The NBA draft is a player’s best opportunity to be drafted into the league. Since 1947, the NBA has drafted eligible players, typically from college to the league. Below, we are going to review the history of the number 18 draft pick in the NBA.
What is the NBA Draft?
The NBA draft is an annual ceremony, in which NBA teams, through a lottery system, select eligible players from college and the international stage to join their teams. College players who have completed all four years of their education are automatically eligible for the draft.
However, college players who have not completed all four years of their education, but are one-year removed from high school, must declare their eligibility for the draft. In declaring their eligibility, these underclassmen will effectively give up their remaining college eligibility.
For international players, any player older than 22 years old are automatically eligible for the draft. However, any international player younger than 22 years old must declare their eligibility.
How Does the Lottery System Work?
The NBA draft lottery system was revamped for the 2018 season. Looking at these new rules, the 14 NBA teams which did not make the playoffs will be eligible for the first 14 picks in the draft. Under the new system, the NBA Draft Lottery will ensure that the team with the worst overall record in the league will receive no worse than the fifth overall pick.
Similarly, in the new system, the three NBA teams with the worst regular-season records will each have a 14% chance of winning the lottery and the first overall pick. Once the first four teams with the worst records have been selected, the remaining ten teams will continue to pick in inverse order of their regular-season record.
How Does the NBA Draft Work?
Going a bit deeper, and speaking only of the new system, the NBA draft will be televised on ESPN, who will air the results live. Drawings will be conducted to determine the first four picks, with the remaining ten picks being doled out in inverse order of an NBA teams regular-season record.
The actual lottery procedure, however, takes place in a separate room before ESPN announces the results. In this room, a member of the media, an NBA official, and a representative of the accounting firm Ernst & Young are present to ensure no foul play or tampering with the machine.
In this separate room, fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1-14 will be placed in the lottery machine. The lottery machine used by the NBA is manufactured by Smart Play Company. This company also weighs, measures, and certifies the ping-pong balls before the drawing.
There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating NBA teams.
Once all 14 balls have been placed into the machine, they will be mixed for 20-seconds before the first ball is removed. Similarly, the balls will be mixed for another 10-seconds before the second ball is drawn. Again, the machine will be mixed for another 10-seconds for both the third and fourth picks.
Full History of all 18th Overall NBA Draft Picks
| PLAYER | TEAM | AFFILIATION | YEAR | ||
| Tre Mann | Oklahoma City Thunder | Florida | 2021 | ||
| Josh Green | Dallas Mavericks | Arizona | 2020 | ||
| Goga Bitadze | Indiana Pacers | KK Mega Leks (Serbia) | 2019 | ||
| Lonnie Walker IV | San Antonio Spurs | Miami (FL) | 2018 | ||
| T.J. Leaf | Indiana Pacers | California-Los Angeles | 2017 | ||
| Henry Ellenson | Detroit Pistons | Marquette | 2016 | ||
| Sam Dekker | Houston Rockets | Wisconsin | 2015 | ||
| Tyler Ennis | Phoenix Suns | Syracuse | 2014 | ||
| Shane Larkin | Atlanta Hawks | Miami (FL) | 2013 | ||
