NBA Draft: Ranking the best players selected 6th overall since 1995

1) Damian Lillard: 2012 NBA Draft (Portland Trailblazers)

Dame Time. There’s no other words to describe how Damian Lillard is perhaps the best player selected 6th overall in the last 25 years and second to Larry Bird all-time.

Even if Lillard’s career ended today, he’d most likely rank as one of the Top-3 Trailblazers of all time. When the Blazers need a basket, Lillard is there to take it and make it. The Oklahoma city Thunder saw it first hand in 2019. The Houston Rockets had their hearts broken in 2014 as well. Just like Steph Curry, Lillard has to be guarded anywhere on the floor, otherwise he’ll make your team pay. Lillard is the definition of clutch in Rip City.

Lillard was the NBA Rookie of The Year in 2013 and became an NBA All-Star during his sophomore season in 2014. He’s a 5x NBA All-Star – who should arguably be a 7x consecutive All-Star based on his performance – and made the All-NBA First Team in 2018. Lillard’s led the Trailblazers to the playoffs every season since his sophomore campaign.

Going into the 2012 NBA Draft, Lillard’s draft stock rose significantly through the draft combine and interview process. Lillard shot well in the draft combine, and received glowing reviews from a multitude of scouts, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports at the time. Weber State, Lillard’s alma mater, was a small school – akin to Steph Curry and Davidson – and, thus, was overlooked in the scouting world.

The Blazers’ capitalized on Lillard’s strong workouts by drafting him with the 6th overall pick. The pick originally belonged to the Brooklyn Nets, who foolishly traded the pick in the 2011-12 season to acquire Gerald Wallace. This is a decision that may be one of the top 10 biggest mistakes in NBA history.

As for the 5 players selected above Lillard, two of them – Anthony Davis at #1 and Bradley Beal at #3 – cemented themselves as franchise players. The Pelicans & Wizards didn’t make a mistake drafting those players.

The Charlotte Hornets drafted Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with the 2nd overall pick. The pick looks like a colossal bust now, but the Hornets did have Kemba Walker as their franchise point guard. Dion Waiters, drafted 4th overall, isn’t as egregious of a mistake because the Cleveland Cavaliers had Kyrie Irving on the roster. The Sacramento Kings, however, made a huge blunder drafting Thomas Robinson over Lillard. The Kings, along with the Nets, should be the only two teams that significantly regret not drafting Lillard, either on draft day or by trading the pick respectively.

Overall, Damian Lillard is the best sixth overall pick in the past 25 years, and the Knicks could only hope to get so lucky to find a talent like him if they end up choosing sixth in the 2020 NBA draft.