thumb|[[LeBron James, a high school draftee, was one of the most anticipated first overall draft picks.]]
The first overall pick in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is the player who is selected first among all eligible draftees by a team during the league's annual draft. The first pick is awarded to the team that wins the NBA draft lottery; in most cases, that team had a losing record in the previous season. The NBA team that garners the top overall draft pick selection generates significant media attention, as does the respective player who eventually gets selected with that first pick.
Eleven first picks have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award: Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (record six-time winner), Bill Walton, Magic Johnson (three-time winner), Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan (two-time winner), LeBron James (four-time winner), and Derrick Rose (youngest winner).
China's Yao Ming (2002), Italy's Andrea Bargnani (2006), and France's Victor Wembanyama (2023) and Zaccharie Risacher (2024) are the only players without competitive experience in the United States to be drafted first overall. Eleven other international players with U.S. college experience have been drafted first overall – Mychal Thompson (Bahamas) in 1978, Olajuwon (Nigeria) in 1984, Patrick Ewing (Jamaica) in 1985, Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) in 1997, Michael Olowokandi (Nigeria) in 1998, Andrew Bogut (Australia) in 2005, Kyrie Irving (Australia) in 2011, Anthony Bennett (Canada) in 2013, Andrew Wiggins (Canada) in 2014, Ben Simmons (Australia) in 2016, and Deandre Ayton (Bahamas) in 2018. Duncan is an American citizen, but is considered an "international" player by the NBA because he was not born in one of the fifty states or the District of Columbia. Ewing had Jamaican-American dual citizenship when he was drafted, and Irving and Simmons had Australian-American dual citizenship when they were drafted.
The drafts between 1947 and 1949 were held by the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The Basketball Association of America became the National Basketball Association after absorbing teams from the National Basketball League in the fall of 1949. Official NBA publications include the BAA Drafts as part of the NBA's draft history.
Key
{| class="wikitable"
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|style="background-color:#CCFFCC; width:6em"|^
|Denotes players who have been selected to the All-Star Game or All-NBA Team
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|style="background-color:#FFFF99; width:6em"|*
|Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame -->
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|style="background-color:#FFE6BD; width:6em"|^*
|Denotes Hall of Famers
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|PPG
|Points per game
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|APG
|Assists per game|group=lower-alpha|name=note_b
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|
|Texas Wesleyan
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|
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|1949
|Providence Steamrollers
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
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|Center
|Kansas State
|
|align=center|—
|
|align=center|
|-
|1950
|Boston Celtics
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
|
|Center
|Bowling Green
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|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1951
|Baltimore Bullets
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
|
|Guard
|Bradley
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center|—
|align=center||group=lower-alpha
|
|Center
|West Virginia
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1953
|Baltimore Bullets
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|'^
|
|
|Manchester British-Americans (ABL)
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1954
|Baltimore Bullets
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|^
|
|
|Furman
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1955
|Milwaukee Hawks
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
|
|
|Duquesne
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1956
|Rochester Royals
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
|
|
|Duquesne
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1957
|Cincinnati Royals
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|^
|
|Guard
|West Virginia
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1958
|Minneapolis Lakers
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|'^*
|
|Forward
|Seattle
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1959
|Cincinnati Royals
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|^
|
|Forward
|Kansas State
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1960
|Cincinnati Royals
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|'^*
|
|
|Cincinnati
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1961
|Chicago Packers
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|'^*
|
|Center
|Indiana
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1962
|Chicago Zephyrs
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
|
|
|Utah
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1963
|New York Knicks
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
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|Forward/guard
|Duke
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1964
|New York Knicks
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
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|Center/forward
|Texas Western
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1965
|San Francisco Warriors
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
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|
|Davidson
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1966
|New York Knicks
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|^
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|Forward/guard
|Michigan
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1967
|Detroit Pistons
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|^
|
|Guard
|Providence
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1968
|San Diego Rockets
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|^*
|
|Center/forward
|Houston
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1969
|Milwaukee Bucks
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|'^*
|
|Center
|UCLA
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1970
|Detroit Pistons
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|^*
|
|Center
|St. Bonaventure
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1971
|Cleveland Cavaliers
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|^
|
|Guard
|Notre Dame
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1972
|Portland Trail Blazers
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
|
|Center
|Loyola (Illinois)
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1973
|Philadelphia 76ers
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFFCC"|^
|
|
|Illinois State
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1974
|Portland Trail Blazers
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|^*
|
|Center
|UCLA
|
|
|
|align=center|
|-
|1975
|Atlanta Hawks
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|^*