Finding a star at No. 8 to be tough task for Wizards

Here’s a fun trivia question: Who is the last NBA player drafted eighth overall to become an All-Star? 

The answer, perhaps a slightly depressing one if you’re a fan of the Washington Wizards, is Vin Baker — a member of the 1993 draft who made the exhibition game four times during his career.

That was 30 years ago. 

So, holding the No. 8 pick in the NBA draft — which the Wizards do this year after failing to move up in Tuesday’s lottery — doesn’t have to be a waste.

There are other success stories: Franz Wagner, picked eighth in 2021, looks like a rising star for the Orlando Magic. Rudy Gay (2006), Jamal Crawford (2000) and Andre Miller (1999) were among those selected at the spot who went on to have notable careers. Former big men Robert Parish (1976) and Jack Sickma (1977) even made the Hall of Fame.

But more often than not, finding a star — or even an above-average role player — with the eighth pick remains a difficult task. No draft pick, of course, is guaranteed to be a hit. But still as a top-10 selection, the track record of the eighth pick panning out is … less than stellar. 

Outside of Wagner, the best player to be picked eighth in the last 10 years is arguably Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, coincidentally a former Wizards guard who now starts for the top-seeded Denver Nuggets. After Wagner and Caldwell-Pope (2013), the list is scattered with a few nice role players — 2020’s Obi Toppin, 2018’s Collin Sexton — and several disappointments. Three from 2014 to 2016 — Nik Stauskas, Marquese Chriss and Stanley Johnson — fall into the latter.

“A little disappointing,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. told reporters at the NBA draft lottery in Chicago when asked about not winning the No. 1 pick. “One bright spot is we didn’t move back. We fell essentially where we were slotted, and we take some degree of solace in that.” 

The Wizards, who held the NBA’s eighth-worst record, only had a 6.7% chance of winning the top pick — the right to draft France’s Victor Wembanyama. But according to multiple reports, they were closer to landing a generational talent than it initially appeared. 

Though the NBA lottery is broadcasted as a special showcase on ESPN, the actual ping-pong balls are drawn an hour ahead of the broadcast in a guarded, onsite room. And on Tuesday, the Wizards were not only still in the mix for Wenbayama after the first three balls were drawn, but six of the 11 remaining balls in the hopper reportedly belonged to them — giving them a 54.5% chance of winning the No. 1 pick on the final turn. 

Alas, the next ping-pong ball drawn ultimately gave the No. 1 pick to the San Antonio Spurs, who had a winning combination of 14-5-8-2. (For the lottery, the NBA assigns a varying amount of allotted combinations to each team — the worse teams have more combinations than the better ones — and then draws ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 to determine the first four selections.)

So, who might the Wizards target at No. 8? After finishing 35-47 in back-to-back years, Washington has a variety of needs. But already draft analysts have linked Washington to players such as Arkansas’ Anthony Black and Villanova’s Cam Whitmore. 

The 19-year-old Black has good size (6-foot-7) for a combo guard and can play either position in the backcourt. Notably, Black grades out as a solid defender and could help fill Washington’s need at point guard. One area of concern, however, might be Black’s 3-point shooting: He shot just 30% from beyond the arc in college and there are questions about whether his range can expand to the next level. 

Whitmore, by contrast, is projected to be a much better shooter. At Villanova, Whitmore used his 6-foot-6 frame and athleticism to attack the basket and shot 47.3% from the field. But according to SB Nation, NBA teams are unsure what position Whitmore might defend in the NBA — he can play shooting guard, small forward and power forward — and he might not even be available by the time the Wizards are on the clock. 

Other prospects to keep an eye on include Kansas’ Gradey Dick (a guard/forward who can shoot), Houston’s Jarace Walker (a power forward who can defend and has strong upside) and Overtime Elite’s Ausar Thompson (a defense-first wing whose twin brother Amen is also in this year’s class.)

No matter who the Wizards tap, they have to hope the eighth pick works out better than history would indicate.