The 10 Biggest NBA Draft Day Fails
Don't pick a bust over a franchise cornerstone.
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Don't Pick a Bust Over a Franchise Cornerstone - The 2016 NBA Draft is Thursday night with LSU's Ben Simmons rumored to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers. Hopefully for the Sixers' sake, Simmons pans out to be a brilliant NBA player... and not a Draft day bust like Sam Bowie (pictured), who the Portland Trail Blazers tabbed in 1984 over Michael Jordan. That's brutal. Here, BET.com lists 10 of the biggest NBA Draft fails. These names are painful to see.(Photo: Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
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Sam Bowie - The Portland Trail Blazers will always kick themselves over picking Sam Bowie second overall in the 1984 NBA Draft. Why? Well, in doing so, they didn't draft Michael Jordan, who was snatched third overall by the Chicago Bulls. Bowie went on to average about 11 points per game over his career. MJ won six NBA championships with six NBA Finals MVPs en route to a Hall of Fame induction. Consider this the biggest draft fail of all time. Good lord, did the Trail Blazers mess this up. Adding to their grief is they also passed up Charles Barkley and John Stockton, two more Hall of Famers. Godspeed, Portland.(Photo: Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
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Michael Olowokandi - There was nothing sweet about the Kandi man. In tabbing center Michael Olowokandi with the first pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers dropped the ball on not selecting Vince Carter, Paul Pierce or Dirk Nowitzki. Terrible pick. (Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/ Getty Images)
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Kwame Brown - For the high school to the pros success stories like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, there's the other end with Kwame Brown. Snatched with the No. 1 pick of the 2001 NBA Draft by then-Washington Wizards' president Michael Jordan, Brown was nothing but a draft bust. In drafting Brown, MJ failed to recognize better big talents such as Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph, who are all still playing in the league. Kwame is not. Damn, Mike... what were you thinking? (Photo: Al Bello/ALLSPORT/Getty Images)
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Darko Milicic - After the Cleveland Cavaliers grabbed LeBron James with the No. 1 pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons had a chance to select Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade. Instead, they went with Darko Milicic. Wait... who? A seven-footer from Serbia who panned out to be an absolute bust. Horrible. (Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
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Marvin Williams - It's not that Marvin Williams is a bad player. He's not. In fact, he's proven to be a serviceable pro baller. But was he worth the second overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft over Chris Paul? Hell, no! The Atlanta Hawks have to regret that. They could have had a franchise cornerstone. (Photo: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
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Adam Morrison - Adam Morrison built up a superhero-like following at Gonzaga to the point that Michael Jordan urged Charlotte to select the forward third overall in the 2006 NBA Draft. Big mistake, Mike. Morrison's game never translated to the NBA, as he was out of the league after only four seasons. Rajon Rondo or Kyle Lowry would have been much better picks, MJ. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
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Dennis Hopson - Never heard of Dennis Hopson? Let this serve as a refresher. The then-New Jersey Nets scooped the small forward up third overall in the 1987 NBA Draft, when they could have gotten the likes of Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller, Kevin Johnson or Horace Grant. Hopson went onto play five seasons in the NBA. Pippen and Miller became Hall of Famers. Nothing but net... we think not. (Photo: Ken Levine /Getty Images)
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Eddy Curry - Fresh out of high school in 2001, Eddy Curry's NBA career was underwhelming to say the least. He averaged 12.9 points over the course of his career, but the Chicago Bulls didn't do their due diligence on Zach Randolph, who's a much better and skilled big man... and he's still playing. Welp. (Photo: Al Bello/ALLSPORT/Getty Images)
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Raef LaFrentz - Raef LaFrentz. Oh, Raef LaFrentz. In taking the power forward/center third in the 1998 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets blew it by failing to select the likes of Vince Carter, Paul Pierce or Dirk Nowitzki. Although LaFrentz was a serviceable player, the aforementioned three players are Hall of Fame-worthy... and still playing. Shaking our heads.(Photo: Todd Warshaw /Allsport/ Getty Images)