Victor Wembanyama was the unanimous winner of the 2023-24 Kia Rookie of the Year.
The NBA Draft is where hope is born for many teams, particularly for those teams fortunate enough to land the No. 1 overall pick in a given class. However, getting that top overall pick doesn’t guarantee success in the NBA or even a standout rookie campaign.
Since the NBA went to a version of its current Draft lottery format in 1986, there have been 37 players selected No. 1 overall. Below is a look at the 18 players who collected Rookie of the Year honors since 1986, with three players — David Robinson, Ben Simmons and Blake Griffin — earning the award in a season that did not begin with their Draft year.
| Player (Team) | Drafted | Rookie season | PPG | RPG | APG | BPG | SPG | FG% | 3pt % |
| Patrick Ewing (Knicks) | 1985 | 1985-86 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 47.7% | 0% |
| David Robinson (Spurs) # | 1987 | 1989-90 | 24.3 | 12 | 2 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 53.1% | 0% |
| Derrick Coleman (Nets) | 1990 | 1990-91 | 18.4 | 10.3 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 46.7% | 34.2% |
| Larry Johnson (Hornets) | 1991 | 1991-92 | 19.2 | 11 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 49% | 22.7% |
| Shaquille O’Neal (Magic) | 1992 | 1992-93 | 23.4 | 13.9 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 56.2% | 0% |
| Chris Webber (Warriors) | 1993 (picked by Magic, traded to Warriors) | 1993-94 | 17.5 | 9.1 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 55.2% | 0% |
| Allen Iverson (76ers) | 1996 | 1996-97 | 23.5 | 4.1 | 7.5 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 41.6% | 34.1% |
| Tim Duncan (Spurs) | 1997 | 1997-98 | 21.1 | 11.9 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 54.9% | 0% |
| Elton Brand (Bulls) * | 1999 | 1999-2000 | 20.1 | 10 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 48.2% | 0% |
| LeBron James (Cavs) | 2003 | 2003-04 | 20.9 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 41.7% | 29% |
| Derrick Rose (Bulls) | 2008 | 2008-09 | 16.8 | 3.9 | 6.3 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 47.5% | 22.2% |
| Blake Griffin (Clippers) ^ | 2009 | 2010-11 | 22.5 | 12.1 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 50.6% | 29.2% |
| Kyrie Irving (Cavs) | 2011 | 2011-12 | 18.5 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 46.9% | 39.9% |
| Andrew Wiggins (Wolves) | 2014 (picked by Cavs, traded to Wolves) | 2014-15 | 16.9 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 43.7% | 31% |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (Wolves) | 2015 | 2015-16 | 18.3 | 10.5 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 54.2% | 34.1% |
| Ben Simmons (76ers) ^ | 2016 | 2017-18 | 15.8 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 54.5% | 0% |
| Paolo Banchero | 2022 | 2022-23 | 20 | 6.9 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 42.7% | 29.8% |
| Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) | 2023 | 2023-24 | 21.4 | 10.6 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 46.5% | 32.5% |
| # = served in Navy for two years before joining Spurs * = shared ROY honors with Steve Francis (No. 3 overall pick) in 1999-2000 ^ = Won ROY after missing rookie season due to injury |
