NBA: The 25 worst players to ever win Rookie of the Year: 19. Sidney Wicks
After starring under John Wooden at UCLA and winning three NCAA championships, Sidney Wicks was a hot commodity in 1971. He was taken by the Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA, and the Portland Trail Blazers paid the Cleveland Cavaliers $250k not to take him so he would fall to them with the second pick (Cleveland took Notre Dame star, Austin Carr).
Wicks did not waste time, as is the case with so many on this list, dropping 24.5 points per game to go with 11.5 rebounds; also like many on this list, that would be the apex for his production in both categories. He made the All-Star team in that year and each of his first four seasons, all with the Trail Blazers.
Across a ten-year career with three different teams, Wicks only made the postseason once, in 1976-77 with the Boston Celtics. Painfully, he had to watch his former Portland team win the title in his absence. Otherwise, the 6’8″ power forward was filling up the stat sheet on mediocre teams during his 10-year career.
There was very little competition for the Rookie of the Year award, with Wicks topping Carr and Buffalo’s Elmore Smith by a substantial margin. The best player from that draft class, Artis Gilmore, chose to start his career in the ABA. Despite a career in the good-not-great category, Wicks has probably had the best career from that rookie group.