markelle fultz was the number one pick in the nba draft in 2017.
markelle fultz was the number one pick in the nba draft in 2017.
who was the number one pick in the nba draft in 2017?
markelle fultz
on june 23, 2016, following the 2015–16 season, and after the 76ers were awarded the first overall pick in the 2016 draft, the team selected lsu point forward ben simmons first overall. the sixers also selected french basketball player timothé luwawu-cabarrot and turkish basketball player furkan korkmaz with the 24th and 26th picks in the 2016 nba draft respectively. many consider the 2016 nba draft a turning point for the 76ers after their three seasons of not being competitive resulted in the franchise garnering the first overall pick, the first time the team owned the first since 1996 when the 76ers selected point guard allen iverson first overall. the sixers subsequently traded for another number one pick in the 2017 nba draft, choosing markelle fultz.
philadelphia 76ers
despite having the best record in the eastern conference the previous season, the celtics would originally win the number one pick at the end of the year because they activated the right to swap their own first-round draft pick (which was pick number 27) with the brooklyn nets, who held the worst record of the entire nba that same season. (the nets struggled in part because of a previous, infamous trade with the celtics, that swapped role players jason terry and d.j. white and superstars kevin garnett and paul pierce for other players and draft picks, including the right to swap first round picks in the 2017 nba draft.) however, on june 19, four days before the 2017 nba draft commenced, the celtics would trade that coveted pick to the philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the third pick of the draft (which was projected to be a small forward in either josh jackson or jayson tatum by that point) and either the sacramento kings or philadelphia 76ers' 2019 first round pick, depending on what happens in that year's draft. other than that, the celtics also hold three second round draft picks, each of which were acquired by trades, while losing their own second round pick as an added piece of help for the nets later on down the line. their first second round pick was acquired from the phoenix suns back when it was considered a first round pick from the minnesota timberwolves in exchange for brandan wright. the next second round pick was had from the cleveland cavaliers alongside their 2016 second round pick and keith bogans in exchange for john lucas iii, erik murphy, dwight powell, malcolm thomas, and the protected rights of the sacramento kings' own second round picks from both 2015 and 2017. finally, their last second round pick was acquired from the los angeles clippers in a three-way trade with the phoenix suns, where boston would acquire shavlik randolph again and a trade exception from the suns, as well as both chris douglas-roberts and a second round pick from the clippers./small
2017–18 boston celtics season