NBA Draft: 30 Worst No. 1 overall picks in league history (Updated 2023)

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BOSTON, MA – 1960: K.C. Jones #25 of the Boston Celtics looks to shoot as Frank Selvy #11 of the Los Angeles Lakers goes for the block. (Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images) /

30 worst No. 1 overall picks in league history: 16. Frank Selvy

Stats:

10.8 points
3.7 rebounds

While many of the players on this list were truly dominant offensive forces in college, few can match the pure production that Frank Selvy achieved. The Kentucky native was spurned by Adolph Rupp, the head coach of the University of Kentucky, so he instead played at Furman University. Over the course of four seasons, he led the nation in scoring twice, averaging 32.5 points per game for his career.

The pinnacle of that scoring prowess came on February 13, 1954, when Selvy scored 100 points in a game against Newberry College. The 6’3″ guard dropped 100 despite not having a 3-point line; he once said that “at least eight or nine baskets” would have been 3-pointers today. That record is still standing more than 65 years later.

All of that scoring ensured him the top spot in the 1954 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Baltimore Bullets. The Bullets promptly folded, and he was picked up by the Milwaukee Hawks in the dispersal draft. In a much smaller league, he was able to earn All-Star honors as a rookie, when he scored 19 points per game but on just 37.8 percent from the field.

The shooting didn’t improve much over time, and he would finish his career as a 39.4 percent shooter overall from the field. He moved to St. Louis with the Hawks, then stopped in Minneapolis with the Lakers, New York with the Knicks, and Syracuse with the Nationals. Finally, he landed back with the Lakers and packed his things with them to move to Los Angeles.

It was with the Lakers that Selvy saw the most team success of his career, playing alongside future Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. He earned another All-Star berth in 1961-62 largely because the Lakers were good and the league needed someone to fill the spots in a nine-team league. In total Selvy played 565 games in nine seasons, a largely inefficient chucker who never reached the heights of college while in the NBA.

Should have picked: Bob Pettit (2nd)

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