Being selected with the #1 pick in the NBA draft is definitely an honor. How can a prospect not be excited to being crowned the cream of the crop of their class by the best basketball league in the world?

You know where we’re going with this, the #1 pick can also be a curse if you’re not ready or capable of living up with being the top choice of your class. For every LeBron James (2003), there’s a LaRue Martin (1972) as well as players like Doug Collins (1973) and Danny Manning (1988) that fall somewhere in-between superstar and bust.

Being Ready for the NBA vs. Thinking They’re Ready

All NBA players at the top of the draft think they’re ready for the next level. Not only do they think they’re ready, but they think they’re going to the next great superstar. That’s because at this point, these prospects have been their team’s best basketball player since they can remember.

However, the NBA is a difference story. It’s a league packed of the best of the best; the most talented in a league full of talent. As well as the biggest, fastest and smartest; in short, it’s 300 of the most talented basketball players in the world.

So it’s no surprise that some first selections rise to the occasion and surpass the expectations as the number one pick. The following list are the #1 picks that were pegged for NBA greatness from the time they were in the fifth grade and have gone on to fulfill their destiny as the next big thing:

The Legends (And #1 Picks)

There’s no buyer’s remorse here. The list above contains players that are all NBA champions as well as having at least one regular season MVP. This is a good portion of the shortlist of the greatest to put basketball shoes on; a group known by just filled with one-namers: LeBron, Shaq, Magic, Hakeem, Kareem, and Oscar. And there wasn’t any slow growth with these superstars, they came out of the gate as forces to be reckoned with. Everyone above, except Magic who is known more for his passing, averaged over 20 points in their inaugural season. And just got better from there.

The Superstars

Right under the legends are the superstars; players that were chosen the the first pick in he NBA draft and had five or more all-star appearances, a scoring title or two, and was/is the man on their respective teams. They’re also either in the NBA Hall of Fame, or very likely to make it.

Though these #1 picks have impressive resumes, they’re not quite in the legendary category because they lack an MVP trophy, an NBA Championship or both

The Semi-Stars

The following are the player that tasted some success with a couple all-star appearances and maybe even an NBA championship, but their careers never went next level — these guys had respectable careers, but won’t make the Hall of Fame as players based just on their NBA numbers.

The Solid Role Players / Journeymen

These guys may have a a couple all-star appearances, but they didn’t quite live up to the rest of the players in their same draft. Though their careers didn’t blossom nearly as big as they did at previous levels, these former number ones are rarely referred to as “busts” — they instead carved out solid careers contributing. Many of the players below played for multiple teams.

Too Soon: Still Optimistic

The #1 draft picks from the last 6-7 years have shown a lot of promise and aren’t close to whatever legacy they end up with. If they have another 6-7 years of all-star performances and lucky enough to get themselves a ring or two, they can be superstars or legends. But just as easily, if their careers were cut short tomorrow, they could fall below the line. Only time will tell with these seven players:

Too Late: The Draft Busts

And then there’s the ones that will live in infamy; the draft busts whose names are drug through the mud every June as the flipside of making the wrong decision come draft day. None of these players ever sniffed an all-star game. Unfortunately, even 4-5 years in, these former top choices never really got out of the gate to become worthwhile journeymen. We sorted them by their career high in points, which nearly aligns with their point average during their rookie season. Their rookie points per game were early indicators of their readiness and potential.

To be fair to Greg Oden, he played fewer than two full seasons thanks to ongoing injuries. Same goes to other big men whose careers were longer, but also cut short: Brad Daughtery, Joe Barry Carroll, Yao Ming and Ralph Sampson.

Those remaining are known as the infamous picks not just known for unfulfilling careers, but for the players that were drafted below them. For example, the 1998 draft featured future NBA Hall of Famers in Vince Carter, Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki, but it was Michael Olowokandi to go #1. Then there was the 1972 Draft featured LaRue Martin, but later on, the draft was known for Julius Erving and Bob McAdoo. In 2001 was Kwame Brown, but should have been Pau Gasol, Tyson Chandler, Joe Johnson, Gilbert Arenas or Zach Randolph.

The Best #1 Draft Picks by Career High in Points

While some #1 draft picks look lost and never find their way — we’ll call these the infamous ones. And many more in-between. In many ways, you can look at a player’s career high in points as an indication of their NBA success. It’s not always the case, but sorting by their best scoring game helps separates the superstars from the busts. Take a look:

We’ll see what happens in this yera’s NBA draft. The first question is whether it’ll be Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball, maybe Josh Jackson or D’AAron Fox. Whomeever is selected in that number one spot, they’ll always be remembered as such and depending on how their careers pan out, they can go down as legends, infamy or something in-between.