| Terrence Jones | Houston Rockets | Kentucky | 2012 | ||
| Chris Singleton | Washington Wizards | Florida State | 2011 | ||
| Eric Bledsoe | Oklahoma City Thunder | Kentucky | 2010 | ||
| Ty Lawson | Minnesota Timberwolves | North Carolina | 2009 | ||
| JaVale McGee | Washington Wizards | Nevada-Reno | 2008 | ||
| Marco Belinelli | Golden State Warriors | Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna (Italy) | 2007 | ||
| Oleksiy Pecherov | Washington Wizards | Paris Basket Racing (France) | 2006 | ||
| Gerald Green | Boston Celtics | Gulf Shores Academy | 2005 | ||
| JR Smith | New Orleans Hornets | Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School | 2004 | ||
| David West | New Orleans Hornets | Xavier | 2003 | ||
| Curtis Borchardt | Orlando Magic | Stanford | 2002 | ||
| Jason Collins | Houston Rockets | Stanford | 2001 | ||
| Quentin Richardson | Los Angeles Clippers | DePaul | 2000 | ||
| James Posey | Denver Nuggets | Xavier | 1999 | ||
| Mirsad Turkcan | Houston Rockets | Anadolu Efes S.K. (Turkey) | 1998 | ||
| Chris Anstey | Portland Trail Blazers | South East Melbourne Magic (Australia) | 1997 | ||
| John Wallace | New York Knicks | Syracuse | 1996 | ||
| Theo Ratliff | Detroit Pistons | Wyoming | 1995 | ||
| Eric Mobley | Milwaukee Bucks | Pittsburgh | 1994 | ||
| Luther Wright | Utah Jazz | Seton Hall | 1993 | ||
| Tracy Murray | San Antonio Spurs | California-Los Angeles | 1992 | ||
| Kevin Brooks | Milwaukee Bucks | Louisiana-Lafayette | 1991 | ||
| Duane Causwell | Sacramento Kings | Temple | 1990 | ||
| B.J. Armstrong | Chicago Bulls | Iowa | 1989 | ||
| Ricky Berry | Sacramento Kings | San Jose State | 1988 | ||
| Mark Jackson | New York Knicks | St. John’s (NY) | 1987 | ||
| Mark Alarie | Denver Nuggets | Duke | 1986 | ||
| Joe Dumars | Detroit Pistons | McNeese State | 1985 | ||
| Vern Fleming | Indiana Pacers | Georgia | 1984 | ||
| Randy Breuer | Milwaukee Bucks | Minnesota | 1983 | ||
| Ricky Pierce | Detroit Pistons | Rice | 1982 | ||
| Ray Tolbert | New Jersey Nets | Indiana | 1981 | ||
| Don Collins | Atlanta Hawks | Washington State | 1980 | ||
| Reggie King | Kansas City Kings | Alabama | 1979 | ||
| Dave Corzine | Washington Bullets | DePaul | 1978 | ||
| Wesley Cox | Golden State Warriors | Louisville | 1977 | ||
| Willie Smith | Chicago Bulls | Missouri | 1976 | ||
| Kevin Grevey | Washington Bullets | Kentucky | 1975 | ||
| Gary Brokaw | Milwaukee Bucks | Notre Dame | 1974 | ||
| Raymond Lewis | Philadelphia 76ers | Cal State-Los Angeles | 1973 | ||
| Joby Wright | Seattle SuperSonics | Indiana | 1972 | ||
| Steve Patterson | Cleveland Cavaliers | California-Los Angeles | 1971 | ||
| Calvin Murphy | San Diego Rockets | Niagara | 1970 | ||
| Ronald Taylor | Seattle SuperSonics | Southern California | 1969 | ||
| Bob Quick | Baltimore Bullets | Xavier | 1968 | ||
| Bob Netolicky | San Diego Rockets | Drake | 1967 | ||
| Leon Clark | Boston Celtics | Wyoming | 1966 | ||
| Keith Erickson | San Francisco Warriors | California-Los Angeles | 1965 | ||
| Wali Jones | Detroit Pistons | Villanova | 1964 | ||
| Bill O’Connor | New York Knicks | Canisius | 1963 | ||
| Bobby Rascoe | New York Knicks | Western Kentucky | 1962 | ||
| Jack Turner | Chicago Packers | Louisville | 1961 | ||
| Jim Hagan | Los Angeles Lakers | Tennessee Tech | 1960 | ||
| Bobby Smith | Minneapolis Lakers | West Virginia | 1959 | ||
| Roy DeWitz | Detroit Pistons | Kansas State | 1958 | ||
| Bill Ebben | Detroit Pistons | Detroit Mercy | 1957 | ||
| Buzz Wilkinson | Boston Celtics | Virginia | 1955 | ||
| Al Bianchi | Minneapolis Lakers | Bowling Green | 1954 | ||
| Mel Payton | Philadelphia Warriors | Tulane | 1951 |