As anyone familiar with the work of Andrea Bargnani, Kwame Brown and Michael Olowokandi knows, number 1 overall picks don’t always work out. What about recent first overall pick Anthony Bennett?
Bargnani, taken first overall in 2006 (ahead of Rajon Rondo, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge), was supposed to be the next Dirk Nowitzki. But, as Raptors and Knicks fans know all too well, he doesn’t possess either the drive or discipline to come anywhere close and, to date, has the career numbers of a fairly productive role player at best.
Brown, drafted straight out of high school in 2001 (ahead of Pau Gasol, Tyson Chandler and Joe Johnson), was the first of Michael Jordan’s many misguided draft picks (most of which have plagued Charlotte), made back when he was team president of the Washington Wizards. And, to date Brown remains his worst, as while the Glynn Academy alum possessed all the physical attributes a successful NBA big man requires, his game lacked polish (something a year or two playing college hoops may have helped) and his basketball IQ left a lot to be desired. After bouncing around the league for a while he retired with career averages of 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Olowokandi, drafted first overall in 1998 (ahead of Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce and Vince Carter), was a relative unknown at the time, selected out of University of the Pacific largely because of his size. During his nine-year career though Olowokandi logged averages of just 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while Nowitzki, Pierce and Carter have two championships and multiple All-Star appearances to their names.
Cue Anthony Bennett
The Canadian facilitated the shock of the 2013 draft when he was selected number 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. After missing his first 16 shots as a pro, Bennett went on to record averages of 4.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.2 blocks in 52 appearances as a rookie. Then, of course, he and Andrew Wiggins were sent to Minnesota so that Kevin Love could join up with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland. The change of scenery, however, didn’t help his numbers a great deal, as during his sophomore year he averaged 5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.3 blocks in 57 appearances.
Had Cleveland not won the lottery in 2014, had they not convinced LeBron to come back, had they not added Love, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov en route to the NBA Finals they may have rued selecting Bennett over, say, Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, runner up Victor Oladipo or, perhaps one of the most exciting prospects to come out of what was considered (even at the time) a fairly weak draft, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But, as it turns out, Bennett’s Minnesota’s problem now. And, if the rumors are to be believed, the ‘wolves are open to the possibility of trading him, assuming the right scenario presents itself going forward.
The way Bennett’s played for Canada this summer may just have given Minnesota’s front office enough of an incentive to take the ‘For Sale’ signs down though, at least for now, as at the 2015 Pan American Games, hosted by his hometown Toronto, the University of Nevada alum averaged 15.6 points and 9.4 rebounds in five games. And, at the FIBA Americas tournament, he averaged 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in nine appearances.
Because of the caliber of the opponents involved, perhaps the latter provides a better reflection of where Bennett’s at right now and yet the Timberwolves’ coaching staff would no doubt be delighted if those numbers were to translate to the NBA. In fact, they’re probably just delighted to see him injury free, as his first two seasons in the league saw him plagued by the aftereffects of the surgery required to fix the rotator cuff in his left shoulder and an ankle injury that ruled him out of twenty five games last season.
Of his current physical state Bennett told TSN “It feels great. My body feels great. I feel like I’m 100 per cent right now. Just getting out and running like I did at UNLV.”
This certainly bodes well for both Bennett and his current employer and it will be interesting to see how he plays if he can get through an entire season without picking up any fresh injuries.
Assuming that’s the case, we can probably expect to see a young man with a point to prove, as ever since his first appearance in a Cavs jersey he’s looked like a player weighed down by the ‘former number 1 overall’ tag he’s been forced to wear, not to mention the criticism that goes along with it. After all, he wasn’t supposed to be a number 1 pick. Most mocks had him going 10th or thereabouts and in retrospect even that might have been a bit generous.
But for Anthony Bennett that’s all in the past.
Right now he’ll be hoping to cement his place on a young Timberwolves roster that has a bright future ahead of it. And, if he plays like he has this summer when the regular season rolls around, that should be well within his reach.
Main Photo via Kevin Gamble/Last Word on Sports Inc. All rights Reserved.
