1990: Gary Payton with strong consideration to Toni Kukoc (3 championships, 6th man of the year, and the hatred of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen because Jerry Krause loved him).
Gary Payton was drafted number two overall by the Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics had success in the 1980's, but they finished the 1989 season with a 41-41 record and got the number two pick. They drafted Gary Payton, who immediately became their starting point guard. He played twelve and a half seasons in Seattle before being traded. However, during that time he became one of the most popular point guards in the league, known for his amazing defense and incessant trash talk. He also had a cool nickname, The Glove. During his tenure, the Sonics made it to two conference finals reaching the Finals in 1996, but losing to the Bulls. As a Sonic, Payton was the Defensive Player of the Year in 1996, finished in the top 10 in MVP voting 8 times, an All-Star 9 times, 9 time NBA All-Defense 1st team, All-NBA 3rd team (two times), 2nd team (five times), and 1st team (two times).
1991: One of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make between Larry Johnson and Dikembe Mutombo. Let's break this thing down.
Draft position: Johnson (1st) Mutombo (4th) Edge: Johnson
Nickname: Johnson (Granmama) Mutombo (Mt. Mutombo) Edge: Mutombo
Times on the TV show Family Matters: Johnson (one amazing episode as a grandma) Mutombo (0) Huge Edge: Johnson
I'm going with Larry Johnson because of his cameo on Family Matters. Larry Johnson and Mutombo both led their teams that drafted them to the playoffs two times during their years there and both reached the second round once. However, Larry Johnson was a member of the first two teams that made it to the playoffs for Charlotte. Larry Johnson won rookie of the year in 1991 and was an all-star two times for the Charlotte Hornets.
1992: Shaquille O'Neal with strong consideration to Robert Horry (two championships)
O'Neal became a larger than life player immediately upon entering the NBA. He only played 4 seasons in Orlando before joining the Lakers, but in those 4 seasons the Magic did not have a losing season in his time there and improved 20 games from 1992 to 1993. He led them to the NBA Finals in 1995 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 1996. He was an All-Star all 4 of those years including winning Rookie of the Year, being named to the All-NBA 3rd team (twice) and the 2nd team (once) and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in each season including finishing second to David Robinson in 1995.
1993: Vin Baker with strong consideration to Sam Cassell (two championships as backup point guard for Rockets)
I have a confession, Vin Baker is one of my favorite NBA player of all time and there was a time where I owned a Vin Baker jersey. Having said that, he is the winner by default because Chris Webber and Anfernee Hardaway were traded immediately so they are out. Vin Baker played for Milwaukee for four seasons and during that time they did not win much, but he played extremely well making the All-Star game three times and making 3rd team All-NBA in 1997.
1994: Grant Hill
Few people remember how amazing Grant Hill was when he came into the NBA. He played six seasons for the Pistons. They made the playoffs 4 times during that time, unable to make it to the 2nd round in any of those trips. Hill had amazing success during that time individually and became a league superstar that was quite popular. He won the Rookie of the Year, was named an All-Star 5 times, and was named to the All-NBA 2nd team (four times) and the 1st team in 1997 over Scottie Pippen.
Part Two coming tomorrow.