Over and Back: LeBron, Anthony Bennett and the history of No. 1 picks

We look back at all the No. 1 overall picks in the NBA draft in the past 50 years and how their careers went in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast, hosted by Jason Mann and Rich Kraetsch.

We discuss Anthony Bennett’s recent release from the Brooklyn Nets and how he looks like the latest No. 1 overall pick to be a complete bust, how there are a wide range of outcomes for No. 1 overall picks, from some of the greatest players of all-time (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and LeBron James) to the biggest disappointments (LaRue Martin, Pervis Ellison, Michael Olowokandi, Kwame Brown, Andrea Bargnani and Greg Oden).

Listen: How bad were the late 1970s and early 1980s for the NBA?

We also talk about what is fair to expect from a No. 1 overall pick, a run of mid-1970s players who ran into injury or drug issues (Doug Collins, Bill Walton, David Thompson and John Lucas), an impressive crop of 1980s big men for five straight drafts (Ralph Sampson, Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Brad Daugherty and David Robinson), players who were very good but fell short of greatness (Cazzie Russell, Mychal Thompson, Mark Aguirre, Derrick Coleman, Larry Johnson, Glenn Robinson and Andrew Bogut) and much more.

Over and Back: Sometimes you get LeBron James, sometimes you get Anthony Bennett

By Jason Mann | Jan 13, 2017

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