#2 pick in draft...cursed?

While recent picks have bucked the trend, let's look at the players taken #2 in the past 40+ years:

• 1968: Wes Unseld, Bullets.  This year, the best three players were actually the top three selected, with Elvin Hayes, Unseld, and Bob Kaufmann going 1-2-3.  Unseld and Hayes are in the HOF; Unseld  arguably had the better career.   Also in this class--Rick Adelman at #85.
• 1969:  Neil Walk, Phoenix.  Taken after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; before All-Star Jo Jo White.  Other than Kareem and White, a weak draft.  Probably one of the biggest drop-offs in history.
• 1970:  Rudy T, Rockets.  One of the strongest drafts, with HOFers selected at #1 (Lanier), #3 (Pistol Pete), and #4 (Dave Cowens), as well as Cavlin Murphy and Tiny Archibald in the second round.  Rudy was "merely" an All-Star.  He might get into the Hall as a coach one day, but not as a player.
• 1971:  Sidney Wicks, Blazers.  This year the position wasn't cursed; as Wicks was probably as good as any of the players selected.
• 1972:  Bob McAdoo, Braves.  Only three players of note came out of this draft--HOFer McAdoo, Paul Westphal, and HOFer Julius Erving--but Dr. J didn't play for the team who selected him, opting for the ABA instead.  The #1 pick was the cursed pick this year--LaRue Martin by some Northwest expansion franchise.
• 1973:  Jim Brewer, Cavs.  Behind #1 pick Doug Collins, an All-Star, but ahead of Kermit Washington and George McGinnis.
• 1974:  Marvin Barnes, 76ers.   Another year where losing the coin flip sucked bigtime.  #1 of course was Bill Walton.  Selected after Barnes were Bobby Jones, Scott Wedman, Campy Russell, Maurice Lucas, Jamaal Wilkes, and Brian Winters.
• 1975: David Meyers, Lakers.  #1 pick was HOFer David Thompson.  Two all-stars were after Meyers, Alvan Adams and our own Lionel Hollins.
• 1976: Scott May.  This draft is notable for three HOFers who were picked later; #1 pick John Lucas of course fizzled out of the NBA with drug problems, before his somewhat successful career as a coach (and his far more successful career in drug intervention).  Adrian Dantley, Robert Parish, Alex English, and Dennis Johnson were all drafted later.
• 1977: Otis Birdsong.  Another year where #2 was greater than #1; the #1 pick was wasted on Kent Benson--a guy who Larry Bird made it a point to embarass throughout his NBA career.  8 All-Stars would come from this draft class.
• 1978: Phil Ford.  The #1 pick--Mychal Thompson by us--didn't have a terribly noteworthy career, but the riches that followed...Larry Bird, Michael Ray Richardson, Reggie Theus, Mike Mitchell, and why-isnt-he-in-the-HOF-yet PG, Maurice Cheeks
• 1979: David Greenwood, Bulls.  Another year it stank to be #2.  #1 this year was Magic Johnson.  After Greenwood, notable players drafted included Bill Cartwright, Sidney Moncrief, Calvin Natt, Jim Paxon, Bill Laimbeer, James Donaldson.
• 1980: Darrell Griffith, Utah.  Arguably better than the #1 pick, the truly horrible Joe Barely Cares.  But still sinful, as #3 was Kevin McHale--who was swapped for Carrol on draft day.  Also in this draft were Andrew Toney, Kiki Vandeweghe, and Jeff Ruland.
• 1981:  Isiah Thomas, Pistons.  Detroit got this one right, selecting the best player out of a talented class.  #1 pick Mark Aguirre wasn't too shabby.  Other notables included Buck Williams, Tom Chambers, Ro Blackman, Kelly Tripucka, Larry Nance, and Danny Ainge.
• 1982: Terry Cummings, Clippers.  Cummings was an All-Star, but the #1 pick (James Worthy) and the #3 (Dominique Wilkens) are both in the HOF.   Draft also had Sleepy Floyd, Fat Lever, Ricky Pierce, and Mark Eaton.
• 1983:  Steve Stiponovic, Pacers.  Another curse year, as the Pacers lost out on the right to draft Ralph Sampson--a dude who would surely be in the Hall if his career weren't shortened by injury (and the silly notion that he should play PF).  The Pacers passed on Dale Ellis, Jeff Malone, HOFer Clyde Drexler, and Doc Rivers.
• 1984:  Sam Bowie, Trail Blazers.  I won't say any more about this one.  Four HOFers or future HOFers (Jordan and Stockton are not yet eligible but sure first-ballot selections) in this class.
  
