Every NBA team’s greatest draft pick of all time
By Dre Elder
The Warriors’ franchise has drafted stars since the early days of the NBA. In fact, no team may have a more impressive draft resume than the Warriors. Today’s powerful version was built primarily through the draft with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Now consider historical selections like Paul Arizin, Rick Barry, Nate Thurmond, and Robert Parish. And more modern-day selections such as Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway, Penny Hardaway, Vince Carter, and Gilbert Arenas. As talented as all these players are, none reached the heights of Wilt Chamberlain.
The Philadelphia Warriors claimed Wilt Chamberlain as a territorial pick in the 1959 NBA Draft. They used Chamberlain’s local high school career and the absence of an NBA team in Kansas to boost their claim. Tales of Chamberlain’s feats resemble those of Greek mythology. At 7-foot-1 and 275 pounds, he was a freak of nature on the basketball court. Chamberlain’s size and brute strength engulfed opponents rendering him unstoppable.
He scored 43 points and snatched 28 rebounds in his first NBA game. Wilt averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds to win Rookie of the Year and league MVP. He quickly became the most dominant offensive force ever seen. Despite all his production, Chamberlain routinely fell to rival Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics in the postseason.
Wilt Chamberlain won two championships and four MVP awards in his 14-year career. But it’s his individual achievements that will forever be mind-boggling. The guy once averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds per game for an entire season. You would be hard pressed to replicate that in a video game.
We aren’t likely to ever see a player eclipse Wilt Chamberlain’s production. Can you imagine seeing that level of dominance today?