5 best stars the Cleveland Cavaliers missed on draft night

Giannis Antetokounmpo (2013)

In what has become the textbook example of how not to draft in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Anthony Bennett first overall in the 2013 draft.

Cleveland was not entirely culpable for the mistake, as Bennet was projected by Bleacher Report to have a ceiling as high as All-Star Larry Johnson and a floor as a fringe All-Star talent. Instead, Bennett would exit the Cavaliers after one season, playing for four teams in four years before leaving the NBA altogether.

Directly following the lottery, the biggest draft bust was accompanied by the biggest steal of the first round in NBA history. The Milwaukee Bucks selected overlooked forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and his legacy speaks for itself when compared to Bennett. The one-time NBA Champion and two-time league MVP has defined the current era of Bucks basketball.

In truth, nobody expected Giannis to become the Greek Freak. NBADraft.net compared him to Nicolas Batum. Had the Cavs selected him first overall, the Association would have been set ablaze, and the first few years of his career would have supported the criticism. Still, in retrospect, Giannis' generational greatness makes the Bennett selection that much worse.

Additionally, both Dame and Giannis play for the same franchise now, shoving in the Cavs' face what they could have had with both players developing and reaching their primes together.

Fortunately, the Cleveland Cavaliers do not have to live with the shame of missing out on LeBron James in 2003. For every draft failure, the Cavs can rest assured that there is little chance that they will be so embarrassed by a draft bust that it negates drafting the man who would eventually bring the city its first NBA championship alongside another homegrown star in Kyrie Irving.