Giannis Antetokounmpo just finished dominating the NBA Finals to win his first championship.
He put up one of the greatest performances we have seen in the NBA Finals in recent memory.
Judging by his career thus far, you would assume that Antetokounmpo was this young phenom.
You might have thought that he grew up playing against the best competition overseas just like Luka Doncic did.
Lastly, you would think he was a top three pick in his draft at least.
All of those assumptions are wrong.
Antetokounmpo was in fact drafted No. 15 overall in the 2013 NBA Draft.
Khris Middleton was the 39th overall pick in the 2012 draft.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 21, 2021
There were no inclinations that he would turn out to be the player he is today.
The Milwaukee Bucks took a chance due to several circumstances.
For one, the Bucks needed to try and take a chance.
They were a team stuck in the middle; even though they were not good, they were in playoff contention in a terrible Eastern Conference.
A rebuild was necessary.
Also, the draft class was labeled as weak.
The Bucks took a chance and are now reaping the rewards.
However, what NBA teams regret missing out on this generational talent?
3. Boston Celtics
Original Selection: Kelly Olynyk ( No. 13 overall)
The Boston Celtics back in 2013 were starting their rebuild.
That offseason saw them lose their head coach, Doc Rivers.
They also lost Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Rajon Rondo was the team’s best player, but he was recovering from a torn ACL.
It was time to start fresh.
Their first-round choice could have been a time to take a risk and see what happens.
Instead, they took Kelly Olynyk out of the University of Gonzaga.
Olynyk was great at Gonzaga, even becoming a first team All-American.
The issue is that he was 22 years old by the end of his rookie season.
We knew what he was going to be.
They refused to take the mysterious player.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was, like, a rumor. You only heard whispers of him until three weeks before the draft. And now he’s a two-time MVP, Finals MVP, and Finals winner. Incredible stuff.
— Chris Paul Towers (@CTowersCBS) July 21, 2021
Now they are struggling to beat a team like the Bucks; when they could have had Antetokounmpo.
2. Detroit Pistons
Original Selection: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (No. 8 Overall)
The Detroit Pistons have had a bad break in draft lotteries; excluding this year’s draft lottery.
For more than a decade, they never received a top-five pick in the draft, despite being one of the worst teams during that stretch.
That was the case in 2013, as they owned the eighth pick.
They ended up selecting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope out of the University of Georgia.
Caldwell-Pope was a good scorer in college, but never was on a big stage.
His Georgia teams were particularly not very good.
However, he was a star there, which translated to a lottery pick.
Only problem is that he was not going to be a star in the league.
Caldwell-Pope would have been a good selection for a playoff team that needed guard help.
Instead, the Pistons reached, but reached for the wrong player.
1. Philadelphia 76ers
Original Selection: Nerlens Noel (No. 6 Overall) & Michael Carter-Williams (No. 11 Overall)
We all remember the Philadelphia 76ers from several years ago, when they were purposely losing games.
2013 was the beginning of what we now know as “The Process.”
First order of business was this draft and laying the groundwork for this plan.
That is what led them to trading Jrue Holiday to draft Nerlens Noel.
Then they used their own pick to select the future Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams.
However, both of those players are not on the team any longer.
The first part of this tanking system was technically a failure.
Imagine if they took Antetokounmpo and let him work on his game.
While that was going on, they select Joel Embiid eventually.
The 76ers had a chance to strike gold twice, but instead chose the wrong players.
NEXT: Can We See A Bucks-Suns NBA Finals Rematch in 2022?