The 8 Biggest Winners From The 2014 NBA Draft

July 1, 2014 - 6:47 pm by Terrence Watson

NBA Draft night was magical. There were the normal tears of joy from players and parents, the boo’s from the stands filled with Brooklynites when NBA great, and former New York Knicks (mis)manager, Isaiah Thomas appeared on the screen and the thots hovering around clubs waiting to get chose by the newly rich NBA stars.

Lucky for me, American Express invited some media members to experience it all first hand. Amex’s, the NBA’s official credit card partner, invites some members to NBA to enjoy "Off the Court: Roundtable" events like all star weekend, the playoffs and the draft. Once at the Barclays, they took us behind the scenes to walk across the same stage that the players would soon cross, have a meet and greet with the players and enjoy the draft from some pretty dope seats. The night was filled with surprising moves, franchise changing picks and selfies. Lots and lots of selfies.

Thursday was certainly a win for me and the other invitees, but I got to thinking who else won the draft? Read along to find out.

Canada Last season, Anthony Bennet made NBA history by becoming the first Canadian born player picked No.1 overall in the Draft. This year, his hometown homie, former Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins followed up by being picked by the same team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Canada’s influence was all over the draft, with Nik Stauskas and Tyler Ennis, who took over our Instagram for the night, also holding down for the 6. A Draft that features Canadian born stars wouldn't be complete without Drake chiming in and saluting his countrymen.

San Antonio/Kyle Anderson Kyle Anderson went 30th, making him the last pick in the first round, to the San Antonio Spurs. That might sound like a loss, but the dude might have the most perfect fit out of all the player picked last week. The Spurs are all about team first, player development and being fundamental in the game. The same can be said about Anderson, who most experts say is the classes best passer. It almost seems like destiny that Anderson ended up on Spurs. A few months back, a group of kids asked Anderson which NBA team he wanted to play for and he said San Antonio but never thought it would actually happen. So dope that it did.

Shabazz Napier Shabazz Napier played his heart out in the NCAA championship and after winning his second national title, got a nod from LeBron James. The King doesn’t hand out compliments lightly and we wont say he had everything to do with it, but, well Napier was picked by the Hornets and then acquired by the Heat in draft day trade. Whatever LeBron wants in South Beach, he gets.

Jordan Brand The only other draftee that’s announced what shoe brand he’ll rep is the very unknown Dante Exum from Australia (adidas), who’s headed to a very small market in Utah Jazz. Jordan Brand announced they signed Jabari Parker who went No.2 to the Milwaukee Bucks. A huge win for them because he’s so close to his hometown Chi and he adds a fresh face from an incredible crop of players to team Jumpman. And the oh so subtle way he let be known with the gold Jumpman tie clip was as clutch as his jumper.

Knicks Fans Usually Knicks fans are the most unruly during the draft, ready to boo their organization when they pick the wrong player or a guy no one’s ever heard of. How can you fault them when the team has historically fucked up during the draft and passed on a player who turns out to be who ends up being a star? So how’d Phil Jackson start his Knicks GM tenure? By picking Cleanthony Early, who was projected to go in the first round and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. No boos in Brooklyn on this one.

The Boston Celtics The Celtics ended up with players that, in any other draft, would have been top 5 picks. Last year, Marcus Smart (No.6 pick) was projected as high as number one overall but opted to stay in school. Six isn’t exactly bad, but it just shows how much talent was in picked last week. Boston also picked up Kentucky’s James Young who you might remember did this in the NCAA Championship game.

NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver There’s a bit of tradition that ended on Thursday, where fans boo the NBA commissioner when he comes out to announce the picks of each team. Considering all Adam Silver’s dealt with, especially the Donald Sterling incident, no one had the heart to boo him when he came out. The guy’s just too classy. Then of course he did the following...

Isaiah Austin When commissioner Silver and the NBA family honored Isaiah Austin, who just four days before the draft was diagnosed with a career-ending illness, by drafting him to the NBA symbolically it touched hearts. No eyes were dry in that arena. Austin would have been a first round pick but because of his Marfan syndrome, which affects the body’s connective tissue, he had to withdraw from the draft and can never play again. Both the University of Baylor and the NBA have offered him jobs so he can still have an impact on the game he loves.

In This Story: