The Ten Highest NBA Draft Picks EVER That Were Born in New York State

As of October 2023, New York was the third-most popular birthplace for players currently in the National Basketball Association, per Bleacher Report. Only California and Ohio have produced more modern-day NBA players than the Empire State, according to the source.

The laundry list of players from New York is pretty impressive; Rudy Gay, Andre Drummond, Tobias Harris, Taj Gibson, Donovan Mitchell and the great Kevin Huerter are just a few of the New Yorkers to suit up in the current NBA.

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In addition to being the birthplace for a fair share of NBA regulars, it's also the birthplace for a handful of top overall draft picks across NBA history. There have indeed been a few players, born here in New York, who have walked across the stage to shake the commissioner's hand as the first (or second) overall pick.

READ MORE: One Famous Athlete Born in Each of the Capital Region’s 11 Counties

With some help from the experts at Stacker and Basketball Reference, we cobbled together a list of the highest overall draft picks, in NBA history, that were born in the state of New York.

The timeline for this list is fairly broad; the earliest draft year included in our list is 1953, with the most recent year being 2007.

Without further ado, here are the ten highest draft selections EVER in the NBA that were born in the Empire State. Which player on our list was your favorite to watch?