How the last three teams with 3+ No. 1 picks on the roster fared after Mavericks, Wizards gamble

The Wizards’ drafting AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 Draft adds him to a core with two other No. 1 picks in Anthony Davis (2012) and Deandre Ayton (2018).

Both teams are rebuilding projects with hopes of being competitive next season, but how has life turned out for the last three teams to have these many No. 1 picks on their roster? Let’s take a look.

Note: Only including teams where all three No. 1 picks played minutes. This disqualifies teams like the 2025-26 Mavericks because Kyrie Irving (with Davis and Flagg) didn’t play a single game.

2003-04 Philadelphia 76ers

Allen Iverson (1996), Glenn Robinson (1994), Derrick Coleman (1990)

The 76ers would also qualify for this list with their 1997–98 roster, which featured Iverson and Coleman alongside Joe Smith (1995), a season where they finished 31-51 and finished 14th in the Eastern Conference.

The 2003-04 76ers were better by virtue of their core No. 1 trio not being as inexperienced as the version in 1998. Unfortunately, they weren’t much better, winning just two more games for a 33-49 record for the No. 11 seed in the East.

The team was reeling from the loss of Larry Brown as their coach, who’d led the Detroit Pistons to a title in that very same season. Brown’s replacement, Randy Ayers, was fired after 52 games with a 21-31 record. Both Iverson and Robinson would struggle with injuries, playing 48 and 42 games, respectively.

Coleman’s tenure with the 76ers would end at the end of that season, and the 76ers never truly returned to the competitive heights they reached in 2001 with an NBA Finals appearance.

2016-17 Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James (2003), Kyrie Irving (2011), Andrew Bogut (2005)

This roster only makes it on here on a technicality. Bogut didn’t start the season with the Cavaliers, signing on to the roster in March 2017, playing in 58 seconds of action before suffering a season-ending left leg fracture.

The Cavaliers would waive Bogut 11 days after signing him, but he did take the floor for the Cavaliers in a 98-106 loss, which makes the team qualify for this list.

Kyrie and LeBron were the two leading engines of this team, with the franchise going 51-31 and sweeping the Eastern Conference 12-1 in the playoffs before losing 4-1 to the Kevin Durant-led Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals.

Bogut’s career would fizzle out soon with a stint on the Lakers and Warriors after recovering, while Irving would force a trade to the Boston Celtics in that offseason.

LeBron would wait for another season before leaving, joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018.

2017-19 Minnesota Timberwolves

Karl-Anthony Towns (2015), Andrew Wiggins (2014), Derrick Rose (2008)

The Minnesota Timberwolves had the No. 1 pick trio of KAT, Wiggins, and Rose together for two seasons as the franchise looked to have their first winning season since 2004-05 heading into the 2017-18 season.

Rose would join the franchise in February 2018 and would play just nine games, but the team did break their Playoff drought by earning the No. 8 seed with a 47-35 record while led by Jimmy Butler, who they acquired via trade that very season.

Butler would leave the Timberwolves via trade the very next season for the Philadelphia 76ers, leading the Timberwolves to regress and secure a 36-46 record for the 2018-19 season. Rose would play a bigger role this time, making 51 appearances while dropping 50 points in a game.

Rose would leave for the Detroit Pistons next season, while Wiggins would be traded to the Golden State Warriors in 2020, winning a title with them in 2022. Towns would lead the team to the 2024 Western Conference Finals before getting traded to the New York Knicks, where he just won the 2026 NBA Championship.

These examples show all three ends of the argument. The 2017 Cavaliers went to the Finals, the 2018 Timberwolves went to the Playoffs, and the 2004 76ers were in the lottery.

The team with the most No. 1 overall picks as simultaneous teammates is easily the Lakers, who had five players on the 1959-60 Minneapolis Lakers squad as former No. 1 picks, still an NBA record.

Even the 1986 to 1989 Lakers had four No. 1 picks on the roster simultaneously with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mychal Thompson, Magic Johnson, and James Worthy.

Other older examples include the Houston Rockets from 1984 to 1986, as well as the 1963-65 New York Knicks, among others.