There is no position in basketball more impactful than the wing, so why have they been ignored in the draft for so long?

When it comes to the NBA, talent trumps everything. There have been very few occasions where a less talented team finishes the year as champions, and because of that, few things are more important than the NBA Draft.

The draft is where championship cores are built, and history shows that no position is more valuable than the wing position.

A team can never have too much wing depth, but when it comes to the draft, wings hardly finish first.

The two greatest players to ever play, Michael Jordan and LeBron James , could be considered wings, so why does the position continue to be overlooked?

The NBA’s ‘Big Man’ Blueprint

The league’s obsession with big men has finally died down

Before the 1990s, the NBA was a centers league, and to this day, teams have been infatuated with the idea of drafting a dominant force in the middle.

Though many teams have been successful with that strategy, there have been a few more failures than successes.

Number of 1st Overall Picks By Position Since 1976
PG	SG	SF	PF	C
8	2	6	14	19

Just looking at the last few years alone, big men like Deandre Ayton and Karl-Anthony Towns have underachieved as No. 1 options. These two, in particular, have had much more success excelling in lesser roles for their respective teams.

That said, they are still some of the lucky ones.

Centers like Michael Olowokandi, drafted in 1998, and Greg Oden in 2007, saw their careers slowly dwindle, while their wing counterparts approached Hall of Fame status.

Imagine if the Los Angeles Clippers selected Vince Carter or the hometown hero Paul Pierce with the first overall pick instead of Olowokandi.

What if the Portland Trail Blazers chose Kevin Durant in 2007?

Despite the constant success of wing players throughout the league’s history, they are never highly touted in the draft, especially in today’s NBA.

As teams progress to a much more perimeter-based style of play, centers have slowly but surely fallen out of favor, but rather than transitioning toward drafting wings, more guards have been selected No. 1 than ever before.

A Guard-Oriented League

As teams transition into the 3-point era, guards are favored

Given that most guards today carry a significant load offensively, it only makes sense that teams direct their attention to that position. Still, as more organizations shift their focus toward the perimeter, they often lose sight of what’s in front of them.

Guards Selected First Overall Since 1980
Player	Position	Draft
Allen Iverson	SG/PG	1996
Derrick Rose	PG	2008
John Wall	PG	2010
Kyrie Irving	PG/SG	2011
Ben Simmons	PG/PF	2016
Markelle Fultz	PG/SG	2017
Anthony Edwards	SG	2020
Cade Cunningham	PG	2021

Imagine if the Washington Wizards took Paul George in 2010 instead of John Wall , or if the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Kawhi Leonard instead of Kyrie Irving in 2011.

Not only would the fortunes of those teams be different, but the league would be as well.

Wings have been the most dominant position in the sport for a long time, and as the league continues to evolve, they evolve right along with it.

Arguably the best duo in the league, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown , consists of two dynamic wings capable of doing it all. When it came to drafting their stars, the Boston Celtics were ahead of the curve.

Despite having the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics received the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft after trading with the Brooklyn Nets in 2013. Instead of using their pick to select Washington standout Markelle Fultz , the team traded its pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the third pick and selected Tatum.

In hindsight, the Celtics certainly won the trade, but during that time, many thought Fultz was the better prospect, despite Tatum’s elite skill at the wing position.

The amount of versatility and athleticism that comes out of that position is oftentimes what propels teams to a championship level, and the Celtics are a perfect example of that.

It seems only a matter of time before the rest of the league figures that out and follows suit, but when?

It may very well have already taken place in this year’s draft with the Atlanta Hawks drafting Zaccharie Risacher first overall.

And with high school phenoms Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey starting their collegiate careers, the wing renaissance may be in full effect.