Golden State Warriors: Ranking the last 10 first-round picks

In the last 12 years, the Golden State Warriors have made 10 first-round picks. Some are bad, some are decent, and some helped them win three titles in five years.

The Golden State Warriors, like every other team in the NBA, make a first-round pick each time the NBA Draft rolls around in late June. Barring any organizational trades, each team has one chance to get their guy; the player who can hopefully maintain the team’s mojo or maybe even completely turn the team around.

The NBA Draft is unlike any other draft in any other professional sports organization; it’s unique in the aspects of its size, selection, and rarity to find players who actually become successful in the league.

The NBA Draft is only two rounds and is only composed of 60 selections. For comparison’s sake, the NFL has a seven-round draft with a range usually between 253-256 picks; similarly, the NHL has a seven-round draft of 217 selections; the MLS has a four-round draft with up to 104 picks; and though recently revised, the MLB historically has a 40-round draft up to 1,200 selections.

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Clearly, the NBA Draft has a significantly less amount of draft selections compared to other major professional American sports leagues; probably because each NBA team can have a maximum of 15 players on their main roster and only need five on the floor at a time.

With its limited selection, you would think each pick in the NBA Draft has the potential to be a game-changer right away; heck, in the NFL, a third, maybe even fourth-round draft selection is oftentimes a week one starter. However, the NBA Draft doesn’t work that way. Past the first 10 or 12 picks, it is rare to find a player who can have an instantaneous impact or eventually go on to have a solid basketball career.

Yes, there are oddities. Yes, draft steals happen all the time; at least one team gets a steal in every draft, as a matter of fact. But historically and statistically speaking, NBA Draft value dramatically drops after the first 10 to 12 picks, and the remaining 50 or so are all wild-cards.

The NBA Draft features loads of international prospects as well. In the last five NBA Drafts, a total of 57 picks played internationally; that’s almost a whole entire draft in itself composed of just international players. In the 2016 NBA Draft, 15 first-rounders were born outside of the United States, and eight of those didn’t play U.S. college ball. This aspect of uniqueness added to the process makes being a selection in the NBA Draft all the more difficult, and that’s why it’s so special.

Almost every single basketball player you watch on a day-to-day, year-to-year basis has been selected through the NBA draft, so its importance must not be overlooked.

Though signings are very important as well, struggling teams especially look to build their future through the draft by picking the best players out of college.

The Golden State Warriors, for that matter, have had mixed success with the NBA Draft in recent history. Due to their dominant stretch of play, they oftentimes get the last pick in both rounds, meaning they haven’t gotten an impactful player through the NBA Draft over the last five or so years. In more distant history, however, the Warriors have selected players that have turned into main contributors to their historical dynasty and three NBA titles in five years.

From worst to best, we rank the Warriors’ last 10 first-round picks, going back all the way to the 2008 NBA Draft.

In 2012, the Warriors had two first-rounders, while in 2013, 2014, and 2017, they had none.