• 1985: Wayman Tisdale, Pacers.  The Pacers get screwed again by the coin, for the third year in a row (we had their pick via trade).  #1 was HOFer Patrick Ewing.   Drafted after Tisdale were the X-Man, Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, Charles Oakley, future HOFer Karl Malone, HOFer Joe Dumars, AC Green, Terry Porter, and Michael Adams.
• 1986: Len Bias, Celtics.  The most tragic manifestation of the #2 pick curse.  #1, of course, was Brad Daugherty.   Other players selected include should-be-in-the-hall center Arvydas Sabonis (for his international career, not his NBA career), Mark Price, Dennis Rodman, Kevin Duckworth, Jeff Hornacek, HOFer Drazen Petrovic.
• 1987: Armon Gilliam, Suns.  Gilliam had a decent career as an NBA journeyman.  But the #1 pick, David Robinson, will be a first-ballot HOFer; as will the Scottie Pippen and Reggie Miller, picked after him.  Also in this draft are Kevin Johnson, Horace Grant, Mark Jackson, and Reggie Lewis.
• 1988: Rik Smits, Pacers.  This time it's not so bad, as concensus #1 pick Danny Manning has his career cut short due to injury.  Smits had a nice long career.  No HOFers from this class, though Mitch Richmond, Hersey Hawkins, Dan Majerle, and Anthony Mason (drafted by the Blazers) were taken here.
• 1989: Here, both #1 and #2 sucked, with Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry both having long but undistinguished NBA careers.  Following them in the draft were All-Stars Sean Elliot, Glen Rice, Mookie Blaylock, Tim Hardaway, Dana Barros, Shawn Kemp, B.J. Armstrong, Vlade Divac, and Uncle Cliffy.
• 1990: Antother year in which the best pick was #2--Gary Payton by the Sonics.  Sure to be in the HOF, he's by far the best player in this class.  #1?  Derrick Coleman.  Other notable players were Tyrone Hill, Jayson Williams (the dude who shot someone), and Antonio Davis.
• 1991: Kenny Anderson, Nets.  Not a bad consolation prize, though #1 pick Larry Johnson was off to a HOF career before injury cut it short.  Still, Iplayers selected after KA include Dikembe Mutumbo, Steve Smith, Terrell Brandon, Dale Davis, and Chris Gatling
  • 1992: Alonzo Mourning, Hornets:  Another decent consolation prize, except for the fact that the #1 pick is future first-ballot HOF center Shaquille O'Neal.  Mourning's better than anyone taken after, which includes Christian L#######r, Tom Gugliotta, and Spree.  Oh, and Doug Christie.
    • 1993: Shawn Bradley.  Another poster-child for the curse.  The #1 pick was Chris Webber, who might be seen in Springfield one day; following Bradley in the draft were Penny Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn, Vin "pass me a beer" Baker, Allan "ka-ching!" Houston, Sam Cassell, and Nick van Exel.  Oh, and Bruce Bowen, who was not drafted.
      
    • 1994: Jason Kidd, Dallas.  Here the #2 pick was again the right choice; as Kidd is bound for Springfield.  Big Dog Robinson, #1, is not.  Draft class also had Grant Hill, Eddie Jones, and Juwann Howard.
    • 1995: Antonio McDyess, Clippers.  A better choice than the #1 pick, Joe Freakin' Smith.  But still, the Clips (who traded the pick to Denver) could have had Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, future first-ballot HOFer Kevin Garnett, Theo Ratliff, or Michael Finley.
    • 1996: A deep draft.  The #2 pick, Marcus Camby, wasn't a bad choice--despite being a DPOY, Camby has never made an All-Star team.  The #1 pick was Iverson, likely headed to the Hall.  Still, Camby was selected over Sharif Abdur-Rahim, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Antoine Walker, future HOFer Kobe Bryant, Peja Stojakovic, another future HOFer in Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  Ben Wallace was not selected in this draft.
      
