3 stars the Golden State Warriors missed drafting by a single pick

1. Damian Lillard

The Warriors entered the 2012 NBA Draft armed with the seventh overall pick, having come off a season where a young Stephen Curry was limited to 26 games as the franchise went 23-43 to finish 13th in the Western Conference.

That selection may have given them the opportunity to pick Oakland native Damian Lillard -- a four-year college player who was widely considered the best point-guard available. After working out for Golden State a fortnight before the draft, Lillard loved the idea of playing his hometown team.

"I grew up a Warriors fan, I’m still a Warriors fan. If I go somewhere else next year, that’ll be the first year I haven’t been a Warriors fan. I would love to play for my hometown team."

- Damian Lillard

Alas it wasn't to be, with the Portland Trail Blazers jumping in to take Lillard with the sixth pick. Since then the now 33-year-old has become an eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection and a member of the 75th Anniversary Team.

Lillard has long been compared to Warrior superstar Stephen Curry, but how would they have gone on the same team? Would Golden State have even selected Lillard given they had Curry and Klay Thompson, and having traded Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks just months earlier?

Perhaps the trio of Curry, Thompson and Lillard never develop in the way they did had they been on the same roster, yet it's still a tantalizing thought given how the latter's career has played out.

It wasn't a disaster by any means for the Warriors who selected Harrison Barnes -- their starting small-forward on the 2015 championship team and a player who's still carving out a very successful career now with the Sacramento Kings. Oh, and Golden State also left that draft with a soon-to-be four-time All-Star, four-time champion and one of the greatest players in franchise history by the name of Draymond Green.