NBA first overall draft pick
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The National Basketball Association's first overall pick is the player who is selected first amongst all eligible draftees by a team during the annual player draft. The first pick is awarded to the team that wins the NBA Draft Lottery, often the direct result of having losing season record. The team that is awarded the first pick attracts plenty of media attention to their organization, whilst the player who is selected first overall is often thrust into the spotlight, attracting the attention of both players and fans from around the world. Notable first picks include Magic Johnson (1979), Shaquille O'Neal (1992), Tim Duncan (1997), and Lebron James (2003) .
China's Yao Ming (2002) and Italy's Andrea Bargnani (2006) are the only two players without competitive experience in the United States to be drafted first overall. Four other non-Americans, all with U.S. college experience, have been drafted first overall—Mychal Thompson (Bahamas) in 1977, Akeem Olajuwon (Nigeria) in 1984, Michael Olowokandi (Nigeria) in 1998, and Andrew Bogut (Australia) in 2005. Duncan is American by birth, but is considered an "international" player by the NBA because he is originally from the U.S. Virgin Islands.
[edit] List of first overall picks
Notes:
- 1: Olajuwon became a naturalized United States citizen in 1993.
- 2: Ewing was born in Jamaica, but had become a naturalized U.S. citizen while at Georgetown.
- 3: Robinson did not play in the NBA until 1989 due to commitments to the United States Navy.
- 4: Duncan is a United States citizen by birth, as are all natives of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Because of this citizenship arrangement, and because the Virgin Islands do not field a team for international basketball competition, Duncan has played for the U.S. internationally.
