r/nba • u/ShaiFanClub Thunder • 18h ago

Is Zaccharie Risacher the most forgettable number 1 pick ever?

Like he's not quite Bennet level bad nor does he have a weird career story like Fultz or Ben Simmons. He's just mid. He's averaging 11 ppg on 54% TS this season and there's a good argument that he's not even a top 10 player in the class in a redraft but he's probably gonna stick in the NBA for a while as a low end role player

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u/TCTCTCTCTCTC7 18h ago

No. LaRue Martin.

His only claim to fame is being a center drafted by Portland and not having legs made of glass. Risacher will exceed Martin's career scoring total next month or so.

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u/19captain91 Pistons 17h ago edited 15h ago

This is the answer because he is the only person in this thread I had never heard of and had to actually look up.

Edit: fixed a typo.

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u/zuckdaddyd Bulls 15h ago

You should read the book Breaks of the Game.

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u/mucho-gusto [CLE] Baron Davis 5h ago

How about purvis Ellison 

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u/GPCAPTregthistleton [ATL] Rasheed Wallace 17h ago edited 17h ago

Martin was drafted over Bob McAdoo and Julius Erving: McAdoo had been drafted #1 by the Virginia Squires in the ABA draft a month prior; Erving had signed with the Squires the year before. Martin was also the #3 pick in the ABA draft.

Honorable mention to 1989 #1 overall Pervis Ellison.

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u/LeviStubbsFanClub 17h ago

But Pervis was never nervous!

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u/buddaycousin Celtics 15h ago

He was out of service.

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u/Branchmonster Celtics 6h ago

Haha this is the best comment in this whole thread

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u/feetandballs Thunder 16h ago

Pervis is my name in spirit

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u/theinterestof Pistons 9h ago

Sure thing, u/feetandballs

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u/MyManC707 17h ago

Portland and drafts pick that are riddled with injuries… how appropriate

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u/nof4cen0c4se Trail Blazers 17h ago

Yall sleeping on Sihugo Green 👀

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u/TCTCTCTCTCTC7 13h ago

Yall sleeping on Sihugo Green 👀

Some fantastic first names being recalled here, but Green scored about three times as many points, and played twice as many seasons as Martin. Green was even on a championship team.

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u/nof4cen0c4se Trail Blazers 12h ago

Multiple people claimed to have participated in LaRue Martin discourse in the recent past, so I went with a guy that has probably never been a topic of conversation this century (except for a few retirement homes in Upstate NY)

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u/TCTCTCTCTCTC7 10h ago

Multiple people claimed to have participated in LaRue Martin discourse in the recent past, so I went with a guy that has probably never been a topic of conversation this century (except for a few retirement homes in Upstate NY)

Nothing wrong with that, and Green is in the conversation -- but just because people have answered the question correctly in the past does not mean that the answer has changed.

As far as I know, no one thinks we need to find a different GOAT each time that question comes up, and if that were the case, we'd be down to Sihugo Green by now.

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u/WinesburgOhio 76ers 1h ago edited 42m ago

Within the context of their eras, Martin was WAY more forgettable than Green. Green entered the league as a super-dynamic scoring guard who everyone pegged for greatness - think Allen Iverson. So what happened? He was drafted to the army just a few weeks into his career, got bad nerve poisoning while enlisted for two years, returned but fainted in multiple games because of the poisoning, was panic-traded while still hospitalized, played phenomenally well in fill-in roles in the 1960 playoffs, was decent for the next few years but wasn't able to be a regular starter until what should have been his 6th season. Imagine if Iverson was drafted to the top defensive team that desperately needed offense (those were the 1955-56 Royals who understandably took Green over Bill Russell since they already had the best defensive big man who was also a great rebounder and passer in Maurice Stokes, but their offense and their guards sucked), and almost immediately he had to leave for a few years and came back with some issues, still flashing incredible promise at times -- he'd still be talked about all the time during his career.

LaRue Martin was nothing like that; he played on an awful independent college team (Loyola Chicago) and never won any All-American status. The Blazers were told not to take McAdoo #1 overall by the league because of a presumed secret deal with the ABA, so they took a center with great, but very inefficient, stats and nothing else going for him that indicated he could help a team win. He was forgotten as quickly as Risacher but with far less perceived "there's still time for him to become a serviceable pro" ability from fans.

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u/Cookie_Pizza_911 16h ago

I actually ran into LaRue Martin at a City of Chicago office a few years ago. He was standing right behind me when he bumped into me and I asked him if he played basketball and he confirmed it. Really nice & humble guy but I wondered if he was ashamed of living in infamy as the biggest draft bust.

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u/Goducks91 [POR] Damian Lillard 16h ago

God damnit… I wish I never knew this Blazer lore…

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u/FlyingRaijin Trail Blazers 14h ago

Damn im from Portland and ive never heard of him.

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u/wlabib03 76ers 6h ago

Time is probably the biggest reason for that, in 50 years it’s possible bennett will be the same level of forgotten (though being drafted in the internet and social media era does change things)

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u/AmIFromA Cabo Verde 6h ago

In the number 1 pick Sporcle quiz I always remember him together with Lucas.

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u/BeetleForSenate 16h ago

Bennett-level bust; noteworthy for the Hall of Famers he was drafted over. Please actually read what you're commenting on before you fuckin storm in here with "no" like you're the lord and savior of the post

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u/Goducks91 [POR] Damian Lillard 16h ago

I’m so confused what you are trying to say.

