The impact of number one overall picks to a team's success

What does it mean when you get the top pick in the draft? Well, it means two things. One, your team probably was in bad shape the previous season, and two, it means your team is very lucky because there is a great chance you’ll get someone who can be a fixture for a very long time.

Since the draft was held in 1985, only a number have been able to make a meaningful impact, in terms of bringing a winning structure to their respective teams.

Marlou Aquino (1st pick, 1996 PBA Draft) + 30
If there was one person who made an impact to a team right in his first stint, it was Marlou Aquino. Ginebra tanked the whole season to ensure that they get the first crack at Marlou Aquino. Marlou would engineer a major turnaround right in his rookie season and carried the Gin Kings to a 35-29 mark, a 30-win improvement from the previous season! Marlou Aquino was the hands-down choice for the ROY award and gained a spot in the Mythical Selection.

Dennis Espino (1st pick, 1995 PBA Draft) + 16
The Espino pick came at the heels of the Realtors’ worst season in the pros. Coach Nat Canson practically rebuilded the team during the 1994 season and inserted a Visayan flavor (Montoy Singson, Vidal Labrada, Expidito Falcasantos, Jesus Baclayon, and Max Delantes) to the roster. The plan was a big bust but it ultimately paved the way for the drafting of Espino with the first pick of the 1995 PBA Draft. Espino just helped UST win its four straight crown and his tandem with the team’s resident superstar Jun Limpot helped the Realtors improve to 27-23 after a dismal 11-28 1994 season. Despite Espino’s brilliance, he was only second to eventual ROY winner Jeffrey Cariaso of Alaska.

Andy Seigle (1st pick, 1997 PBA Draft) + 13
Andy Seigle was the singlemost reason why Mobiline improved to 13 wins after a lackluster 1996 season which saw the Phonepals carrying a W-L slate of 7-28. Seigle was only a reserve player for the University of New Orleans but carried with him a rich experience of playing in a NCAA Division I level. For his efforts, he was accorded with the ROY plum at the end of the year.

Vergel Meneses (1st pick, 1992 PBA Draft) + 10
Meneses was a master showman, a playmaker, a slasher, a high leaper, a guy who can seemingly do it all. It was only logical therefore that he was the draft’s first overall pick despite the presence of talented big men Jolly Escobar and Kevin Ramas. Meneses carried Presto on his backs and help improve the team to 10 wins from the previous season. Meneses lost out to bestfriend Bong Ravena in the ROY race.

Benjie Paras (1st pick, 1989 PBA Draft) + 9
“The Tower of Power” couldn’t have come in at a much better time. Shell lacked frontcourt firepower which Paras immediately provided. He teamed with quarterback Ronnie Magsanoc to give Shell a terrific inside-outside combo that carried the Shell Turbochargers to a respectable 27-30 W-L record (a nine-win jump over the previous season) and gained instant respect from the rest of the league. Paras made the history books as the only man who has won ROY and MVP honors in the same season.

Some number 1 picks, however really struggled with their game during their rookie years but got a lot of help from their teammates which ultimately paved the way for their teams gaining double digit winning improvements from the previous season. Among those were the following:

Peter Jao (1st pick, 1990 PBA Draft) + 22
Apet Jao was a scorching scorer back in his amateur days but he was a flop in the pros. He helped Presto register a 22-win improvement from the previous season but it was not more of his contribution to the team. Allan Caidic was having a fantastic (MVP) year and another rookie guard – Gerry Esplana (a second round pick) - surprised everyone with his fine showing en route to winning the ROY honors at year’s end.

Willie Miller (1st pick, 2001 PBA Draft) + 12
Miller dominated the MBA and vowed to do the same in the PBA. Red Bull was only in its second year in the league and its 16-22 W-L for an expansion team was only average. Miller struggled with his form and experts were soon skeptical if he could ever get his acts together in the pros. Miller performed solidly for the Barakos and help them improve to a 28-23 record, a 12-win jump from the previous season.