway World guest Dale Ellis as well as Doc Rivers along with Drexler. Steve Stipanovich was the second overall pick in this draft by the Pacers but would last just five seasons before blowing out his knee. Rodney McCray went third overall to the Rockets and, other than two All-Defensive Team selections, did not accomplish much beyond that. The disappointment from this class is strong, but there are four other draft classes beyond this point.
4. 1973 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Jim Brewer, Ernie DiGregorio, Mike Green, Ed Ratleff
The 1973 NBA Draft class has to be considered one of the worst in NBA history. This draft class boasts only four All-Stars, which included ABA standout George McGinnis and Doug Collins, who was more well-known from his coaching days. Collins was a 19.0 PPG scorer at his peak in the NBA and made four All-Star Games in his eight-year career. Another one of 1973’s four All-Stars was Kermit Washington, who also is remembered for things other than his basketball abilities, especially his brutal sucker punch that nearly ended Rudy Tomjanovich’s playing career.
Ernie DiGregorio was the third pick to the Buffalo Braves but would last just five seasons after winning the assists title as a rookie. DiGregorio turned out to be one heck of a coach later on, though. Jim Brewer went second overall to the Cavaliers, where he played six of his nine seasons and averaged more than 10.0 PPG just once. With 211 total draft picks and just four All-Stars, mostly forgotten ones as well, the 1973 draft class is a major disappointment.
3. 1975 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Dave Meyers, Marvin Webster, Lionel Hollins, Rich Kelley
The 1975 NBA Draft Class makes our list at number three, led by Skywalker David Thompson as the first overall pick. Thompson was a three-time All-Star with the Nuggets in the NBA and once in the ABA as a 25.0 PPG scorer who could seemingly flat on his way to the rim. Even Thompson experienced disappointment when he was suspended for substance abuse issues and out of the league after just nine years. Other notable players from this class include Gus Williams, who won the 1979 NBA championship with Seattle, Alvan Adams, who won Rookie of the Year, and World B. Free.
After Thompson, there would be a whole bunch of disappointment from the first round of picks. Dave Meyers was taken second overall by the Lakers and subsequently made a part of the trade for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Meyers played just four total seasons in the NBA before retiring at 27 due to religious reasons. Marvin Webster, the third overall pick, is remembered for his time with the Knicks from 1979 thru 1984, where he averaged 6.0 PPG and 6.2 RPG. Lionel Hollis was a one-time All-Star in his NBA career but would go on to become a much more memorable coach down the line and Rich Kelley, the seventh overall pick, played 11 seasons averaging 7.6 PPG and 7.0 RPG.
2. 1952 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Mark Workman, Jim Baechtold, Dick Groat, Joe Dean
Even in a time with very few teams in the NBA, the 1952 NBA Draft class has a case to be ranked first on our list. Obviously, talent and talent evaluation was in the stone age at this time, so there is a bit of forgiveness there, but when we break down the facts surrounding this class of players, you will know why they are ranked so high. First, the only player worth mentioning in this entire draft class is Clyde Lovellette, the only All-Star from 1952. Lovellette was a four-time All-Star that won NBA championships with the Lakers and Celtics between 1954 and 1964.
Now for the hard truths and ugly facts about the 1952 NBA Draft class. There were a total of 106 selections made in this draft and only 1 became an All-Star. Furthermore, only 33 of these 106 players even played a single game in the NBA. To bring the level of disappointment to an even higher level, only 12 players out of those 106 played more than one season in the NBA. This means that 11.3% of the entire draft was good enough to make it more than one year in the league.
1. 2000 NBA Draft Class
Biggest Disappointments: Stromile Swift, Darius Miles, Marcus Fizer, Demarr Johnson, Chris Mihm
As the NBA turned to a new century in 2000, the talent coming in through high school and college was thought to be the next faces of the NBA. They would have to wait at least one year for that level of talent to come through the draft. Even the first overall pick, Kenyon Martin, had a decent career, but not one come to be expected with the first overall pick. There were only three All-Stars to come out of this draft, Martin included, and that was Jamaal Magloire and second-round royalty, Michael Redd.
Along with Martin at the top of the draft were two super athletes set to make the next splash in the NBA. Stromile Swift and Darius Miles definitely could draw reactions from the crowd but were disappointing overall based on the potential they had. Miles and Swift were never All-Stars and never even challenged for an All-NBA Team. I should give credit to one of the better Mikes in NBA history, Mike Miller, who was one of the great three-point shooters at the time and Rookie of the Year in 2000-01. Overall, the 2000 NBA Draft Class is still the worst and most disappointing draft class in NBA history.
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