Most memorable NBA Draft moments ever

Cleveland picks Anthony Bennett number one overall, 2013

This draft was immortalized by a surprised Bill Simmons, who shouted, “Whoa!” when Bennett was drafted. Mock drafts usually had Bennett going later in the lottery, like to the Toronto Raptors — he’s Canadian, after all — but the radical Cavalier front office selected him from outside the box and shocked devoted NBA fans. This was a year after the front office surprised the league with Dion Waiters at number four, so we were all a bit prepared but didn’t expect this.

You can sift through old mock drafts from 2013, where most experts had Cleveland taking Nerlens Noel or perhaps Alex Len. But apparently Cleveland had been following and falling in love with Bennett for a year. In their defense, it was a weak draft and Noel, who had been pegged as the number one pick for a long time, was a big man with a knee injury.

I have to mention that Anthony Bennett was arguably the worst performing number one pick ever. Greg Oden may have had injury problems, but at least he was good while he was actually on the court. Notable busts Michael Olowokandi and Kwame Brown stayed in the league for a while. Andrea Bargnani did too, though I’d argue he could be the worst because he was a significant negative force despite his playing time. LaRue Martin might be the best analogue, but even his stats were better. My first memory of Bennett’s NBA career was this distressing possession, where he loses his dribble, wanders out way beyond the three-point line, performs a cross-over, and launches an ugly airball. He missed his first 15 shots of his career, and it hasn’t been much better since. It all started with one decision we saw on draft night.

Next: Steve Francis is drafted by Vancouver without great enthusiasm, 1999