History Says The Philadelphia 76ers Won’t Get Best Player In Draft
By Mike Lacy
On Thursday night, the Philadelphia 76ers will make the first selection in the 2016 NBA Draft. Presumably, they will select LSU forward Ben Simmons, who most pundits predict will be an excellent player. Unfortunately, as the recent history of top picks shows, there is no guarantee that Simmons becomes the franchise-level star the Sixers so desperately need.
The Philadelphia 76ers hold the first pick. The good news is that most years, the top pick in the draft develops into a quality player, and often becomes an All-Star. The bad news is, the top pick doesn’t often turn out to be the best player in the draft class.
I looked at the past ten draft classes, and analyzed the top pick, as well as the player who I deem to have been the best player in the class. As a
painful
fun bonus, I’ll also take a look at who the Sixers chose each year.
Next: 2006