The 30 most painful NBA Draft pass-ups since 2000

NBA Draft Mistake #20: Toronto drafting Andrea Bargnani over LaMarcus Aldridge.

The theory of Andrea Bargnani proved to be far better than Bargnani himself. He was drafted first overall in 2006 by the Toronto Raptors and never quite lived up to his full potential after being compared to Dirk Nowitzki.

Then again, every international big-man from that era was compared to Nowitzki, with all failing to live up. Bargnani was no different. He spent seven seasons with the Raptors, and while he put up better numbers than most players on this list, including scoring 21.4 points per game in the 2010–11 season, he certainly ranks low on the list of most successful former number-one picks.

Actually, LaMarcus Aldridge, who was picked second, would go on to have a much better career. The seven-time NBA All-Star is one of the better offensive big men of his era, even scoring 20,000 points. He was also an underrated defender who helped lead both Portland and San Antonio to deep runs in the playoffs, unlike Bargnani, who didn’t exactly impact winning.

Things ultimately worked out for Toronto; three years after drafting Bargnani, they selected DeMar DeRozan, who would also go on to have a much better career. Though, had they drafted Aldridge instead, they might have been able to build a championship team much sooner than 2019.