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

3. Anthony Edwards

Even despite missing out on Lillard and Cousins, the Warriors would go on to win four NBA championships in the space of eight seasons between 2015 and 2022. Going without that All-Star duo may have even helped Golden State get to the position they did.

However, this last selection has and will continue to prove nothing short of a disaster. After a league-worst record in 2019-20 with both Curry and Thompson injured, the Warriors missed out on the first overall pick and were consigned to second behind the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves drafted Anthony Edwards, leaving Golden State to take big man James Wiseman. It wasn't all doom and gloom by any means -- it was the right positional fit for the Warriors who had never really had a star center in the Curry-Thompson-Green era.

Yet Wiseman would play only 62 games in less than three seasons for the franchise, before being traded to the Detroit Pistons in a four-team trade last February. Not only was it a disastrous pick for Golden State, but it's been made all the more worse by Edward's rise as one of the league's best young players.

The 22-year-old has been an All-Star in each of the last two years, having averaged 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season. Edwards is currently the best player on a three-seed Timberwolves team who currently find themselves up 2-0 in the first-round against the Phoenix Suns.

The Warriors' prospects would be remarkably different with Edwards on the roster -- not only would they likely still be playing right now rather than watching the playoffs from afar, but they would have someone who could take the franchise mantle once Curry retires.