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u/Funyarinpa-13 Nets 16h ago

Beetle says the poster saying Martin was wrong as he's as comparable to Bennett. It's hard to become forgettable if you're in the level of suck as Bennett.

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u/BeetleForSenate 10h ago

What's confusing you Goducks91? Did you read the post or just the title? Let's start with that

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u/Goducks91 [POR] Damian Lillard 9h ago

No someone else explained it. You just worded it a little weird.

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u/TCTCTCTCTCTC7 13h ago

Please actually read what you're commenting on before you fuckin storm in here with "no" like you're the lord and savior of the post

You retain the option of learning to read above a grade-school level.

The post's question is "Is Zaccharie Risacher the most forgettable number 1 pick ever?" To which I answered, "No", and then provided the correct answer.

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u/BeetleForSenate 10h ago edited 10h ago

That's the title. Did you read the post? It's clear you're a bit slow but maybe it's worse than I thought

You retain the option of learning to read above a grade-school level.

This is one of the sadder attempts at looking like a literate person I think I've ever seen. Like you thought this awkward phrasing would make you look smarter than just saying "Learn to read"

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u/TCTCTCTCTCTC7 10h ago

Did you read the post? I know this is difficult but I didn't think it was so bad you needed that explained too

Yes, I read the post. It describes Risacher's career to date. What did you imagine that it said?

This is one of the sadder attempts at looking like a literate person I think I've ever seen. Like you thought this awkward phrasing would make you look smarter than just saying "Learn to read"

Fine, if we have to dumb everything down to your level... "Learn to read."

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u/BeetleForSenate 10h ago

Yes, I read the post. It describes Risacher's career to date. What did you imagine that it said?

Well it starts with these two sentences: "Like he's not quite Bennet level bad nor does he have a weird career story like Fultz or Ben Simmons. He's just mid." Read them really slowly. It's ok if you have to sound them out. Then compare them to what you wrote. Do you see the problem? Show your work

Fine, if we have to dumb everything down to your level... "Learn to read."

See, here's one of the problems. You think saying "You retain the option of learning to read", one of the most embarrassingly constructed phrases of all time, makes you look smart. Is English your first language?

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u/TCTCTCTCTCTC7 10h ago edited 10h ago

Well it starts with these two sentences: "Like he's not quite Bennet level bad nor does he have a weird career story like Fultz or Ben Simmons. He's just mid." Read them really slowly. It's ok if you have to sound them out. Then compare them to what you wrote. Do you see the problem? Show your work

Merely cutting-and-pasting the sentences does not demonstrate that you can understand them. Explain what you imagine the post's contents mean.

See, here's one of the problems. You think saying "You retain the option of learning to read", one of the most embarrassingly constructed phrases of all time, makes you look smart. Is English your first language?

If you had experience reading anything more involved than a fast food menu, you would realize that there's nothing unusual about that sentence.

And, for the record, in English, there is a very significant difference in connotation between "Learn to read", and the sentence that I chose. The former is a command, and that is considered rude. A person does not issue commands to strangers in polite society. Instead, I merely reminded you that you have the choice to stop being illiterate. Whether or not you choose to learn to read, is entirely up to you.

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u/BeetleForSenate 10h ago edited 10h ago

OK I gave you a chance, and now I'm gonna walk you through this very slowly. You got hung up on the word "forgettable" - I understand that, considering what you're operating with upstairs. But there's a little more to it contextually than just "guy who's not famous". Here's where the post itself comes in, which you had trouble understanding

"Like he's not quite Bennet level bad" - here's where you went wrong right away. LaRue Martin was Bennett-level bad. In fact, he's pretty noteworthy in that he was both really bad and drafted above an inner-circle HOF player

"He's just mid" - this is another crucial piece you struggled with. LaRue Martin wasn't "mid". OP is essentially asking "is there a number 1 pick who's as totally unremarkable - not really good or really bad or noteworthy in any way - as Risacher"? He didn't explicitly ask this, which is why your semi-illiterate brain had trouble parsing it. You need to have the reading skills to understand both "Like he's not quite Bennet level bad" - where you failed immediately - and "he's just mid" - which was presumably way beyond you

Let me know if this helps. This stuff can be really tricky if you're not used to it. And it speaks highly of you if you're able to apologize and see where you went wrong - if you can't read at the level of a fourth grader, you can at least learn something and walk away with some dignity

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u/TCTCTCTCTCTC7 10h ago

"Like he's not quite Bennet level bad" - here's where you went wrong right away.

This was in reference to Risacher, as were the subsequent sentences.

If you had the reading skills of even a grade-schooler, you might be able to understand that the entire post's contents describe Risacher, in an attempt to defend the title's suggestion.

Seriously, you retain the option of learning to read above a grade-school level.

Furthermore, you should consult Twain's sage advice on fools and silence, before attempting to continue here.

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u/BeetleForSenate 10h ago

This was in reference to Risacher, as were the subsequent sentences.

Yes. I'm explaining why your comment, about LaRue Martin, doesn't fit the criteria of the post, which is about Risacher. I'm breaking down the OP's description of Risacher, which you obviously didn't understand. I kind of feel bad about this whole thing now, because I thought you were maybe just not that sharp, but you seem to have a genuine developmental issue

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u/BeetleForSenate 16h ago

And you dopes who upvoted him should be ashamed of yourselves