Top 10 Washington Wizards Draft Picks of All-Time

The NBA Draft is finally here after a long wait and teams have just one month to build and retool their rosters for the NBA season set to start December 22nd. It all begins with the NBA Draft as the potential stars of the future will wait to see where their NBA journey will begin. The Washington Wizards have a busy day as they not only have two draft picks, including the ninth overall pick, but sources claim they could also potentially be fielding trade offers. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the 10 Best Washington Wizards Draft Picks of All-Time!

Bradley Beal: Third overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft

Starting things off with the most recent draft pick on this list, Bradley Beal has been selected as an All-Star in each of the past two seasons. He is coming off a 2020 season where he averaged a career-high 30.5 points and 6.1 assists along with 4.2 rebounds. This makes him one of only two players to averaged 30 points in a season with the Washington Wizards. As far as the other player to do so…

Walt Bellamy: 1st overall pick in the 1961 NBA Draft

We go from the most recent Wizards draft pick on this list to the first draft pick in Wizards franchise history. Walt Bellamy played the first five seasons with the Wizards (then Chicago Packers/Baltimore Bullets) averaging 27.6 points and 16.6 rebounds including averaging a Wizards single-season record 31.6 points and 19.6 rebounds in his rookie season.  He made four All-Star appearances in his time with the Wizards. He went on to play nine more seasons in the NBA averaging 20.1 points and 13.7 rebounds. Bellamy was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1993.

Bill Bridges: 32nd overall pick in the 1961 NBA Draft

Bill Bridges is the only player on this list that never played a game with the Wizards franchise as well as being the lowest draft pick on this list. Bridges played 13 seasons in the NBA including 10 with the Atlanta Hawks averaging 11.9 points and 11.9 rebounds making three All-Star appearances and two All-Defensive appearances. He won an NBA championship as a member of the 1975 Golden State Warriors in his final season in the NBA.

Gus Johnson: 10th overall pick in the 1963 NBA Draft

Gus Johnson played nine of his 10 professional seasons with the Washington Wizards averaging 17.5 points and 12.9 rebounds. He made five All-Star appearances, four All-NBA appearances, and two All-Defensive appearances. He was a member of the first Washington Bullets team to appear in the NBA Finals during the 1971 season. Gus Johnson was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2010.

Jeff Malone: 10th overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft

Jeff Malone is one of the most underrated players in Washington Wizards franchise history. In his seven seasons with the team, Malone provided instant scoring averaging 20.2 points per game while leading the then Washington Bullets to five playoff appearances. In addition, he was selected to two All-Star teams. In total, Malone played 13 years in the NBA playing for the Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat respectively.

Earl Monroe: 2nd overall pick in the 1967 NBA Draft

Earl “The Pearl” Monroe is the highest player selected in the NBA Draft that attended a historically black college (HBCU). He came into the NBA with the Bullets averaging 20 points per game in each of his first four seasons in the NBA making All-Star appearances twice. After five seasons with the Bullets, Monroe moved on to the New York Knicks where he played the remaining eight years of his NBA career where he went on to win an NBA championship and make two more All-Star teams. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class of 1990.

Jerry Sloan: 4th overall pick in the 1965 NBA Draft

After spending a season with the Baltimore Bullets, Sloan played his remaining 10 seasons with the Chicago Bulls. In Chicago, Sloan made two All-Star appearances and was selected to six All-Defensive teams. Following his retirement, coached of the Bulls for three years before taking a job as the assistant coach of the Utah Jazz in 1985 before being promoted to head coach in 1988. As head coach of the Jazz, Sloan held an overall record of 1127-682 leading the team to two NBA Finals appearances. Jerry Sloan was inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2010.

Wes Unseld: 2nd overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft

Wes Unseld is the only player in NBA history to ever win the MVP award in his rookie season.  Unseld played his entire 13-year career with the Washington Wizards/Bullets franchise history to appear in each of the Bullets four NBA Finals appearances. He helped the Bullets capture their first (and to date only) NBA championship in 1978 after beating the Seattle Supersonics in seven games and was named Finals MVP. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1988.

John Wall: 1st overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft

John Wall may have been hit by the injury bug causing him to miss the majority of the past three seasons (and the entire 2019-2020 season), but for the past decade, he has been the Wizards saving grace. He took the Wizards from a perennial 20-win team to a yearly playoff contender leading them to four playoff appearances in five seasons from 2014 to 2018. John Wall is the Wizards career leader in total assists and steals as well as having the highest assist average in a season in franchise history.

Rasheed Wallace: 4th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft

Rasheed Wallace played more seasons than anyone on this list playing 16 years in the NBA starting with the Washington Bullets in 1995. He went on to play with the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks. In his career, Wallace was selected to four All-Star teams and won an NBA championship as a member of the 2003-2004 Detroit Pistons.