NBA Draft: Every team’s least popular pick ever

Utah Jazz – Dominique Wilkins (1982)

When you look at the eras of the NBA, the 80s in the league were a time of themselves when some of the all-time greats and iconic players ruled the league and were really revolutionizing the game of basketball, especially some of the high-flyers. One of the best players in the league in that era and one of the best dunkers of all time is undoubtedly Dominique Wilkins. As it so happens, though, he still winds up being an unpopular draft pick considering what happened with him and the Utah Jazz.

James Worthy and Terry Cumming went No. 1 and 2 overall in the 1982 draft and then came the Jazz’s selection. They used it to take the hyper athletic forward out of Georgia in Dominique Wilkins. Depending on your thoughts about Worthy, Wilkins is possibly now regarded as the best player from that draft. However, he never played a single game for the Jazz.

You see, Utah had financial problems at the time within the organization and Wilkins wasn’t exactly keen on playing with the Jazz. As such, they acquiesced his wishes and traded him back to Georgia (or the Atlanta Hawks) where he went on to have a Hall of Fame career. That something so silly led to the Jazz missing out on a Hall of Famer is too cruel for him to not be unpopular.

Next: Washington Wizards