'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The NBA Draft offers NBA franchises the opportunity to pick promising prospects and improve their rosters. Having a top Draft pick gives a franchise the chance to select a talented young player or the leverage to pull off a trade for an established NBA pro.
Throughout the history of the competition, Draft nights have determined the futures of several franchises. On that note, let us have a look at the five greatest moves in NBA Draft history.
NBA Draft - 5 greatest moves in league history
A great move in the NBA Draft is not always about finding the best player available; it can also involve using a top pick to get the right veteran to fit a team's roster.
For example, the Golden State Warriors have the second pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. They could well utilize it to land an established player, as several other contending teams have done before.
Like the Golden State Warriors, other teams with talent on their rosters had high picks in the NBA Draft after torrid, injury-plagued seasons. An example in this regard is the 1996-97 San Antonio Spurs that managed to land Tim Duncan with the first pick in the 1997 NBA Draft.
So, without further ado, let us rank the five greatest moves in NBA Draft history that have gone on to change a franchise's history for the better.
#5 The Boston Celtics (Robert Parish and Kevin McHale) - 1980 NBA Draft
In the 1980 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics had the first and 13th picks which they used to land center Robert Parish from the Golden State Warriors in a trade that also gave them the third pick in the NBA Draft.
Golden State selected Joe Barry Carroll, who became a solid 20-point eight-rebound-per-game player for them but wasn't quite comparable with The Chief. The Utah Jazz picked up Darrell Griffith from Louisville, who won the Rookie of the Year among his class but did not make an All-Star Game in his career.
On the other hand, the Boston Celtics used the third pick on Kevin McHale, forming what became arguably the greatest frontcourt pairing in the history of the NBA. Parish and McHale, alongside Larry Bird and other stars, won three titles for the Celtics in the 1980s and entered the Hall of Fame.
#4 Dallas Mavericks (Dirk Nowitzki) - 1998 NBA Draft
In the 1998 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks drafted Robert Traylor from Michigan and traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks for their ninth pick, Dirk Nowitzki, and Pat Garrity (who they traded to Phoenix for Steve Nash).
While Traylor was a highly-ranked prospect, the move did not greatly benefit the Bucks, but it was an all-time great trade for the Mavs.
Nowitzki went on to play 21 years in Dallas, making the NBA Playoffs 15 times. The player led the franchise to their first NBA championship in 2011, earning Finals MVP recognition.
The NBA MVP is one of only seven players to score more than 30,000 points in league history and the only non-American to do so.
#3 The Boston Celtics (Larry Bird) - 1978 NBA Draft
Even though Larry Bird's debut happened in the 1979-80 NBA season, the player was eligible for selection in the 1978 NBA Draft. The Boston Celtics picked him up from Indiana State, where Bird would return for another year.
Bird returned to college, but his NBA eligibility was set because his original college class had graduated from Indiana. The teams with the first few picks did not select Bird due to financial reasons and the player's reluctance to leave college.
Though they were initially reluctant to pay what Bird had asked for, the Boston Celtics eventually selected him with the sixth pick for the 1979-80 NBA season.
Bird won the Rookie of the Year award right away and turned around the fortunes of the franchise. He went on to play 13 NBA seasons with the Celtics, winning three NBA championships, three MVP awards and two Finals MVP honors.
Larry Bird has arguably etched his name as a Top-5 player in NBA history, and he definitely proved right Red Auerbach's decision to pick him up.
#2 The LA Lakers (Kobe Bryant) - 1996 NBA Draft
At 17 years of age, Kobe Bryant went 13th in an extraordinary 1996 NBA Draft. The Charlotte Hornets selected Bryant, but he desired to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Hornets then agreed to send Kobe Bryant to Los Angeles in exchange for established center Vlade Divac, who was a 13-point nine-rebound-per-game player for the Lakers in his seven NBA seasons with the franchise.
Though the Lakers lost their starting center, Shaquille O'Neal filled that void brilliantly for the next eight seasons, winning three NBA championships alongside Bryant.
Kobe Bryant became the greatest LA Lakers player in the history of the franchise and also in the NBA. He played 20 years for the LA Lakers, winning five NBA championships, two Finals MVP awards, a regular-season MVP award and many other accolades during an all-time unique career.
#1 The Boston Celtics (Bill Russell) - 1956 NBA Draft
This NBA Draft move surely changed the competition's landscape and the history of the Boston Celtics.
In the 1956 NBA Draft, the Rochester Royals drafted Sihugo Green first overall, while the St. Louis Hawks selected Bill Russell from San Francisco with the second pick.
Boston's best player was Ed Macauley, but the team decided to send him and Cliff Hagan (who had not played in the NBA before) to the Hawks for Russell, who had been a 20-point, 20-rebound-per-game player in three years at San Francisco.
Moreover, Boston drafted Tommy Heinsohn that same night, along with KC Jones. They went on to win the NBA championship in Russell's rookie season, which happened to be the first title in franchise history.
After two years, the NBA Draft deal seemed to work out for both sides, as the Hawks defeated Russell and Red Auerbach in the 1958 NBA Finals with Macauley and Hagan playing alongside Bob Pettit. However, the Hawks could not stop Russell's run to ten more NBA championships as the player became a part of arguably the greatest dynasty in NBA history.
Bill Russell won 11 titles with the Boston Celtics, along with five regular-season MVP awards to become the league's all-time greatest winner. He also won two championships as a player/coach.
During their period, the Boston Celtics faced the Hawks four times in the NBA Finals, beating their NBA Draft night trade partners on three occasions.
Also read: NBA News Update: LeBron James humorously trolls Donald Trump as Joe Biden inches closer to the presidency.
Guess the Lakers players!
