NBA Draft History: Top Four 4th Overall Picks
By William Lee
Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; A general view as the names of the first round draft picks are displayed above the stage during the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Knicks ended up with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft during the NBA Draft Lottery night, and I am not going to lie, I was devastated. To receive the fourth overall pick in the worst season in franchise history was a hard pill to swallow.
I was cussing Tim Hardaway Jr. and the Knicks for winning the last two of three games of the regular season. To win meaningless (actually they were meaningful) games against the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic, while the Minnesota Timberwolves did the smart thing and went on a dozen game losing streak to end the season…was really upsetting.
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I thought it was going to be all doom and gloom now that the two franchise saving center prospects will be sure to be off the board by the time the Knicks pick. No more Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor, bye-bye to any hopes of New York immediately improving. Or so I thought, now that some time has passed and looking historically at how well fourth overall picks turns out, I am not too upset. Of course! I would still have preferred if New York was able to get Towns or Okafor…but hey…that is over and done with… on to better things. It is called the lottery for a reason right? Not at all rigged (I am looking at you Los Angeles Lakers).
Looking over the fourth overall picks was fun, and I have compiled a subjective top four 4th overall draft pick list. While this is a subjective list, I did try to be as objective as possible. There were a lot of players to choose from and could have easily been a top ten list, but I figured it would be more fun to play on being the fourth overall pick so instead I decided to do a top four list. Now the list is not definitive and is subject to change based on how some of the current players still in the NBA turn out. Feel free to disagree and leave comments below.
Before we get started on the top four 4th overall picks, I would like give some honorable mentions that did not make the list.
Next: Honorable Mentions