The Cleveland Cavaliers many first round picks in franchise history, and they’ve hit on many. Here are the 10 best first round draft choices in Cavs history.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have made 44 first-round selections in the NBA Draft since 1970, according to basketball-reference. They have hit on a lot of those draft pick, and whiffed on others.
Some players thrived in Cleveland and will go down as All-Time Cavaliers, but others were selected by the Cavs and sent elsewhere to become great players for another team. Such could be the case with recent first overall pick Andrew Wiggins, who was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love.
Wiggins is one of four players that have been drafted first overall by the Cavaliers in the last 12 years. Will any of them make this list? Spoiler alert, yes.
Cleveland is a franchise that has a good history that finally won the elusive NBA Championship in 2016. LeBron James, a former Cavs first round pick, willed the team to victory with their backs against the wall.
In in an effort in deciding the 10 best Cavs draft picks, career numbers, awards and accolades will be taken into account. Winning also has to be taken into account when looking at the best draft picks, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be in Cleveland.
It seems as if everyone remembers the players that are dubbed “busts”, but these 10 Cavaliers first round picks are the furthest from being a bust.
Next: 10. Andre Miller