Los Angeles Lakers: 4 surprising facts about the Lakers and the NBA Draft
By Jason Reed
2. The Los Angeles Lakers are the most successful team in NBA history with first overall picks
The Los Angeles Lakers have not had the first overall pick in the NBA Draft often as the team, throughout franchise history, has always been a dominant force and in contention for the NBA Title. In fact, the team’s recent dry spell of six-straight playoff misses is more than the franchise had in history prior.
The team has had the first overall pick three times in its history. In 1958 with Baylor, in 1979 with Magic Johnson and in 1982 with James Worthy. The one trend between all three of these players? They are not just Laker greats, they are all-time greats and all three are Hall of Famers.
The Lakers are the only team in the NBA to have every first overall selection be a Hall of Famer, with at least three selections. The San Antonio Spurs are also a perfect two-for-two with David Robinson and recently inducted Tim Duncan.
The Houston Rockets have the most Hall of Famers selected with the first overall pick, but they do not have a perfect record. The Rockets have made five first overall selections, four of which have gone on to be in the Hall of Fame.
If we want to go even further with the first overall pick, the Los Angeles Lakers have had the most first overall picks in the top-10 in all-time win shares play for them. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (first), LeBron James (second), Shaquille O’Neal (fifth), Magic Johnson (eighth) and Dwight Howard (ninth) have all been on the Lakers.
That means that out of the 10-best first overall pick of all-time, half have played for the Los Angeles Lakers. If LeBron and Howard win a championship, all of them will have won a title in LA.