From Anthony Bennett’s rocky start to Cooper Flagg’s meteoric rise, a new ranking of every NBA Draft No. 1 pick since 2000 underscores how one draft decision can redefine a franchise—or bury it for years. LeBron James tops the list, while the Washington Wizard
The debate has never fully quieted after the NBA Draft lottery—especially in Washington, where the franchise is now staring at a No. 1 pick decision that could swing the direction of the next era.
Weeks after the lottery. speculation has been relentless: the Wizards are weighing whether to select AJ Dybantsa. Darryn Peterson. or Cameron Boozer. And that uncertainty isn’t happening in a vacuum. The No. 1 spot has a long legacy of stars—and, just as importantly, high-profile misfires that can haunt teams for years.
Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in 2025, already looks like the kind of selection that makes front-office risk feel justified. He’s also the reigning NBA rookie of the year—and the ranking of every No. 1 pick since 2000 makes the contrast with other outcomes impossible to miss.
Here’s the list of every NBA Draft No. 1 pick since 2000, ranked from 26 to 1:
26. Anthony Bennett, 2013, Cleveland Cavaliers — Career: 4 seasons, 151 games; Stats: 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.5 assists. Bennett’s path has been shaped by injury and a broader failure of evaluation after the Cavaliers shocked everyone by choosing the UNLV forward with the No. 1 pick, only to discard him the next year. He played four NBA seasons with four different franchises and has since built a lengthy career in the G League and overseas.
25. Greg Oden, 2007, Portland Trail Blazers — Career: 3 seasons, 114 games; Stats: 8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks. Oden missed more NBA seasons than he played after being drafted No. 1 in 2007 as a one-and-done star from Ohio State. He played in 61 games in his 2008-09 rookie season after sitting out his first season following the draft. then appeared in just 44 games the rest of his career due to foot and knee injuries.
24. Zaccharie Risacher, 2024, Atlanta Hawks — Career: 2 seasons, 145 games; Stats: 11.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 12.0 PER. The Hawks’ top pick has been hard to judge through the first two seasons, but 2025-26 was a step back. After making the all-rookie team, Risacher fell out of the rotation as Atlanta surged into the playoffs. Questions remain about his long-term future in Atlanta, and he could be an intriguing trade piece this offseason.
23. Markelle Fultz, 2017, Philadelphia 76ers — Career: 9 seasons, 275 games; Stats: 10.2 points, 4.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 14.2 PER. A mysterious shoulder ailment affected Fultz’s shooting motion fundamentally and altered the trajectory of his career. leading to a failed stint with the Sixers after Philadelphia used the No. 1 pick on him. He forged a rotation role with the Orlando Magic two years ago and played 21 games with the Sacramento Kings in 2024-25. He appeared in five games for the Toronto Raptors at the end of this past regular season.
22. Kwame Brown, 2001, Washington Wizards — Career: 12 seasons, 625 games; Stats: 6.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists. Michael Jordan’s notorious No. 1 pick with the Wizards ultimately played for seven teams in the NBA after coming to the league straight from high school. His best statistical season came playing alongside Jordan with the Wizards. and he was later a rotation player on Lakers’ playoff teams starring Kobe Bryant.
21. Andrea Bargnani, 2006, Toronto Raptors — Career: 10 seasons, 561 games; Stats: 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists. Bargnani settled into a role-player path after the Raptors selected him No. 1 overall. The Italian 7-footer produced three straight seasons averaging at least 15 points per game while shooting better than 34.5% from 3-point range.
20. DeAndre Ayton, 2018, Phoenix Suns — Career: 8 seasons, 525 games; Stats: 15.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 19.7 PER. Ayton is on his third team and got a fresh start with the Los Angeles Lakers this past season. He made the NBA Finals with Phoenix in 2020. but his production has declined in recent seasons. leaving him more suited as a role player.
19. Kenyon Martin, 2000, New Jersey Nets — Career: 15 seasons, 869 games; Stats: 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.1 blocks, 15.0 PER. Martin was a one-time All-Star and a key starter on Nets teams that reached the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons. He carved out a 15-year career as a role player valued for interior defense, rebounding, and toughness.
