Hoops Habit
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Ranking every first overall pick in NBA history

By Christopher Jeter

MIAMI, FL - NOVEMBER 18: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Miami Heat on November 18, 2018 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - NOVEMBER 18: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Miami Heat on November 18, 2018 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images) /

13. 1985: Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks

Before he even played an NBA game, Patrick Ewing made history by becoming the first number one overall pick of the Draft Lottery Era. The league instituted the new system in place of the coin flip system as a deterrent against tanking. Of course, recent history has shown that if anything, the lottery system further incentivizes tanking, just ask the Philadelphia 76ers.

Thanks to the lottery, the Knicks won the top overall pick and by extension the consensus top choice from the 1985 draft class in Ewing. This led to some conspiracy theorists to surmise that the league fixed the lottery to ensure that the potential marquee big man played for the team stationed in the largest U.S. market.

It didn’t take long for Ewing to turn the Knicks into an Eastern Conference contender.  He made the All-Star team 11 times in his 15 seasons with the franchise, averaging 22.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks during that span. With Ewing in the middle, the Knicks won 50 or more games five times in the 1990s.

While those Knick teams were far from the most pleasant to watch if you weren’t an ardent fan of the team, their tough defensive style led them to two Eastern Conference titles.

Ewing never delivered the much-desired championships to New York, but in a decade where Michael Jordan reigned supreme, simply making them a perennial playoff team was enough of an accomplishment.