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2018 Suns Draft: Breaking Down the Picks

  • In the team’s 51st draft, the Suns have the 1st overall pick for the first time ever.
  • Some of the best players in NBA history were selected 1st overall, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson, Dwight Howard, Patrick Ewing, Elvin Hayes, Allen Iverson, Chris Webber and James Worthy.
  • Since the 1966 draft, 10 1st overall picks have won the NBA MVP award and 14 are Hall of Famers, not counting several who are not yet eligible.

In the lottery era (since 1985)

  1. 22 of the 33 players to be 1st overall picks have become All-Stars with a combined 136 career All-Star appearances
  2. Seven 1st overall picks have won an NBA title with those seven combining for 17 rings
  3. Five 1st overall picks have already been inducted to the Hall of Fame
  • The Phoenix Mercury have drafted 1st overall on three occasions and those three No. 1 picks have directly contributed to the team’s three WNBA championships: Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, was taken 1st overall in 2004 and has won three titles with the Mercury; the 1st pick in 2007 was used to acquire Tangela Smith who helped the Mercury win titles in 2007 and 2009; Brittney Griner was taken 1st overall in 2013 and helped the Mercury to the title in 2014.
  • In addition to their lottery pick, the Suns have the 16th (via Miami), 31st and 59th (via Toronto) overall picks.
  • Notable 16th overall picks include Hall of Famer John Stockton in 1984, former Sun Hedo Turkoglu in 2000, one-time All-Star Ron Artest in 1999, former Sun Tony Delk in 1996, one-time All-Star Chris Gatling in 1991, one-time All-Star Dana Barros in 1989, one-time All-Star Rickey Green in 1977 and two-time All-Star Swen Nater in 1973. Recent 16th overall picks making an impact in the league include Terry Rozier (2015), Jusuf Nurkic (2014), Nikola Vucevic (2011), James Johnson (2009) and Nick Young (2007).
  • The Suns have drafted 16th once before, taking Ricky Sobers out of UNLV in 1975. In his rookie season, Sobers was a key member of the “Sunderella Suns” run to the NBA Finals, averaging 13.0 points and 4.2 assists in the playoffs, and fighting Golden State’s Rick Barry in the Conference Finals.
  • The Suns have historically had success outside the top-30 picks with the selections of All-Stars Jeff Hornacek and Cedric Ceballos in the 2nd round, in addition to Tyler Ulis, Davon Reed and Alec Peters in recent years.
  • Notable 31st overall picks include three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas in 2001, one-time All-Star, former Sun and two-time NBA Champion Danny Ainge in 1981 and one-time All-Star Doc Rivers in 1983. Bojan Bogdanovic (2011) and Allen Crabbe (2013) are recent 31st picks making an impact in the league. The Suns have three times used the 31st pick, taking Negele Knight in 1990, Joe Ward in 1986 and Fred Saunders in 1974.