    • 1997:  The Tim Duncan Draft--another year where #2 was not a good place to be, no matter who you took.  And the sixers squandered this pick on Keith Van Horn.  They could have had Chauncey Billups, or T-Mac.  The rest of this class sucked; though.
    • 1998:  Another year where the best players fall out of the top 3.  The #2 pick, Mike Bibby, is better than either #1 (Kandi-man) or #3 (Raef), but this draft produce Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Dirk, Paul Pierce, and Rashard Lewis. Brad Miller was not drafted.
    • 1999:  Lots of All-Stars in this class, but nobody headed to Springfield.   A whole lot of head cases, actually.  The #2 pick was Steve Francis by the Grizzlies, who immediately demanded a trade.  #1 was Elton Brand.  Also in this class were Baron Davis, Wally Scerbiak, Richard Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Ron Artest, and AK-47.  The best player from this draft class?  The  57th pick--Manu Ginobili.
    • 2000:  A truly horrible class, and the #2 pick was truly horrible--Stomile Swift.  #1 pick was Kenyon Martin, nothing to write home about either, but loads better than Swift.  This class also produced Jamaal Magloire.  The best player?  Michael Redd at #43--when the best player in a draft class is a ballhog like Redd, you KNOW it sucks.
    • 2001:  Tyson Chandler.  Here, a decent pick was made, as the big bust was Kwame Brown at #1.  But following Chandler in this class are Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson, Tony Parker, Gilbert Arenas, and Mehmut Okur.
    • 2002:  Jay Williams, Bulls.  Another year of tragedy, as Williams--one of the more promisng PG prospects in years--ruins his career in a motorcycle accident.  Yao Ming was the consensus #1.  Also in this class are Amare, Caron Butler, and Carlos Boozer.
    • 2003:  Darko Milicic, Pistons.  Even though Detroit/Memphis missed out on the biggest prize since Duncan--LeBron James (had Memphis won the lottery, they and not the Pistons would have owned the pick), there were plenty of plums to pluck here--'Melo, Bosh, Wade, David West, and Josh Howard.  Or Travis Outlaw, the Blazers pick.
    • 2004:  Emeka Okafur, Bobcats.  Going in, there were two guys who were slotted to the top two spots, and lots of debate who Orlando would pick.  The Magic chose wisely, drafting Dwight Howard, leaving the Bobcats with Okafur, who has been a decent but not great player.  Other than Howard, no All-Stars in this class, but guys with potential include Andre Igodoula, Josh Smith, Luol Deng, and Kevin Martin.  John Nash famously wasted the Blazers three picks on Sebastian Telfair and the two rooskies. :)
    • 2005: Marvin Williams, Hawks.  The top two picks in this draft--Williams and Andrew Bogust,have done squat.  #3 and #4--Deron Williams and Chris Paul--have been gold.  Also in this draft were Andrew Bynum, and Monta Ellis.  Three Blazers came from this class--Martell Webster, Jarrett Jack, and the Buffet of Goodness.
    • 2006: LaMarcus Aldridge, Bulls--traded to Portland.  Here KP shows up and pritch-slaps the league, breaking the #2 curse like a bad habit, and snagging the best TWO prospects in this class.  Rudy Gay might argue, but he'd lose.  The Raptors wasted the #1 pick on Andrea Bargnini (they didn't notice that Andrea is a girl's name), and bigger sins were committed by the Bobcats (Stache at #3), Bulls (TyTy at #4) and the Hawks (Landlord at #5)--all ahead of you-know-who.
    • 2007: Kevin Durant, Sonics.  Another two-man draft, with us getting Oden and Seattle getting Durant.  Who knows how this will turn out--the first year goes to Durant as Oden got hurt.  A few other rookies had nice seasons, but none of 'em looks like a future HOFer, at least not yet.
    • 2008: ???, Miami Heat.  Another two-man class; where the Heat wait to see what the Bulls do.  And the league is waiting to see what KP does--can he again steal the draft from #13?