Being the first overall pick in the draft and then winning a championship with the franchise that selected you is against the odds. In fact, in the four major sports, it has happened with just 15 players since 1986 -- about 12 percent. In three instances -- with the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Antonio Spurs -- the team had two players taken first overall before winning a title. And in some other cases, the top pick wasn't the primary factor in the team's title run. Here's a look at those players:
NBA
1987: David Robinson, Spurs
Robinson was an NBA MVP, a scoring champion and a Dream Team selection, but he never got to the Finals until Tim Duncan showed up.
1997: Tim Duncan, Spurs
Duncan teamed with Robinson to win titles in 1999 and 2003, then won three more.
NFL
1989: Troy Aikman, Cowboys
Aikman went 0-11 as a starter during his rookie season in 1989, but eventually led Dallas to three Super Bowl titles in a four-year span.
1991: Russell Maryland, Cowboys
Maryland went to the Pro Bowl once but never developed into a dominant defensive lineman. The more important pick for the Cowboys came in 1990 when they took running back Emmitt Smith at 17th overall.
1993: Drew Bledsoe, Patriots
Bledsoe led New England to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI, a loss to Green Bay. But when the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI against the Rams, Bledsoe was Tom Brady's backup. Bledsoe had opened that season, 2001, as the starter but got hurt in the second game. Brady remained the starter. But in the AFC championship game against Pittsburgh, Brady was injured and Bledsoe came off the bench to throw the game-winning touchdown pass.
1998: Peyton Manning, Colts
Hard to believe, but there was some actual debate at the time about whether Manning or Ryan Leaf should be the top pick.
2004: Eli Manning, Giants
You can make the case that Eli shouldn't even be on this list. Technically the Chargers made the pick, but since the trade with the Giants had been agreed upon, we'll include him for the purposes of this discussion. Manning was MVP of Super Bowls XLII and XLVI with wins against the Patriots.
NHL
1988: Mike Modano, Stars
Modano helped the Minnesota North Stars reach the 1991 Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Penguins, led by Mario Lemieux (who just missed the cutoff for this list as the first overall pick in 1984). The franchise, which moved to Dallas in 1993, won the Stanley Cup in 1998 when they beat the Sabres in the Final.
1998: Vincent Lecavalier, Lightning
The first overall pick originally belonged to Florida, but the Panthers had traded it earlier in the season to San Jose for Viktor Kozlov. Then the Sharks swung a deal with the Lightning that sent hard-hitting defenseman Bryan Marchment to San Jose in a package that gave Tampa Bay the option to swap first-round positions. That's how the Lightning moved from second to first. Lecavalier helped the Lightning win the 2004 Stanley Cup. The Sharks and Panthers are still looking for first Cup.
2003: Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins
No goaltender has gone first overall since Fleury. The second overall pick this year, center Eric Staal, went to Carolina and helped the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in 2006.
2005: Sidney Crosby, Penguins
Crosby was the centerpiece to the Penguins' 2009 Stanley Cup championship team, but Pittsburgh had stocked up on some other high picks Fleury, Evgeni Malkin (second overall in 2004) and Jordan Staal (second overall in 2006).
2007: Patrick Kane, Blackhawks
Kane has helped the Blackhawks win three Stanley Cups, and he was the Conn Smythe winner as playoff MVP in 2013. But he also stepped into a favorable situation with Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook already on board in Chicago.
MLB
1990: Chipper Jones, Braves
By the time Jones made his MLB debut, the Braves had gone to the World Series in 1991 and 1992. He missed the 1994 season with injury, but in his first full season, Jones helped the Braves win the 1995 World Series, beating the Indians in six games.
1998: Pat Burrell, Phillies
The Red Sox drafted Burrell out of high school in the 43rd round, but he opted to play in college with the Miami Hurricanes where he had a career batting average of .442. After the Phillies drafted him No. 1 in 1998, Burrell reached the majors in May 2000. Burrell's best season was 2005 when he finished seventh in the voting for N.L. MVP after hitting 32 home runs with a career-high 117 RBI. In his final season with Philadelphia, he hit 33 homers and helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series.
2006: Luke Hochevar, Royals
The Dodgers drafted Hochevar twice, but they weren't able to sign him. When he went back into the draft for the third time in 2006, Kansas City grabbed him. Hochevar never developed into a consistent starter, but became a solid middle reliever. He worked two scoreless innings to earn the win in Game 5 of the 2015 World Series when the Royals closed out the Mets.
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