No. 1 pick harvester, James has partnered with 9 top picks in his career, can Ayton help James win the championship?

Ayton, who reached a buyout agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers, signed a two-year, $16.6 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent. Ayton was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in 2018. This time he joined the Lakers and joined forces with his same draft pick Luka Doncic.

However, what we care more about is his cooperation with LeBron James as the No. 1 pick. You should know that the last No. 1 pick to work with LeBron James was Anthony Davis. In the 2024-25 season, he was traded by the Los Angeles Lakers to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Luka Doncic.

Now, Ayton joins the Lakers and has become one of the many No. 1 picks that LeBron James has worked with in his career. Ayton is currently the 9th No. 1 pick in LeBron James' career partner. The US media showed the No. 1 picks that LeBron James has worked with in his career, so let's see who they are. He has played side by side with the other No. 1 picks for 14 seasons.

08, 09 season: Joe Smith, as the No. 1 pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist in his career. During the 2007-08 season and 2008-09 season, he partnered with LeBron James. In the mid-2008-09 season, he was traded to the Thunder. Joe Smith, 32, was at the end of his personal career. His best honor is the first team of the best rookie team.

10 season: O'Neal

As the No. 1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, he averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists in his career. O'Neal is one of the greatest players in NBA history, with the top five centers in history. He partnered with LeBron James in the 2009-10 season. He was 37 years old at the time and averaged only 12 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist. He only partnered with LeBron James for one season, then joined the Celtics for one season, and retired directly.

14 season: Oden

As the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, he averaged 8 points, 6 rebounds and 0.5 assists in his career. He joined the Miami Heat in the 2013-14 season and partnered with LeBron James. Oden is a superstar player who was ruined by injuries. He only played for two seasons with the Trail Blazers and was directly reimbursed for several seasons until he joined the Heat partner LeBron James. However, after that season, he never returned to the NBA.

15-17 season: Irving

As the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, he averaged 23 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in his career. Kyrie Irving is the star that LeBron James finally won with the No. 1 pick after he left the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the offseason in 2014. The two started working together from the 2014-15 season until they parted ways after the 2016-17 season. In three seasons, they led the team to the finals three times and won the championship in the 2015-16 season. At that time, the Cleveland Cavaliers were behind 1-3, and the two played super-godly and led the team to reverse. There have been many rumors of the two working together again in the past few seasons. Kyrie Irving has renewed his contract with the Dallas Mavericks, and LeBron James has chosen the player option for the 2025-26 season and continues to stay with the Lakers.

17 season: Bogut joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016-17 season, but he only played for 1 minute and was reimbursed for the season.

18 season: Derek Ross, as the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, averaged 17 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists in his career. Derek Ross played for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017-18 season and spent a short time with LeBron James. He played only 16 games with the Cavaliers, averaging 9 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Due to injuries and personal emotional problems, he left the Knights and joined the Utah Jazz. When Derek Ross was healthy, the Chicago Bulls he led was one of LeBron James' most fierce competitors.

20-24 season: Anthony Davis, as the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists in his career. Anthony Davis forced the New Orleans Pelicans to conquer the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019, joined the Los Angeles Lakers, and partnered with LeBron James, and won the championship in the 2019-20 season. Returning to the Western Conference Finals in 2023, unfortunately he lost to the Denver Nuggets and missed the opportunity to win the championship again. In the 2024-25 season, the team was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Luka Doncic because of many public criticisms and complaints about the team's unwillingness to strengthen the inside.

19, 21 seasons: Dwight Howard played for the Lakers in the 2019-20 season and 2021-22 season. In the 2019-20 season, 34-year-old Dwight Howard helped the Lakers win the championship and also won the only championship in his personal career. Average 7 points and 7 rebounds per game. In the 2021-22 season, the 36-year-old Dwight Howard averaged 6 points and 5 rebounds per game, and the Lakers missed the playoffs. Dwight Howard has never returned to the NBA since that season.

25 season: Ayton

As the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, he averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist in his career. Ayton played for the Portland Trail Blazers last season, averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds. Joining the Lakers this time is also hopeful to win the NBA championship and give you a chance to sign a big contract.