The Worst Draft Picks in Golden State Warriors History

After examining the best draft picks in Golden State Warriors history, it’s time to look at some of the worst draft picks.

One of the worst draft picks in Warriors history has to be Joe Smith. He was selected with the number one pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. Smith played for the Warriors for two and a half seasons before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. As a Warrior, Smith averaged 17.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

His stat line as a Warrior doesn’t look bad, but the Warriors selected Smith over some other quality players such as Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, and, most notably, Kevin Garnett. The fact that the Warriors had an opportunity to draft Garnett and passed on that chance is extremely disappointing. In addition to this, Smith played his best basketball with the Warriors, but his career, as a whole, was pretty disappointing, given the fact that he was a number one pick.

Another one of the worst draft picks in Warriors history has to be Ike Diogu. He was selected with the ninth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He averaged 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds as a rookie, and he only played in 17 games in his second year in the NBA. Diogu was also selected above Andrew Bynum and Danny Granger.

One of the strongest candidates for worst draft pick in Warriors history has to be Patrick O’Bryant. Just seeing his name should make any Warriors fan cringe. O’Bryant was selected with the ninth pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 16 games during his rookie season with the Warriors, and he only shot 31.3 percent. He played for four years in the NBA and only played in 90 games. He finished his career with averages of 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds.

The fact that this 7-footer wasn’t able to average more than 1.4 rebounds over his career is depressing. In addition, it’s even more depressing that a top-10 pick has such a horrible career stat line. O’Bryant also became the first NBA lottery pick to be sent down to the D-League.

A few others that should be included in the discussion of worst draft picks in Warriors history are Russell Cross, Chris Washburn, and Joe Barry Carroll. Cross was selected with the sixth pick in the 1983 NBA Draft. He only played in the NBA for one season with the Warriors and he averaged just 3.7 points in 45 games. Clyde Drexler was still available when Cross was selected.

Washburn was selected with the third pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. Washburn entered the NBA Draft with a reputation of stealing and having a bad work ethic, yet the Warriors still drafted him. Washburn averaged just 3.1 points in only 72 games in the NBA. He also received a lifetime ban from the NBA in 1989 for failing three drug tests in three years.

Carroll wasn’t a horrible NBA player, but the Warriors gave up a lot to get him. The Warriors drafted Carroll with the number one pick in the 1980 NBA Draft, and they gave up Robert Parish and the third pick in the draft, which was Kevin McHale. His nickname was also “Joe Barely Cares.”

A couple honorable mentions for worst draft pick in Warriors history are Adonal Foyle and Todd Fuller. Foyle was selected eighth in the 1997 NBA Draft, and he only averaged 4.1 points and 4.7 rebounds for his career. He was selected ahead of Tracy McGrady. Fuller was selected with the 11th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, and he only averaged 3.7 points 3.0 rebounds for his career. He was selected ahead of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.

Who do you think is the worst draft pick in Warriors history?

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