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 2 draft pick in the NBA.
You might also be interested in the history of the number 1 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.
1950’s Number 2 Overall Pick
- 1950 – Don Rehfeldt is selected by the Baltimore Bullets from the University of Wisconsin
- 1951 – Mel Hutchins is selected by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks from Brigham Young University
- 1952 – Jim Baechtold is selected by the Baltimore Bullets from Eastern Kentucky University
- 1953 – Bob Houbregs is selected by the Milwaukee Hawks from the University of Washington
- 1954 – Bob Pettit is selected by the Milwaukee Hawks from LSU
- 1955 – Maurice Stokes is selected by the Rochester Royals from Saint Francis University
- 1956 – Bill Russell is selected by the St. Louis Hawks from the University of San Francisco
- 1957 – Charles Tyra is selected by the Detroit Pistons from Louisville
- 1958 – Archie Dees is selected by Cincinnati from Indiana
- 1959 – Bailey Howell is selected by the Detroit Pistons from Mississippi State
1960’s Number 2 Overall Pick
- 1960 – Jerry West is selected by the Minneapolis Lakers from West Virginia
- 1961 – Tom Stith is selected by the New York Knicks from St. Bonaventure
- 1962 – Paul Hogue is selected by the New York Knicks from Cincinnati
- 1963 – Rod Thorn is selected by the Baltimore Bullets from West Virginia
- 1964 – Joe Caldwell is selected by the Detroit Pistons from Arizona State
- 1965 – Rick Barry is selected by the San Francisco Warriors from Miami
- 1966 – Dave Bing is selected by the Detroit Pistons from Syracuse
- 1967 – Earl Monroe is selected by the Baltimore Bullets from Winston-Salem
- 1968 – Wes Unseld is selected by the Baltimore Bullets from Louisville
- 1969 – Neal Walk is selected by the Phoenix Suns from Florida
1970’s Number 2 Overall Pick
- 1970 – Rudy Tomjanovichis selected by the San Diego Rockets from Michigan
- 1971 – Sidney Wicks is selected by the Portland Trail Blazers from UCLA
- 1972 – Bob McAdoo is selected by the Buffalo Braves from North Carolina
- 1973 – Jim Brewer, is selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers from Minnesota
- 1974 – Marvin Barnes, is selected by the Philadelphia 76ers from Providence
- 1975 – David Meyers, is selected by the Los Angeles Lakers from UCLA
- 1976 – Scott May is selected by the Chicago Bulls from Indiana
- 1977 – Otis Birdsong is selected by the Kansas City Kings from Houston
- 1978 – Phil Ford, is selected by the Kansas City Kings from North Carolina
- 1979 – David Greenwood is selected by the Chicago Bulls from UCLA
1980’s Number 2 Overall Pick
- 1980 – Darrell Griffith is selected by the Utah Jazz from Louisville
- 1981 – Isiah Thomas is selected by the Detroit Pistons from Indiana
- 1982 – Terry Cummings is selected by the San Diego Clippers from DePaul
- 1983 – Steve Stipanovich is selected by the Indiana Pacers from Missouri
- 1984 – Sam Bowie, is selected by the Portland Trail Blazers from Kentucky
- 1985 – Wayman Tisdale is selected by the Indiana Pacers from Oklahoma
- 1986 – Len Bias is selected by the Boston Celtics from Maryland
- 1987 – Armon Gilliam is selected by the Phoenix Suns from UNLV
- 1988 – Rik Smits is selected by the Indiana Pacers from Marist
- 1989 – Danny Ferry is selected by the Los Angeles Clippers from Duke
1990’s Number 2 Overall Pick
- 1990 – Gary Payton is selected by Seattle Supersonics from Oregon State
- 1991 – Kenny Anderson is selected by the New Jersey Nets from Georgia Tech
- 1992 – Alonzo Mourning is selected by the Charlotte Hornets from Georgetown
- 1993 – Shawn Bradley is selected by the Philadelphia 76ers from Brigham Young
- 1994 – Jason Kidd is selected by the Dallas Mavericks from California
- 1995 – Antonio McDyess is selected by the Los Angeles Clippers from Alabama
- 1996 – Marcus Camby is selected by Toronto Raptors from Massachusetts
- 1997 – Keith Van Horn is selected by the Philadelphia 76ers from Utah
- 1998 – Mike Bibb is selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies from Arizona
- 1999 – Steve Francis is selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies from Maryland
2000’s Number 2 Overall Pick
- 2000 – Stromile Swift is selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies from LSU
- 2001 – Tyson Chandler is selected by the Los Angeles Clippers from Dominguez HS (Calif.)
- 2002 – Jay Williams is selected by the Chicago Bulls from Duke
- 2003 – Darko Milicic is selected by the Detroit Pistons from Serbia & Montenegro
- 2004 – Emeka Okafor is selected by the Charlotte Bobcats from Connecticut
- 2005 – Marvin Williams is selected by the Atlanta Hawks from North Carolina
- 2006 – LaMarcus Aldridge is selected by the Chicago Bulls from Texas
- 2007 – Kevin Durant is selected by the Seattle Supersonics from Texas
- 2008 – Michael Beasley is selected by the Miami Heat from Kansas State
- 2009 – Hasheem Thabeet is selected by the Memphis Grizzlies from Connecticut
2010’s Number 2 Overall Pick
- 2010 – Evan Turner is selected by the Philadelphia 76ers from Ohio State
- 2011 – Derrick Williams is selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves from Arizona
- 2012 – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is selected by the Charlotte Bobcats from Kentucky
- 2013 – Victor Oladipo is selected by the Orlando Magic from Indiana
- 2014 – Jabari Parker is selected by the Milwaukee Bucks from Duke
- 2015 – D’Angelo Russell is selected by the Los Angeles Lakers from Ohio State
- 2016 – Brandon Ingram is selected by the Los Angeles Lakers from Duke
- 2017 – Lonzo Ball is selected by the Los Angeles Lakers from UCLA
- 2018 – Marvin Bagley is selected by the Sacramento Kings from Duke
- 2019 – Ja Morant is selected by the Memphis Grizzlies from Murray State
2020’s Number 2 Overall Pick
- 2020 – James Wiseman is selected by the Golden State Warriors from Memphis
- 2021 – Jalen Green is selected by the Houston Rockets from San Joaquin Memorial HS