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NBA Draft: 30 greatest draft picks in league history

By Josh Cornelissen

Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers. (Photo by Tom Herde/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets
Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Houston Cougars, 1984 (No. 1). Hakeem Olajuwon. 5. player. 169. . Center

Greatest NBA Draft picks in league history: Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets

The history of the NBA is littered with draft mistakes and “what-if” questions. What if the Portland Trail Blazers had taken Kevin Durant instead of Greg Oden in the 2007 NBA Draft? What if teams had not allowed Dirk Nowitzki, or Kobe Bryant, or Clyde Drexler to slip down the draft board?

It might be easy to point to Michael Jordan going No. 3 overall and assuming the Houston Rockets made a mistake taking someone else with the first pick. Yet despite Jordan’s prolific career as probably the greatest ever, the Rockets made no draft blunder. The career Hakeem Olajuwon turned in was one of the greatest ever. No regrets in Houston.

The Nigerian-born center emigrated to America to play college basketball at the University of Houston. He and teammate Drexler made two consecutive NCAA Tournament title games, losing to the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Georgetown Hoyas in consecutive years. The local Rockets won a coin flip in 1984 to get the No. 1 overall pick and selected Olajuwon.

The 7-foot center turned in one of the most prolific two-way careers in league history for the Rockets, playing 17 seasons and making 12 All-NBA teams — six times on the First Team. Nine times he was an All-Defensive Team selection, and twice won NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

In 1994 and 1995, he took control of a Michael Jordan-less league to win two titles, also bringing home an NBA MVP award in 1994.

No player has more career blocks than Olajuwon, and he owns a number of franchise records despite the Rockets’ prodigious collection of historical talent. He totaled 162.8 win shares over his career for the Rockets, one of the most dominant players of his era and in the history of the league.