18. Cooper Flagg, 2026, Dallas Mavericks — Career: 1 season, 70 games; Stats: 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 17.9 PER. Flagg is positioned to climb the list quickly after being named the 2026 NBA Rookie of the Year. He shined with the Mavericks after a slow start, leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. He became the youngest player in NBA history to log three straight 30-point games and set an NBA record for points by a teenager in a single game (51). He’s also the first rookie since Michael Jordan to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
17. Ben Simmons, 2016, Philadelphia 76ers — Career: 8 seasons, 422 games; Stats: 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.5 steals. Simmons’ injury issues, shooting woes, and attitude concerns have shaped his reputation, overshadowing productive seasons after he was selected No. 1 by the Sixers. The 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year earned one All-NBA nod. led the league in steals in 2020. and was named to the NBA All-Defensive teams twice. He last played for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2024-25 season.
16. Andrew Wiggins, 2014, Cleveland Cavaliers (traded to Minnesota Timberwolves) — Career: 12 seasons, 878 games; Stats: 18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 14.8 PER. Wiggins was drafted No. 1 by Cleveland and then included in the trade that sent LeBron James back to the Cavaliers. He is now on his third team (the Miami Heat) since starting his career with the Timberwolves. The 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year was a key starter on the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 championship team and shot better than 40% from 3-point range for the first time in his career this past season.
15. Zion Williamson, 2019, New Orleans Pelicans — Career: 7 seasons, 276 games; Stats: 23.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 24.6 PER. Williamson ranks lower than some of his peers on the list because he has yet to make an All-NBA team with the Pelicans due to injury and availability issues. The 25-year-old proved more durable this past season while playing 60 games. but his production dipped from previous All-Star campaigns and New Orleans had another unsuccessful season.
14. Andrew Bogut, 2005, Milwaukee Bucks — Career: 14 seasons, 783 games; Stats: 9.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 blocks, 16.4 PER. The Australian center once led the league in blocks (2011) and later earned a third-team All-NBA nod and a spot on the All-Defensive team after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Bucks. He was also a prominent role player on the Golden State Warriors when they won the 2015 NBA championship.
13. Paolo Banchero, 2022, Orlando Magic — Career: 4 seasons, 210 games; Stats: 22.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 17.2 PER. The 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year had his second season shortened by injury and faced additional growing pains as the Magic tried to become contenders this past season. Still. Banchero remains a promising inside-outside threat who has been the leading scorer of a postseason team every season since being drafted No. 1 by Orlando.
12. John Wall, 2010, Washington Wizards — Career: 11 seasons, 684 games; Stats: 18.7 points, 8.9 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals. Wall led the Wizards past the first round of the playoffs three times in four years during his prime after the franchise had done it just once in the previous 30 years. The athletic point guard last played in an NBA game in January 2023 and earned All-NBA and All-Defense honors one time apiece.
11. Yao Ming, 2002, Houston Rockets — Career: 8 seasons, 514 games; Stats: 19 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 1.6 assists, 23.0 PER. The 7-foot-6 Chinese center became one of the NBA’s best centers with the Rockets but had his run as an elite player cut short by injury. Ming earned All-NBA honors five times. but only once did his Houston teams advance past the first round of the playoffs.
10. Cade Cunningham, 2021, Detroit Pistons — Career: 5 seasons, 292 games; Stats: 22.5 points, 8.0 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 18.0 PER. Cunningham earned first-team All-NBA honors for the first time this past season after leading the Pistons to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. He also had a breakthrough in Detroit in 2025. earning third-team All-NBA honors while leading the franchise to a playoff win for the first time since 2008.
9. Derrick Rose, 2008, Chicago Bulls — Career: 15 seasons, 775 games; Stats: 17.4 points, 5.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 18.0 PER. Rose could rank higher based on his brief rise and peak. including the 2009 Rookie of the Year and the 2011 MVP award in his third season after the Bulls took him No. 1 overall. Injuries derailed his time in Chicago after a run to the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals. though he carved out a lengthy career as a role player. His only All-NBA honor came during his MVP season.
8. Blake Griffin, 2009, Los Angeles Clippers — Career: 13 seasons, 833 games; Stats: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 21.0 PER. Griffin didn’t play during his first year in the NBA due to injury. but he won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2011 as part of the “Lob City” Clippers’ early run. Griffin earned five-time All-NBA selection, including one nod later with the Detroit Pistons.
