Ranking NBA’s 12 active No. 1 draft picks: LeBron James is still the king, but where does Ben Simmons land?

In 2017, the Philadelphia 76ers traded a package that included the No. 3 draft pick (which would become Jayson Tatum) for the No. 1 pick, which they used to draft Markelle Fultz, who is not currently on a roster. It was a disastrous pick for the Sixers, who couldn’t have known how Fultz’s career would all but fall apart before it even began during the summer leading into his rookie year, when he either got the yips or suffered an injury that rendered him incapable of shooting with normal mechanics — or both.

Either way, Fultz managed to resurrect his career in Orlando, where he regained the ability to at least knock down mid-range shots while doing enough other things well to warrant a $50M contract. But he’s not with Orlando anymore and until another team signs him, he’s not currently an NBA player. 

This is why you won’t find his name on the list below — a ranking of all 12 No. 1 overall NBA Draft picks that are currently on league rosters. This is not based on past production. Rather, this is a ranking that reflects the projected 2023-24 value of each of these players who were selected first overall in the year indicated next to their name.

James is entering his 22nd season, will turn 40 in December, and remains a top-10 NBA player capable of being the best in the world on any given night. With all due respect to Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal, he’s the greatest No. 1 pick to ever play and continues to carry the current mantle, even when projecting forward without any bias toward past production.

To say Edwards’ star is on the ascent would be an understatement. He averaged career highs across the board last season in earning his first All-NBA selection and led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference finals. People talk about having it without being able to quantify what it is necessarily. It’s the skill, the charisma, the athleticism, the innate feel for the moment and the chop-licking desire to seize it; Ant is the thousand-watt-smiling portrait of all this and more, and he’s only just begun.

As of now, and all things considered, Davis is probably the best defender in the league — though the next guy on this list might very well take that honor this season. Davis has also clarified his offensive approach as a paint monster who settles for far fewer jumpers. Health is always a concern with him, but last year, Davis played in a career-high 76 games; if he gets anywhere close to that total again, his production is sure to justify this ranking.

Have a look at Wembanyama’s numbers after last season’s All-Star break: 23.5 points, 12 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 4.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. Nobody has ever put up those numbers over a full season. Now, Wembanyama hasn’t yet done so either, but as the season progressed — and even into the Olympics — if you watched the ease with which he learned to assert his dominance on both ends of the court, you know that this sort of season-long line is not only feasible, but probable.

Williamson was sensational with 40 points in New Orleans’ Play-In loss to the Lakers, which very well could have been a win had he not gone down late with a hamstring injury. The performance was a validation of the level of dominance we saw from Williamson over the season’s final few months, when he established himself a bona fide creator with the ball in his hands and arguably the most unstoppable paint scorer in the league. The Pelicans got 70 games out of Zion last season. If he’s equally available this year and the Pelicans manage a top-six seed, he’s likely to find himself in the thick of the MVP discussion.

Irving remains a major problem, and the good news is that last season that statement only applied to his on-court actions. We’re talking about 25.5 points per game on effectively 50-41-90 shooting splits (he finished with a 49.7% overall clip). Next to Luka Doncic, he’s in his optimal slot as the No. 2 guy feeding off the freedom that comes with being able to toggle between superstar scorer and sidekick.

Banchero is a unique creator at 6-foot-10, functioning as one of Orlando’s lead playmakers alongside fellow 6-10 “point guard” Franz Wagner. Banchero can create any shot he wants for himself, but he still isn’t quite making enough of them. That efficiency will come. The shot is viable. The power to get to his spots and force his way into the paint is top-end. The high release renders normal contests moot. Banchero has gone from the Rookie of the Year to an All-Star in two seasons. Can he rise to All-NBA this year?

Towns has embraced a secondary scoring role alongside Anthony Edwards and is an honest battler defensively these days as a power forward next to Rudy Gobert. Still, the guy put up 22 points and eight rebounds while shooting 42% from 3 on over five attempts per game. You don’t want Towns, as great as he is on paper, to be your go-to offensive star. In the role he currently occupies, however, he can summon more situational stardom while providing elite spacing support the rest of the time. 

Cunningham improved his efficiency in year two but he still has a ways to go. That said, he’s an all-column stat-stuffer who can potentially be a 25-point scorer. The problem is he’s getting lost on a dreadful Pistons team that is still somewhat nonsensical from a roster-construction standpoint. None of their foundational pieces can shoot! But Cunningham looks like a franchise player in the making. They just need to figure out who’s staying and who’s going around him. 

Wiggins has declined pretty dramatically since his lone All-Star season in 2022, when he was arguably the second-best player on the Warriors‘ last title team. His father recently passed, and we know that he’s been away from the team for extended stretches over the past two years. Perhaps that has affected his play and he can return closer to 2022 levels this season with some closure. It’s hard to say how anyone will react professionally after losing a parent, however. This feels like a wild-card season for Wiggins and the Warriors as a whole. 

The only thing worse than the Phoenix Suns taking Ayton at No. 1 in 2018 was the Sacramento Kings taking Marvin Bagley III at No. 2. It was clear even back then that Luka Doncic should’ve been the first pick, and it has become even more painfully clear since. Ayton got a change of scenery with Portland last season and posted some pretty impressive post-All-Star numbers at 22.7 points and 12.5 rebounds over 18 games. We’ll see how much he can do in likely staggered minutes with rookie Donovan Clingan, or if any other team would be willing to take on the nearly $70 million remaining on Ayton’s contract in a trade.

With the way Simmons’ career started, you never would’ve believed he’d wind up ranked as the worst No. 1 pick in the league in 2024. But here we are. He has put together some intriguing stretches for the Nets when he has been able to stay on the court, which hasn’t been often, and he says he’s ready to go with no restrictions for training camp after undergoing back surgery to ease a nerve impingement. We shall see. 

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