History

Teams with most No. 1 picks in NBA history

Recapping how many times each franchise has drafted the 1st overall pick since 1947.

Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum reveals the top 4 picks at the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm.

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The Atlanta Hawks won the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery, earning the No. 1 overall pick for the fourth time in NBA history, and the first time since the Lottery began in 1985. The Hawks choose 1st in the 2024 NBA Draft presented by State Farm, which will be held on Thursday and Friday, June 26-27. 

Here’s a look at how many times each franchise has landed the No. 1 pick since 1947:


Cleveland Cavaliers

No. 1 picks: 6

  • 1971: Austin Carr
  • 1986: Brad Daugherty 
  • 2003: LeBron James
  • 2011: Kyrie Irving
  • 2013: Anthony Bennett 
  • 2014 Andrew Wiggins 

Washington Wizards

No. 1 picks: 6

  • 1953: Ray Felix (Baltimore Bullets)
  • 1954: Frank Selvy (Baltimore Bullets) 
  • 1961: Walt Bellamy (Chicago Packers)
  • 1962: Bill McGill (Chicago Zephyrs)
  • 2001: Kwame Brown
  • 2010: John Wall

Houston Rockets

No. 1 picks: 5

  • 1968: Elvin Hayes (San Diego Rockets)
  • 1976: John Lucas
  • 1983:  Ralph Sampson
  • 1984: Hakeem Olajuwon 
  • 2002: Yao Ming 

Sacramento Kings

No. 1 picks: 5

  • 1956: Si Green (Rochester Royals)
  • 1957: Hot Rod Hundley (Cincinnati Royals)
  • 1959: Bob Boozer (Cincinnati Royals)
  • 1960: Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati Royals) 
  • 1989: Pervis Ellison

Atlanta Hawks

No. 1 picks: 4

  • 1952: Mark Workman (Milwaukee Hawks) 
  • 1955: Dick Ricketts (St. Louis Hawks)
  • 1975: David Thompson 
  • 2024: TBD

Milwaukee Bucks

No. 1 picks: 4

  • 1969: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 
  • 1977: Kent Benson 
  • 1994: Glenn Robinson
  • 2005: Andrew Bogut

New York Knicks

No. 1 picks: 4

  • 1963: Art Heyman
  • 1964: Jim Barnes
  • 1966: Cazzie Russell 
  • 1985: Patrick Ewing

Orlando Magic

No. 1 picks: 4

  • 1992: Shaquille O’Neal
  • 1993: Chris Webber
  • 2004: Dwight Howard
  • 2022: Paolo Banchero

Philadelphia 76ers

No. 1 picks: 4

  • 1973: Doug Collins
  • 1996: Allen Iverson
  • 2016: Ben Simmons
  • 2017: Markelle Fultz

Portland Trail Blazers

No. 1 picks: 4

  • 1972: LaRue Martin
  • 1974: Bill Walton
  • 1978: Mychal Thompson
  • 2007: Greg Oden

Detroit Pistons

No. 1 picks: 3

  • 1967: Jimmy Walker
  • 1970: Bob Lanier 
  • 2021: Cade Cunningham

Golden State Warriors

No. 1 picks: 3

  • 1965: Fred Hetzel (San Francisco Warriors)
  • 1980: Joe Barry Carroll 
  • 1995: Joe Smith 

Los Angeles Clippers

No. 1 picks: 3

  • 1988: Danny Manning
  • 1998: Michael Olowokandi
  • 2009: Blake Griffin

San Antonio Spurs
No. 1 picks: 3

  • 1987: David Robinson
  • 1997: Tim Duncan
  • 2023: Victor Wembanyama

Brooklyn Nets

No. 1 picks: 2

  • 1990: Derrick Coleman (New Jersey Nets)
  • 2000: Kenyon Martin  (New Jersey Nets)

Chicago Bulls

No. 1 picks: 2

  • 1999: Elton Brand 
  • 2008: Derrick Rose

Los Angeles Lakers

No. 1 picks: 2

  • 1958: Elgin Baylor (Minneapolis Lakers)
  • 1979: Magic Johnson 
  • 1982: James Worthy

Minnesota Timberwolves

No. 1 picks: 2

  • 2015: Karl-Anthony Towns
  • 2020: Anthony Edwards 

New Orleans Pelicans

No. 1 picks: 2

  • 2012: Anthony Davis
  • 2019: Zion Williamson

Boston Celtics

No. 1 picks: 1

  • 1950: Charlie Share

Charlotte Hornets

No. 1 picks: 1

  • 1991: Larry Johnson

Dallas Mavericks

No. 1 picks: 1

  • 1981: Mark Aguirre 

Phoenix Suns

No. 1 picks: 1

  • 2018: Deandre Ayton

Toronto Raptors

No. 1 picks: 1

  • 2006: Andrea Bargnani

Denver Nuggets

No. 1 picks: 0


Indiana Pacers

No. 1 picks: 0


​​Memphis Grizzlies

No. 1 picks: 0


Miami Heat

No. 1 picks: 0


Oklahoma City Thunder

No. 1 picks: 0


Utah Jazz

No. 1 picks: 0

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