Name the team that drafted each recent #1 pick
Every first overall pick since 1990 and the franchise that took them.
About this quiz
Thirty-odd names, one per draft. The recent ones are easy and the middle of the list is where runs die — the first picks of the mid-1990s and early 2000s include several players whose careers never justified the slot.
Reading the list in order is a decent history of how the league changed: high-schoolers in the early 2000s, a run of international players, and more recently a return to one-and-done college stars.
The reveal shows which franchise took each one, and it is worth reading afterwards. Several of these players never played a single game for the team that drafted them.
How to beat the clock
- Go decade by decade rather than trying to recall them at random.
- The years you will forget are the ones where the pick was not a star.
- Three number one picks in this span came straight out of high school.
How it works
One quiz a day, the same one for everybody — so the leaderboard is a straight comparison rather than fifteen boards with three names each. Your first attempt is the one that counts, because the game reveals every answer when the clock stops; replay as often as you like afterwards, it is pure practice and never changes your score.
Start typing and suggestions appear instantly. Submit with Enter or by clicking one — nothing is scored until you do, so you can finish typing the name you actually meant. Arrow keys move through the list.
A surname is enough when it is unambiguous — “Jordan” counts on a list with one Jordan, but a list with several Johnsons asks for the first name too. Capitalisation, punctuation and accents are all ignored, so “o neal” and “O’Neal” are the same answer. Suggestions are drawn from every player in the database, so seeing a name there says nothing about whether it is on the list.
Previously
Every quiz in the rotation, still playable any time: Name the NBA 75th Anniversary Team · Name every NBA MVP · Name every Finals MVP · Name every Defensive Player of the Year · Name every Rookie of the Year · Name every 10-time All-Star · Name the 20,000-point club · Name the 10,000-rebound club · Name the 8,000-assist club · Name every 2,000 three-pointer shooter · Name every 25-point-per-game scorer · Name every #1 overall draft pick · Name the undrafted players with 500+ games · Name every international All-NBA player · Name the 20,000-point scorers who never won a title · Name the #1 picks who never made an All-Star team · Name the 4-time champions who were never All-Stars · Name the stars who played for 6+ franchises · Name every NBA team that has moved city · Name the NBA teams that no longer exist · Name every retired Lakers and Celtics number · Name every franchise that has had a #1 overall pick.