On this Day in NBA History: Washington Wizards win Draft Lottery

On this day in 2010, the Washington Wizards won the NBA Draft lottery securing the number one overall draft pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. This made the second time the Wizards picked number one overall in the draft since the NBA started the draft lottery in 1985 and the fourth time overall.

The Wizards did not have great success picking number one overall in the previous three times before 2010. The first time the Wizards picked number one overall was in 1953 as the Baltimore Bullets when they selected Ray Felix.  While Felix did win Rookie of the Year and made the All-Star team, that was the only season he played with the team in his nine-year career.

The Wizards picked number one overall the very next year selecting Frank Selvy. Selvy did not even spend his full rookie season with the Wizards as he was traded midseason to the Atlanta Hawks (then Milwaukee Hawks) never to return.

The third time the Wizards picked number one overall was in 2001 when they selected the infamous Kwame Brown out of high school. Brown is widely recognized by basketball fans as one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. In his four seasons with the Wizards, Brown averaged just 7.7 point and 5.5 rebounds starting just 94 of his 253 games with the team.

The 2010 NBA Draft was a chance for the Wizards to get redemption for their past failures in selecting number one overall in the NBA Draft and redeem themselves they did. With the number one pick in the 2010 NBA Draft the Wizards selected John Wall out of the University of Kentucky.

Still with the Wizards to this day 10 years later, John Wall boasts career averages of 19.0 points, 9.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals and has made five All-Star teams. While John Wall’s injury history has kept the team from being able to contend for a championship, when healthy he has remained among the top point guards in the NBA and the Wizards are a force in the Eastern Conference.