NBA Draft: Every team’s best all-time selection in the lottery

A closer look at every team’s top all-time NBA Draft selection in the lottery.

The NBA Draft presents a glimmer of hope to teams across the league.

The entire process of evaluating and scouting players over the days leading up to the draft provides optimism for teams that better days could be on the horizon. More so, teams holding lottery picks are more reliant on their selection because it could be a make-or-break pick for their respective franchise.

In the NBA, it merely takes one or two players to come in and change the complexion of a franchise for the better, which opens up the door for teams to emerge as contenders in the playoffs.

Since the NBA Draft Lottery system was instituted in 1985, every team in the league can say that they have had some hit and miss picks. Some franchises wound up going all-in on a pick that turned out to be a bust. But over the past 35 years, every team can point to one selection that ended up exceeding expectations and leaving a grand impact on the team. Many of these such players helped transcend the franchise from the team being on the lowly side in the league to becoming a threat in the title chase on a season-by-season basis.

Here is which picks were “lottery” since the format’s inception, based on changes in the format and size of the league:

• 1985-1988: 7 lottery picks
• 1989: 9 lottery picks
• 1990-1995: 11 lottery picks
• 1996-2003: 13 lottery picks
• 2004-present day: 14 lottery picks

While slightly different than the very best draft pick of every team’s history, there are still many notable names in the lottery range. Many were considered for each, but here is every team’s all-time best NBA Draft lottery selection.

Best NBA Draft Lottery pick: Atlanta Hawks, Al Horford

For one, this list will consider picks made by the team and not those that were later acquired via a trade. So for instance with the Atlanta Hawks, a player like Pau Gasol would not be taken into account as he was traded after being picked third overall in the 2001 NBA Draft and wound up making a greater impact elsewhere. Nor would Trae Young be an option for the Hawks’ all-time best lottery pick as Atlanta did not formally select the point guard over the 2018 edition of the NBA Draft.

Thus, this leaves Al Horford as the Hawks’ choice for being their all-time top lottery selection.

Horford was the clear choice to being the third-best player available in the 2007 NBA Draft behind both Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. He was an established star in college with two national championship wins while with Florida and had a knack for being an on-court leader.

The Hawks went with the safe option in 2007 by taking Horford with their third overall pick and the team surely has no regrets looking back at this pick. Horford played an influential role in leading the Hawks back to being a winning team.

After eight straight seasons without making a playoff appearance, the Hawks wound up clinching a playoff spot in each of Horford’s nine seasons with the team, which included an Eastern Conference Finals run in 2015.

Horford provided the Hawks with versatility thanks to his ability to play the four and five positions. During his time in Atlanta, he also showed off his efficiency as a low-post scorer and unselfish on-ball playmaker. He finished his Hawks run with four All-Star appearances and an All-NBA selection over the 2010-2011 season.

Al Horford Atlanta Hawks stats and accomplishments

• 578 games, 14.3 points, 8.9 rebounds per game
• Four All-Star appearances
• All-Rookie Team, 2011 Third Team All-NBA