The1996 NBA draft was the 50thdraft in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26,1996, atContinental Airlines Arena inEast Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools and non-North American leagues. TheVancouver 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.[1] The team with the second-highest probability, thePhiladelphia 76ers, won the lottery and obtained the first selection. The Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies were second and third, respectively. The Raptors won the first overall pick in 1996, but they had to give that up due to the expansion agreement with the league.[2]
| 1996 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | June 26, 1996 |
| Location | Continental Airlines Arena (East Rutherford,New Jersey) |
| Network(s) | TNT |
| Overview | |
| 58 total selections in2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers) |
It is widely considered to be one of the deepest and most talentedNBA drafts in history, with one-third of the first-round picks later becomingNBA All-Stars. The draft class produced three players who won a combined four NBA MVP awards (Kobe Bryant,Allen Iverson,Steve Nash), seven other drafted players who became All-Stars (Shareef Abdur-Rahim,Ray Allen,Žydrūnas Ilgauskas,Stephon Marbury,Jermaine O'Neal,Peja Stojaković,Antoine Walker), and one undrafted All-Star (Ben Wallace), for a grand total of 11 All-Stars. Moreover, eight players from this draft class have been named to at least oneAll-NBA Team, the most among any draft. The draft class also produced three players who have been named to the NBA's all-defensive first team: Bryant,Marcus Camby, and Wallace. Camby won theDefensive Player of the Year Award in 2007, while Wallace earned the same award in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. Five-time NBA championDerek Fisher was also selected in the draft.
The 76ers selected two future Major League Baseball players,Mark Hendrickson andRyan Minor, with their second-round picks.
Most experts rate it along with the1984 NBA draft,1992 NBA draft, and2003 NBA draft as one of the best drafts in history.Sports Illustrated named it the second-best, behind the 1984 draft, which included a draft class ofHakeem Olajuwon,Michael Jordan,Charles Barkley,Alvin Robertson, andJohn Stockton.[3]
Key
edit| PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
| ^ | Denotesplayer who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotesplayer who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game andAll-NBA Team |
| + | Denotesplayer who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| x | Denotesplayer who has been selected for at least one All-NBA Team |
| # | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game |
Draft selections
edit
Notable undrafted players
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The following are undrafted players of the 1996 NBA Draft but later played in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chucky Atkins | G |  United States | South Florida(Sr.) |
| Ira Bowman | G | United States | Penn(Sr.) |
| William Cunningham | C | United States | Temple(Sr.) |
| Adrian Griffin | F/G | United States | Seton Hall(Sr.) |
| Darvin Ham | F | United States | Texas Tech(Sr.) |
| Ben Handlogten | C | United States | Western Michigan(Sr.) |
| Juaquin Hawkins | F | United States | Long Beach State(Sr.) |
| Rick Hughes | F/C | United States | Thomas More(Sr.) |
| İbrahim Kutluay | G |  Turkey | Fenerbahçe(Turkey) |
| Rusty LaRue | G | United States | Wake Forest(Sr.) |
| Horacio Llamas | C |  Mexico | Grand Canyon(Sr.) |
| Art Long | F | United States | Cincinnati(Sr.) |
| Joe Stephens | F | United States | Little Rock(Sr.) |
| Erick Strickland | G | United States | Nebraska(Sr.) |
| Ben Wallace^ | C/F | United States | Virginia Union(Sr.) |
| Brandon Williams | G/F | United States | Davidson(Sr.) |
Early entrants
editCollege underclassmen
