Top 5 all-time No. 1 NBA draft picks from Big Ten ft. Magic Johnson

In the history of the NBA and ABA before that, there have been eleven No. 1 draft picks from the Big Ten Conference. Walt Bellamy from the Indiana Hoosiers was the first from 1961 (ABA) and the Chicago Zephyrs picked him. Greg Oden is the latest No. 1 pick from 2007 playing for the Portland Trail Blazers.

During this time, there have been many legends from the conference, and here are the top five.

Top five all-time No. 1 NBA draft picks from Big Ten

#5 John Lucas

John Lucas from Maryland Terrapins was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets in 1976. He was selected for the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1977 and played for the Rockets till 1978 before being traded to the Golden State Warriors.

John Lucas returned to Houston two more times as a player and later as a player development coach in 2020.

#4 Joe Barry Carroll

The Purdue Boilermakers alum was picked No. 1 by the Golden State Warriors. Joe Barry Carroll played for the Warriors till 1987 when he also made an All-Star appearance. He later moved to the Houston Rockets and played for four more teams before retiring in 1991.

At Purdue, he is the only player to score a triple-double (16 points, 16 rebounds and a school-record 11 blocks). Joe Carroll led the Boilermakers to the NIT finals in his junior year and the Final Four in his senior year.

#3 Chris Webber

The former member of the Fab Five in the Michigan Wolverines, Webber, was picked No. 1 in 1993 by the Orlando Magic and was immediately traded to the Golden State Warriors. The five-time NBA All-Star played just one season with the Dubs before moving to the Washington Bullets and later to the Sacramento Kings.

In 2002, Webber was charged with lying to a grand jury and received a three-game suspension. This was due to him allegedly receiving illicit loans from the Michigan basketball program booster Ed Martin. Chris Webber finished his NBA career with the Golden State in 2008.

#2 Mychal Thompson

The first international player to be drafted as No. 1, Mychal Thompson was picked by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1978 after four years at Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Bahamas native spent eight years in Portland before moving to San Antonio, where he won his first of two NBA championships.

After a 14-season career, Mychal Thompson retired in 1991. His son Mychel played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The second Thompson, Klay, is the most popular, being one-half of the Splash Brothers with Stephen Curry in the Golden State Warriors. The shooting guard has won four NBA championships.

Mychal was the inspiration for many players, including Michael Jordan.

#1 Magic Johnson

One of the greatest of all time, Earvin "Magic" Johnson was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 after two years at Michigan State where he won the NCAA championship in 1979.

In his rookie year with the Lakers, Johnson replaced the injured Kareen Abdul Jabbar in Game 6 of the NBA finals against the Philadelphia 76ers and scored 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists, helping the Lakers win 123-107. He played forward, center and guard at different times in the game and became the first rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP.

This was Magic Johnson's first of five NBA championships with the Lakers. He retired in 1996 and was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2002.