The surprising first European picked #1 in the NBA draft

The surprising first European picked #1 in the NBA draft

In 1947, the first draft was held in the National Basketball Association. The Pittsburgh Ironmen have the honor of picking first and are drafting American guard Clifton McNeely. It takes a full 31 years for a foreigner to boast the top pick in the NBA. In 1978, Michael Thompson of the Bahamas reinforced the Portland Trail Blazers. By the early years of the 21st century, two basketball players from Nigeria and one each from China and Australia had already experienced such an honor. For roughly 60 years, all other first peaks have been American. In 2006, for the first time, a basketball player from Europe was chosen number 1. And for now, the last.

In 2002, a young but rather tall boy made his debut in Italy. Bulky 213cm center Andrea Bargnani has been impressing with the Roma side and after just one season in the pros he has been snapped up by Benetton Treviso. In 3 seasons in his new team, he won a title and two Italian cups. In 2006, he won the prestigious award for the best rising basketball player in the Euroleague, where his team reached the second group stage and a few points separated it from participation in the quarter-finals. In the same year, Bargnani was voted the best Italian basketball player under 22. At the end of the season, he was only 20 years old and looked like a mouthful for NBA teams.

So mouth-watering that the very first team with the right to pick jumped at the chance to sign the tall center. Bargnani is headed to Canada to join the Toronto Raptors. As always, there are huge expectations for the No. 1 pick. And to a large extent at first they are justified. In 65 regular season games, Andrea played 25.1 minutes, scored 11.6 points, grabbed 3.9 rebounds and shot almost 50% from a game. With such indicators, he helps the "dinosaurs" enter the playoffs, and he himself falls into the ideal team of rookies in the NBA. And in the 2006 class with the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Lowry, Brendan Roy, Rajon Rondo, Paul Millsap and other talents.

Unfortunately for Bargnani and all of Italy, the good start of the first European selected at number 1 in the NBA draft did not turn into a stellar career. The center spent 7 seasons in Toronto, two in New York and one in Brooklyn. For these total of 10 seasons, he played only 11 games in the playoffs - in 2007 and 2008. Otherwise, he finished his career with an average of 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 377 games as a starter. Solid numbers, but far from the dreams and expectations of a No. 1 draft pick.

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