editThis year would officially see a steep climb up of the number of underclassmen declaring their entry into the NBA. While previous years starting in1971 would see a relatively small amount of college underclassmen alongside overseas and even high school players not only officially declare their entry to the draft, but stick with it, this year saw an official total of 42 different players that qualified as underclassmen see an initial entry into the NBA draft. However, six of these players (those being theNigerian bornSunday Adebayo from theUniversity of Arkansas,Carlos Knox fromIUPUI,Terquin Mott fromCoppin State University,Mark Sanford from theUniversity of Washington, Jess Settles from theUniversity of Iowa, andKebu Stewart fromCal State Bakersfield) would ultimately withdraw their initial entry into this year's NBA draft, leaving 29 players that declared for the NBA draft as proper college underclassmen, three high school players (includingKobe Bryant andJermaine O'Neal) entering the NBA draft as high school seniors, three proper international players (including the first two teammates from the same team) entering directly from overseas play, and one player namedPriest Lauderdale previously leavingCentral State University to play for thePeristeri B.C. inGreece for a grand total of 36 players that would qualify as underclassmen. That being said, the followingcollege basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[38]
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim – F,California (freshman)
- Ray Allen – G,Connecticut (junior)
- Marcus Camby – C,Massachusetts (junior)
- Erick Dampier – C,Mississippi State (junior)
- Randy Edney – C,Mount St. Mary's (junior)
- Eric Gingold – C,Williams (junior)
- LeMarcus Golden – G,Memphis (junior)
- Ronnie Henderson – G,LSU (junior)
- Allen Iverson – G,Georgetown (sophomore)
- Willie Jackson – F,Lawson CC (freshman)
- Dontae' Jones – F,Mississippi State (junior)
- Chris Kingsbury – G,Iowa (junior)
- Idris Lee – G,Mount Senario (junior)
- Randy Livingston – G,LSU (sophomore)
- Michael Lloyd – G,Auburn Montgomery (junior)
- Stephon Marbury – G,Georgia Tech (freshman)
Richard Matienzo – F,Miami Dade (freshman)
Dut Mayar Madut – C,Frank Phillips (freshman)- Jeff McInnis – G,North Carolina (junior)
- Chris Nurse – F,Delaware State (junior)
- Jason Osborne – F,Louisville (junior)
- Jessie Pate – G,Arkansas (junior)
Vitaly Potapenko – F/C,Wright State (sophomore)- Darnell Robinson – F/C,Arkansas (junior)
- Greg Simpson – G,West Virginia (junior)
- Kevin Simpson – G,Dixie (sophomore)
- Antoine Walker – F,Kentucky (sophomore)
- Samaki Walker – F,Louisville (sophomore)
- Lorenzen Wright – F,Memphis (sophomore)
High school players
editThis year marked the second year in a row where high school players would be allowed entry into the NBA directly from high school after previously not allowing high schoolers to enter the NBA draft directly since1975. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[38]
- Kobe Bryant – G,Lower Merion HS (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Taj McDavid – G,Palmetto HS (Williamston, South Carolina)
- Jermaine O'Neal – F,Eau Claire HS (Columbia, South Carolina)
International players
editThis year marked the first time that international teammates would declare their entry into the NBA draft simultaneously. The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[38]
Zydrunas Ilgauskas – C,Atletas Kaunas (Lithuania)
Efthimios Rentzias – F/C,PAOK B.C. (Greece)
Peja Stojaković – F,PAOK B.C. (Greece)
Other eligible players
edit| Player | Team | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priest Lauderdale | Peristeri B.C. (Greece) | LeftCentral State in 1995; playing professionally since the 1995–96 season | [39] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Year-by-Year Lottery Probabilities".Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. NBA. Archived fromthe original on July 24, 2008. RetrievedApril 15, 2011.
- ^"Raptors To Pick First After Winning Lottery".NBA.com. May 26, 2006. RetrievedJune 3, 2008.
- ^"NBA's Best Draft Classes".Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. Archived fromthe original on May 28, 2011. RetrievedApril 15, 2011.
- ^abThe Bucks traded the draft rights of Stephon Marbury to the Timberwolves for Ray Allen and a future first-round pick on June 26, 1996.
O'Connor, Ian (June 27, 1996). "Marbury Learns Like A Pro".New York Daily News. p. 88. - ^abThe Mavericks traded the No. 6 pick and a future pick (#6 pick in1997 NBA draft) to the Celtics forEric Montross and a No. 9 pick on June 21, 1996.
May, Peter (June 22, 1996). "Montross shipped to Dallas for the No. 6 pick".The Boston Globe. p. 67. - ^abThe Pacers traded No. 23 pick along withMark Jackson andRicky Pierce to the Nuggets for No. 10 pick along withJalen Rose andReggie Williams on June 13, 1996.
Boeck, Greg (June 14, 1996). "Nuggets begin overhaul, make two trades".USA Today. p. 12C. - ^abThe Magic traded No. 11 pick andScott Skiles to the Bullets for No. 42 pick on July 29, 1994.
