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Insanity to say question AI, Kyrie or freaking Shaq. NO SOUP FOR YOU

Shaq might've underachieved for what he could've been, but he's one of the greatest first overall picks ever. I think you're talking about draft day hype, not actual draft position.

Questioning Shaq or Iverson is actually insane, but I digress. Oscar, Kareem, magic, Walton, and Baylor all come to mind immediately when I think of people that lived up to the pick. I would say Dwight, Ewing, Robinson and Worthy also did and it would be insane to argue otherwise. There is probably more that lived up to the pick but those ones seem like really open and shut examples of number one picks that lived up to it.

So what, your definition of a no.1 pick that actually lived up to their draft position is what, a top 10 player of all time?

wait what?!? who the fuck questions AI and Kyrie??? Damn….

You question if the perennial all-star, MVP, 4x scoring champ who was massive cultural icon lived up to his draft position?

I dunno man, I got him just above Kerry Kittles but definitely below Jamal Mashburn.

Iverson is a top 100 player of all time. Of course he justified going #1. The Shaq claim by anyone is demented tho 😂

Lmaooo yall are killing OP 😭

What do you mean "lived up to their draft position?"

I think people tend to have unreasonable expectations of high draft picks. As I've mentioned before, only two players acquired via a top 10 draft pick in the 21st century have led their team to a title as the best player on that team.

I tend to think Iverson is broadly over-rated, but if you don't think he lived up to first-pick status, your expectations of the top pick are unreasonable.

Good breakdown of all the #1 picks and their achievements:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_overall_NBA_draft_picks

I feel like underachievement for a number 1 pick is like anything worse than KAT. To say shaq underachieved for a number 1 pick is just fucking stupid

The average #1 pick of the past 45 years has averaged just under 80 career Win Shares. The #1 picks closest to this mark are James Worthy (81.2 WS), Blake Griffin (81.1 WS), and Kyrie Irving (80.7 WS). #1 picks above this average include Lebron (257 WS), Tim Duncan (206), Shaq (181), David Robinson (178), Hakeem (162), Magic (155), Dwight Howard (141), Patrick Ewing (126), Elton Brand (109), Anthony Davis (102), Iverson (99), Chris Webber (85).

Downvote for "Shaq underperformed for a #1 pick".

Going back to the 80s, I'd say these guys 100% DIDN'T live up to the #1 pick expectations. Some for their play, others because of injuries:

• 89 - Pervis Ellison
• 95 - Joe Smith
• 98 - Olowokandi
• 01 - Kwame
• 06 - Bargnani
• 07 - Oden
• 13 - Anthony Bennett
• 17 - Fultz
• 18 - Ayton

These guys could be considered a letdown for the #1 spot too but it's up for debate:

• 80 - Joe Barry Carroll - Warriors traded Parish and the pick that turned into McHale for him. Had questions about his effort early in his career and left the W's to play in Italy for a year. Made 1 all star team but overall had an odd career.
• 88 - Derrick Coleman (only 1 all star team)
• 00 - Kenyon Martin - Overall a solid player from a weak draft class. #43 pick Michael Redd was probably the best player from that draft.
• 05 - Bogut - Good player who had a good career but looking back CP3 and Deron Williams would have been picked before him.
• 14 - Wiggins - Very similar to Bogut. Above average role player on a championship Warriors team, but not quite the sustained production you expect from a #1 pick. Embiid probably would've gone #1 if it weren't for injuries, and Jokic was in the same draft but you can't really blame any team for passing on him. Nobody really thought he'd be a generational big man back then.
• 16 - Ben Simmons - Great player but has slowly gotten worse in basically every way since his rookie year.
• 19 - Zion - We'll see. Health concerns coming into the draft are still the same. He has the talent but if he doesn't stay on the court that talent doesn't matter.

Whoever said Shaq underachieved as a #1 pick is an idiot

I think someone like Blake griffin would be the sort of Mendoza line for 1st overall picks. If a player is better than Blake they definitely lived up to the 1st pick, but if they have a worse career then him I think that would be relatively disappointing

Over the last 20 years, basically everyone besides Anthony Bennett and MAYBE Wiggins

I never ever heard anyone ever say shaq underachieved as a number one pick. That’s actually incredible

Anyone who became All Star.

If going with "if we make a redraft who would go 1 still"

1987 - David Robinson (over Reggie Miller and Pippen).

1992 - Shaq

1993 - Webber (Over Penny)

1997 - Duncan

2003 - Lebron

2004 - Dwight Howard

Close calls

1986 - Brad Daugherty vs Hornacek, Rodman, Price or Harper.

1999 - Elton Brand vs Marion or Ginobili.

2002 - Yao vs Amare

2012 - Anthony Davis vs Lillard

2013 - Anthony Bennett vs Giannis

2015 - Towns vs Booker

2020 - Ant vs Haliburton

Too early to tell

2022 - Paolo

2023 - Wemby

(although I’ve even heard some people claim that Shaq underachieved for a #1 pick).

Who says this? Lol. How can being a consesus top 10 player all time be an underachiever?

Paolo Banchero

The bar should be the best player in the draft class, whether that's a GOAT candidate or a fringe All-Star shouldn't be the deciding factor. So the #1 picks who lived up to their draft position are imo:

Elgin Baylor (1958), Oscar Robertson (1960), Walt Bellamy (1961), Elvin Hayes (1968), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1969), David Thompson (1975), Magic Johnson (1979), David Robinson (1987), Shaquille O'Neal (1992), Chris Webber (1993), Tim Duncan (1997), Yao Ming (2002), LeBron James (2003), Dwight Howard (2004), Anthony Davis (2012), Zion Williamson (2019), Anthony Edwards (2020).

There are a couple of toss-ups where the best 2-3 players in the draft are pretty much interchangable and some of the newer drafts are still up in the air but this is roughly how I'd have it.