7. Karl-Anthony Towns, 2015, Minnesota Timberwolves — Career: 11 seasons, 789 games; Stats: 22.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 23.6 PER. Towns was the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year and developed into a versatile two-way force for the Knicks as they won their first NBA championship since 1973 this season. He also earned third-team All-NBA honors for the third time in his career last year. Previously, Towns led the Timberwolves to a playoff series win for the first time in 20 years.
6. Anthony Edwards, 2020, Minnesota Timberwolves — Career: 6th season, 494 games; Stats: 24.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 18.2 PER. Edwards could be poised to climb even higher based on the potential shown during his first six years in the league. He’s already a two-time All-NBA selection and fell just shy of the 65-game threshold to achieve the feat a third time this past season. This season, he averaged a career-best 28.8 points while setting new career highs for field goal percentage and 3-point percentage.
5. Victor Wembanyama, 2023, San Antonio Spurs — Career: 3 seasons, 203 games; Stats: 23.4 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 blocks, 25.7 PER. Wembanyama quickly leaped into the top five after leading the Spurs to the NBA Finals. earning first team all-NBA honors and winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award during his third season. He finished third in MVP voting this year and appears poised to be the best big man in the league for a generation.
4. Kyrie Irving, 2011, Cleveland Cavaliers — Career: 15 seasons, 875 games; Stats: 23.7 points, 5.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 22.2 PER. Irving was the 2012 Rookie of the Year after the Cavaliers chose him with the No. 1 overall pick, then won an NBA championship alongside LeBron James in 2016. He’s a three-time All-NBA selection with three different teams and made the NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks in 2024. He did not play for the Mavericks during the 2025-26 season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in March 2025.
3. Anthony Davis, 2012, New Orleans Hornets — Career: 14 seasons, 867 games; Stats: 24.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.3 blocks, 26.7 PER. Davis ranks behind Dwight Howard on this list even though he was the NBA Finals MVP on the team Howard won a championship with because of how Davis’ tenure with the team that took him No. 1 unfolded. Davis had one playoff run with New Orleans before demanding a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. Even so. he became arguably the best two-way big man of his generation—an argument shaped only by the injuries that sidelined him over the years. Davis is a five-time All-NBA selection (including four first-team nods). a five-time All-Defensive pick and led the NBA in blocks three times.
2. Dwight Howard, 2004, Orlando Magic — Career: 18 seasons, 1,367 games; Stats: 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.3 assists, 21.3 PER. Howard’s career numbers don’t capture his prime dominance after being picked No. 1 by the Magic. The recent Hall of Fame inductee was an 8-time All-NBA selection (including five first-team nods). named Defensive Player of the Year three times. led the league in rebounding five times and led the NBA in blocks twice. Howard won an NBA championship as a role player with LeBron James and the Lakers in 2020 after leading Orlando past James and into the NBA Finals as a star 11 years earlier.
1. LeBron James, 2003, Cleveland Cavaliers — Career: 23 seasons, 1,924 games; Stats: 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 26.9 PER. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer is a “no-brainer” No. 1 choice for the best No. 1 pick since 2000. The four-time MVP. four-time Finals MVP and four-time NBA champion just completed his record-breaking 23rd season in the league and still seems to have more left in the tank. He’s only one season removed from earning second team All-NBA honors with the Los Angeles Lakers as a 40-year-old. Though his initial run in Cleveland as its No. 1 pick ended in his controversial “decision” to leave for Miami. James led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals and later returned to Cleveland to win an NBA championship in 2016. He also won consecutive championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013 and guided the Lakers to the 2020 championship.
The pattern running through the list is hard to ignore: some No. 1 picks become the foundation for sustained success, while others are derailed by injury, role fit, or front-office evaluation mistakes. Flagg’s early production and rookie-year recognition sit at one end of that spectrum; Bennett. Greg Oden. Markelle Fultz. and the other troubled cases sit at the other.
For the Wizards, that split isn’t academic. With so much speculation swirling over which player belongs at the top of the 2026 Draft, the stakes are already clear—because the league has spent decades proving that a single selection can reshape everything.
NBA Draft No. 1 pick LeBron James Cooper Flagg Washington Wizards AJ Dybantsa Darryn Peterson Cameron Boozer Anthony Bennett Greg Oden Markelle Fultz