1985: Patrick Ewing: First Pick of the Lottery Era

No. 1 Picks in the NBA Draft

With the first pick in the lottery era, the New York Knicks selected Patrick Ewing out of Georgetown. An 11-time All-Star, Ewing was also voted one of the greatest 50 players in 1996. In 1994 and 1999, he led the Knicks to the NBA Finals. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)

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1985: Patrick Ew... With the first pick in the lottery era, the New York Knicks selected Patrick Ewing out of Georgetown. An 11-time All-Star, Ewing was also voted one of the greatest 50 players in 1996. In 1994 and 1999, he led the Knicks to the NBA Finals. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)
1986: Brad Daugh... The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Brad Daugherty out of North Carolina in 1986. Daugherty went on to become a five-time NBA All-Star and made the All-NBA Third Team in 1992. (AP Photo/File)
1987: David Robi... Considered the greatest player to ever come out of the United States Naval Academy, the "Admiral" was voted one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all-time. He lead the San Antonio Spurs to championships in 1999 and 2003. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
1988: Danny Mann... As the first pick in the 1988 Draft, the L.A. Clippers selected Manning out of Kansas. An All-Star in 1993 and 1994, Manning went on to have a 16-year career where he averaged 14 points per game. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)
1989: Pervis Ell... Drafted first overall by the Sacramento Kings, Ellison was riddled with injuries throughout his 12-year playing career. His crowning achievement was winning the Most Improved Player award for the 1991-1992 season.(AP Photo/Gail Oskin)
1990: Derrick Co... The Nets made power forward Derrick Coleman the No. 1 overall pick in 1990. The 1991 NBA Rookie of the Year, known for his deft outside shooting touch, was named to one NBA All-Star team and two All-NBA Third Teams. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
1991: Larry John... Larry Johnson, or "Grandmama" as he was known around the league, was selected No. 1 overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 1991. He was the first Hornet ever selected to an All-Star team and went on to be selected to one more. He is well-known for his four-point play that he made as a member of the Knicks in the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
1992: Shaquille ... In 1992, the Magic drafted Shaquille O'Neal out of LSU, who is considered one of the most dominant center of all time. O'Neal had a celebrated career that included being a 15-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion, and most importantly, four-time NBA champion. (AP Photo/Steve Simoneau)
1993: Chris Webb... In 1993, the Orlando Magic again had the first pick in the draft. Instead, this year, they traded the rights of the pick to the Golden State Warriors. With that selection, the Warriors selected Chris Webber from Michigan. Webber had a 16-year career with five teams that saw him average 20.7 points and make five All-Star teams. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea)
1994: Glenn Robi... The Milwaukee Bucks selected Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson with the first pick in 1994. Robinson spent his first eight years in the NBA with Milwaukee where he made two trips to the All-Star Game. He finished his 11-year career averaging 20.7 points and 6.1 rebounds. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
1995: Joe Smith With the first pick in 1995, the Golden State Warriors selected Joe Smith out of Maryland. While Smith was collegiate player of the year in 1995, he finished his career averaging only 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)
1996; Allen Iver... In 1996, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Allen Iverson out of Georgetown. "AI" as he is more commonly known, won Rookie of the Year, two MVPs, and was an 11-time All-Star. Iverson also lead the 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001.(AP Photo/ George Widman)
1997: Tim Duncan... With their second No. 1 pick in the past 10 years, the Spurs selected Tim Duncan from Wake Forest. Duncan is in the midst of a prolific career that includes four NBA championship rings, two MVP trophies and 13 All-Star Games. Duncan is also considered one of the best, if not the best, power forward ever. (AP Photo)
1998: Michael Ol... In 1998, the Clippers selected Nigerian-born center Michael Olowokandi as the first overall pick. In nine NBA seasons, the "The Kandi Man" averaged 9.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Olowokandi is considered one of the biggest draft busts of all time because Vince Carter, Paul Pierce and Rashard Lewis all came out in 1998. (AP Photo/Brett Coomer)
1999: Elton Bran... After many successful seasons behind the leadership of Michael Jordan, the Bulls fell on hard times once he retired. Thus, in the 1999 NBA Draft, the Bulls selected first and chose Duke's Elton Brand. While only managing a brief stint in Chicago, Brand averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds each of his two years with the Bulls. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
2000: Kenyon Mar... In 2000, the New Jersey Nets selected Kenyon Martin with the first pick out of Cincinnati. Martin is known as a defensive stelwart, helping lead both the Nets and his current team, the Nuggets, to the playoffs.(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
2001: Kwame Brow... The Washington Wizards selected Kwame Brown with the first pick in 2001, straight out of high school in Brunswick, Georgia. In 10 seasons, Brown has found it difficult to stick with one team as organizations have been quick to part with him due to his lack of work ethic and desire to prepare. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)
2002: Yao Ming In 2002, the Houston Rockets made an international splash by selecting 7'6'' Chinese national, Yao Ming with the first pick. The tallest player in the NBA, Ming has been selected an All-Star starter eight times. If it were not for recurring injuries, that number would surely be higher. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
2003: LeBron Jam... With LeBron James already anointed the second coming of Michael Jordan, the Cleveland Cavaliers were lucky enough to win the "LeBron Lottery" and pick first in 2003. The relationship turned out well for both .. until the King hit free agency in 2010. Still, LeBron lifted Cleveland to an NBA Final, was a seven-time All-Star and two-time MVP. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
2004: Dwight How... The Orlando Magic selected 7-footer Dwight Howar straight out of high school in 2004. While it took Howard a few seasons to mature and understand the professional game, he has become a force both on the offense and defensive end. In the 2008-2009 campaign, Howard collected: All-NBA First Team, All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year Honors. He also lead the Magic to their second Eastern Conference title. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
2005: Andrew Bog... The Milwaukee Bucks went "Down Under" with their No. 1 overall selection in 2005, taking Australian center Andrew Bogut. Bogut, who attended the University of Utah, has had a modest career thus far with the Bucks, posting averages of 12.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
2006: Andrea Bar... The Toronto Raptors took Italian-born Andrea Bargnani first overall in the 2005 draft, continuing the trend of internationals taken with the first pick. Bargnani has progressively improved and averaged a career-best 21.4 ppg in 2010-11. (AP Photo/Adrian Wyld)
2007: Greg Oden After one season at Ohio State, 7-footer Greg Oden announced that he would enter the NBA draft. Taken first overall by the Portland Trail Blazers, Oden sat out his first season to recover from micro-fracture knee surgery. Not much has changed since as Oden's career has been sidetracked by a litany of injuries. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
2008: Derrick Ro... Chicago-born point guard Derrick Rose got his wish of returning home when the Bulls selected him with the No. 1 pick in 2008. His rookie campaign started strong, becoming the first Bulls rookie since Jordan to score at least 10 points in his first 10 games, and ended well, capturing Rookie of the Year honors and leading the Bulls back to the playoffs. Rose followed wth an even better second season, winning the NBA MVP Award. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
2009: Blake Grif... The Clippers finally won something with the No. 1 pick. Their reward was Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, a human trampoline out of Oklahoma. But in typical Clips fashion, Griffin broke his kneecap and his debut had to wait a year. Still, even for the Clippers, good things come to those who wait. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
2010: John Wall In need of a desperate roster overhaul, the Wizards started by adding a point guard of the future. Wall entered the NBA after one stellar season at Kentucky. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)