Fansided

Most Shocking NBA Lottery shakeups of all-time

By Cody Williams

Basketball: NBA Draft Lottery: NBA Commissioner David Stern holding up the envelope with the number one pick in the draft at Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Number one pick goes to the New York Knicks.New York, NY 5/12/1985CREDIT: George Tiedemann (Photo by George Tiedemann /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)(Set Number: X31488 TK1 R1 F8 )
Basketball: NBA Draft Lottery: NBA Commissioner David Stern holding up the envelope with the number one pick in the draft at Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Number one pick goes to the New York Knicks.New York, NY 5/12/1985CREDIT: George Tiedemann (Photo by George Tiedemann /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)(Set Number: X31488 TK1 R1 F8 ) /
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(Original Caption) Oakland, Calif.: Golden State Warriors’ top draft pick Chris Washburn, the 3rd player taken in the NBA draft, displays his new Warrior jersey during press conference in Oakland, Calif. Washburn, who entered the draft after just his sophomore season at North Carolina State, said he felt he could skip the team’s rookie camp and not be too far behind by regular training camp time. He said he would not report to the rookie camp if his contract negotiations were not completed.
(Original Caption) Oakland, Calif.: Golden State Warriors’ top draft pick Chris Washburn, the 3rd player taken in the NBA draft, displays his new Warrior jersey during press conference in Oakland, Calif. Washburn, who entered the draft after just his sophomore season at North Carolina State, said he felt he could skip the team’s rookie camp and not be too far behind by regular training camp time. He said he would not report to the rookie camp if his contract negotiations were not completed. /

22. Warriors Go with Chris Washburn (1986)

Leading up to the 1986 NBA Draft, there were so many players coming out of the Atlantic Coast Conference that were going to be selected in the lottery. Brad Daugherty went with the first-overall pick seemingly as a sure-fire future All-Star for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Boston Celtics then selected Len Bias out of Maryland and he was followed by Chris Washburn going to the Golden State Warriors at No. 3.

While hindsight certainly makes this a bit more shocking than it was at the time, it was still shocking nonetheless. Washburn had shown talent while playing for the NC State Wolfpack in college, but he had also shown grave maturity and character issues throughout his college career as well. With plenty of high-profile college players still left on the board, it was a risk to take a player with such concerns with the No. 3 overall pick and even at the time fans realized that.

Of course, what makes it worse is that all of those concerns were warranted. Washburn didn’t make it two full seasons of unproductive basketball in the NBA before checking into a rehab facility for a cocaine problem. He never played in the Association again.

Next: No. 21 Nets Go With Dennis Hopson

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