Cleveland Cavaliers: 10 best players all-time taken at No. 3 in NBA Draft

Best all-time players taken No. 3 overall: 2. James Harden

If we were ranking players based on their playoff performances, Harden would slip significantly down this list. As it is, Harden’s regular season dominance has to be properly recognized, and he is one of the most talented and skilled offensive players in league history.

Taken third overall out of Arizona State, Harden was a super-sub Sixth Man for an Oklahoma City Thunder team that made the NBA Finals in 2012. He was then traded to the Houston Rockets where he flourished, winning a league MVP award and three times leading the league in scoring.

Harden is now on the Brooklyn Nets as part of a three-headed superstar setup, and he again put up exceptional numbers for the regular season and into the playoffs before injury caused him to miss time and come back barely mobile. To this point in his career he has amassed nine All-Star appearances, made seven All-NBA teams and not only won the 2018 MVP award but came in second three other times.

Best all-time players taken No. 3 overall: 1. Michael Jordan

There is a wide gulf between #1 on this list and everyone else, just as there was during the prime of his career when he destroyed the league for six championships in eight seasons. It’s hard to believe looking back that any team passed on the chance to draft Michael Jordan, let alone two.

All of Jordan’s accolades speak (scream?) for themselves. He won the league MVP award five times, second all-time only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Jordan made 14 All-Star teams and 11 All-NBA squads, while also appearing on nine All-Defensive teams and winning Defensive Player of the Year. He led the league in scoring 10 times and steals thrice. And, of course, he won six championships and six accompanying Finals MVP awards.

Michael Jordan is one of the two best basketball players of all time, with incredible statistics (30.1 points per game scoring average), awards and postseason accomplishments, not to mention his cultural and economic impact. He leads an incredibly gifted and successful group of players taken third overall in the NBA Draft.

Can the Cleveland Cavaliers hit on their draft pick, and add a player to their core that will one day show up on this list? It’s absolutely possible, and adds a layer of excitement to the upcoming draft.