Golden State Warriors’ lottery pick seen as major ‘what-if’ of the NBA’s last five years

With four championships and two additional trips to the NBA Finals in the last nine seasons, it’s fair to say that the Golden State Warriors have got most things right as a franchise over recent times.

Yet that’s not to say the Warriors haven’t had some colossal mistakes over the past decade, with a number of failed roster moves and a front office that’s drawn criticism for some of their decisions.

The Golden State Warriors’ selection of James Wiseman over LaMelo Ball at the 2020 NBA Draft has gone down as one of the biggest ‘what-ifs’ in recent NBA history.

The biggest recent miss for Golden State came at the 2020 NBA Draft, with the franchise holding the number two overall pick after a league-worst 15-50 record. They took talented big man James Wiseman, an unsurprising selection given the seven-footer’s sky-high potential and the Warriors’ need for a center.

6’7″ point-guard LaMelo Ball was taken at pick 3 by the Charlotte Hornets, opening up a comparison that’s haunted Golden State practically ever since. In his three seasons to date, Ball has won Rookie of the Year, was an NBA All-Star in 2022, and has averaged over 20 points in each of the last two seasons.

Wiseman, on the other hand, was injured late in his rookie year and missed his sophomore season as a result. He failed to make an impact upon his return in 2022-23, before eventually being moved to the Detroit Pistons at February’s trade deadline.

In a recent article outlining five of the NBA’s biggest ‘what-ifs’ over the last five years, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps has labelled Golden State’s selection of Wiseman over Ball as a ‘fateful decision’, while projecting the sort of addition the latter could have been for the franchise.

"“Ball landing on a veteran-laden Golden State roster is the perfect setting to mature into the kind of professional the Warriors need him to be, while his on-court flair and passing ability couldn’t be a better complement to the way Stephen Curry and the Warriors play.”"

The long-held shining light to the Warriors’ decision was Jordan Poole, the 28th overall pick in the 2019 Draft who’s development would have undoubtedly been impeded by the presence of Ball on the roster.

Poole was a key piece to Golden State’s 2022 championship, and it’s intriguing to consider whether Golden State would have had the same success with Ball in his spot instead. It’s easy to suggest they would have given Ball was an All-Star in the same season, but his development would have been vastly different at the Warriors in contrast to the Hornets.

Either way, it’s one of Golden State’s biggest mistakes in franchise history, let alone in the last decade. For the other 29 NBA teams, they’re simply fortunate the Warriors don’t have another All-Star level point-guard on their hands for the next 15 years.