| 1997 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | June 25, 1997 |
| Location | Charlotte Coliseum (Charlotte, North Carolina) |
| Network | TNT |
| Overview | |
| 57 total selections in2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) |
| Hall of Famers | |
The1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, atCharlotte Coliseum inCharlotte, North Carolina.The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win theNBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with theToronto Raptors they were not allowed to select first in this draft. Although theBoston Celtics had the second-worst record in the1996–97 season and the best odds (36 percent) of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs lostDavid Robinson andSean Elliott to injury early in the season, finished with the third-worst record, and subsequently won the lottery. Leading up to the draft, there was no doubt thatTim Duncan would be selected at No. 1 by the Spurs as he was considered to be far and away the best prospect. After Duncan, the rest of the draft was regarded with some skepticism.[1] The Celtics had the third and sixth picks, selectingChauncey Billups andRon Mercer, both of whom were traded in the next two years.
Duncan became the Spurs' franchise player and in a 19-year career spent entirely in San Antonio, he led the Spurs to five NBA championships, winningNBA Finals MVP in three of those campaigns. In addition, Duncan was a two-timeNBA MVP, 15-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA and 15-time All-Defensive team selection. Billups went on to earn five All-Star selections and won Finals MVP honors in2004 with theDetroit Pistons. The ninth pick,Tracy McGrady, captured twoNBA scoring titles and was named to seven All-Star and All-NBA teams.
TheWashington Wizards forfeited their 1997 first-round pick in connection with the signing ofJuwan Howard. (Washington would have had the 17th pick.) Thus, the draft only had 28 first-round selections and 57 selections overall.
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| PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for at least oneAll-Star Game andAll-NBA Team |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for at least oneAll-Star Game |
| # | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular-season or playoff game |
| ~ | Denotes player who has been selected asRookie of the Year |
These players eligible for the 1997 NBA Draft were not selected but played in the NBA.
This year saw a continued rise of collegiate underclassmen and other players of similar nature declaring entry into the NBA draft. This year initially saw a total of 47 eligible players enter the draft at first, but seven of these players (includingCory Carr fromTexas Tech University, formerDePaul University playerRonnie Fields from theSt. Paul Slam! in theInternational Basketball Association, theGreek bornDimitrios Papanikolaou of theOlympiacos Piraeus B.C. inGreece, Larell Redic fromUtah State University, Dawood Thomas from theCalifornia University of Pennsylvania, theTurkish-Yugoslavian bornMirsad Türkcan of theEfes Pilsen inTurkey, and theArgentinian-Spanish bornLucas Victoriano of theOlimpia Venado Tuerto inArgentina) would later decline their entry for this year's draft. Including the likes of high school phenomTracy McGrady fromMount Zion Christian Academy, theSlovenian bornMarko Milič of theSmelt Olimpija inSlovenia, and formerCentral Connecticut State University playerKeith Closs of the Norwich Neptunes from the Atlantic Basketball Association minor league, the number of qualified underclassmen would increase from 37 only in college to 40 total players. Regardless, the followingcollege basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[3]
Gracen Averil – G,Texas Tech (junior)Tony Battie – F/C,Texas Tech (junior)Chauncey Billups – G,Colorado (sophomore) Carl Blanton – F,Sinclair CC (junior)Mark Blount – C/F,Pittsburgh (sophomore)
C. J. Bruton – G,Indian Hills CC (sophomore) Dan Buie – F,Washburn (junior)James Cotton – G,Long Beach State (junior) Tony Doyle – F,Columbia (junior) Ian Folmar – F,Slippery Rock (junior)Danny Fortson – F,Cincinnati (junior)
Adonal Foyle – C/F,Colgate (junior) Darryl Hardy – F,Winston–Salem State (junior) Antjonne Holmes – F,Central Baptist (freshman)Troy Hudson – G,Southern Illinois (junior)Marc Jackson – F/C,TempleStephen Jackson – F/G,Butler CC (freshman) Ed Jenkins – F,Ohio State (junior) Marcus Johnson – F,Long Beach State (junior)Damon Jones – G,Houston (junior) Nate Langley – G,George Mason (junior) Keith Love – G,Rosary (junior)Gordon Malone – F,West Virginia (junior) Amere May – F,Shaw (junior) Elgie McCoy – F,Kutztown (junior)Ron Mercer – G/F,Kentucky (sophomore)Victor Page – G,Georgetown (sophomore) Shawn Ritzie – G,Norwalk CC (sophomore)Paul Rogers – F/C,Gonzaga (junior) Bryon Ruffner – F,BYU (junior)
Olivier Saint-Jean –San Jose State (junior)Mark Sanford – F,Washington (junior)God Shammgod – G,Providence (sophomore)Maurice Taylor – F,Michigan (junior)Tim Thomas – F,Villanova (freshman) Mark Young – F,Kansas State (junior)This would be the third year in a row where high school players were allowed entry into the NBA draft after previously only doing it back in1975. However, only one player would go directly from high school to enter the NBA this year. The following high school player successfully applied for early draft entrance.[3]
This year, only one international born player would officially enter the NBA draft after seeing three other international players initially declare their interest in entering this year's draft. The following international player successfully applied for early draft entrance.[3]
Marko Milič – G/F,Smelt Olimpija (Slovenia)This year marked the third time in NBA history (the first two times being in1971 and1987) that an eligible underclassman player of sorts would declare entry for an NBA draft by playing minor league basketball within the U.S.A. first (as well as have it be the first time that it wouldn't involve theContinental Basketball Association or its previous name in the Eastern Basketball Association). It would also be the fourth time that a player would declare entry while also playing in another American basketball league, with the second case of this occurring in1973 with David Brent being allowed entry into the NBA draft despite him already playing for theCarolina Cougars of the rivalingAmerican Basketball Association at the time.
| Player | Team | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Closs | Norwich Neptunes (Atlantic Basketball Association) | LeftCentral Connecticut in 1996; playing professionally since the 1996–97 season | [4] |
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