Hubbuch, Bart (July 30, 1994). "Bullets make point, get Skiles".The Washington Times. p. C1. - ^The Bullets traded No. 11 pick along withTom Gugliotta, No. 13 pick in the1998 NBA draft, and No. 7 pick in the2000 NBA draft to the Warriors forChris Webber on November 17, 1994.
Brown, Clifton (November 18, 1994)."Sign Him, Trade Him: Webber Becomes Bullet".The New York Times. RetrievedFebruary 25, 2008. - ^The Cavaliers tradedMark Price to the Wizards(then Bullets) for No. 12 pick on September 27, 1995.
Hughes, Frank (September 28, 1995). "Bullets on the Mark with Price ; Club trades No. 1 pick to Cavs; Wallace signs".The Washington Times. p. B1. - ^The Hornets traded the draft rights of Kobe Bryant to the Lakers for centerVlade Divac on July 1, 1996.
Macenka, Joe (July 1, 1996). "Divac Agrees to Charlotte Trade". Associated Press. - ^The Heat traded No. 16 pick along withGlen Rice,Khalid Reeves, andMatt Geiger forAlonzo Mourning,Pete Myers andLeRon Ellis on November 3, 1995.
Nielsen, David (November 4, 1995). "Heat get Mourning from the Hornets".The Washington Times. p. D1. - ^abThe Pistons traded the No. 18 pick along withDennis Rodman to the Spurs for the No. 26 pick along withSean Elliott andDavid Wood on October 1, 1993.Adler, Alan L. (October 2, 1993). "Sports News". Associated Press.
- ^The Spurs traded No. 18 pick along withJ.R. Reid andBrad Lohaus to the Knicks forCharles Smith andMonty Williams on February 8, 1996.
Daniels, Graig (February 9, 1996). "Spurs put boots to deal".Financial Post. p. 43. - ^abThe Hawks traded No. 19 pick along withKevin Willis to the Heat for No. 45 pick along withSteve Smith andGrant Long on November 7, 1994."Atlanta trades Willis to Heat".Financial Post. November 8, 1994. p. 53.
- ^The Heat sent No. 19 pick and $1 million to the Knicks for a right to pursue hiringPat Riley on September 1, 1995.
"Knicks, Heat arrange deal in Riley case".Toronto Star. September 2, 1995. p. F8. - ^abcdThe Rockets traded No. 22 and No. 51 picks along withPete Chilcutt,Tim Breaux and the No. 53 pick in the1997 NBA draft to the Grizzlies for No. 30 and No. 42 picks along with No. 30 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft on June 19, 1996.
Harris, Bill (June 20, 1996). "Grizzlies Deal For Another First-round Pick".The Toronto Sun. p. 115. - ^The Jazz traded the draft rights of Martin Müürsepp to the Heat for a future draft pick (#23 in2000 NBA draft) on June 26, 1996.
Jackson, Barry (June 27, 1996). "Riley Finds New Forward in Estonia".The Miami Herald. - ^abcThe Hawks traded No. 45 and No. 47 picks to the Supersonics for No. 28 pick on June 25, 1996.
"Hawks Regain First-Round Draft Pick in Sonics Trade". Associated Press. June 25, 1996. p. D1. - ^The Chicago Bulls renounced the draft rights toTravis Knight on July 12, 1996.
- ^The Raptors traded No. 32 pick along with No. 37 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft,Tony Massenburg andEd Pinckney to the 76ers forSharone Wright on February 22, 1996.
"Raptors swing deal with Philly".Financial Post. February 23, 1996. p. 64. - ^The Timberwolves traded No. 35 pick to the SuperSonics forŽeljko Rebrača on June 29, 1994.
Cour, Jim (June 30, 1994). "The Associated Press report". Associated Press. - ^The Nets traded No. 37 pick along with No. 31 pick in the1991 NBA draft to the Kings forMike McGee on October 31, 1988.
"Nets Acquire Kings' McGee".The New York Times. November 1, 1988. p. D30. - ^The Kings traded No. 37 pick along withŠarūnas Marčiulionis to the Nuggets forMahmoud Abdul-Rauf on June 13, 1996.
Farine, Michael (June 14, 1996). "Nuggets trade Abdul-Rauf to Kings".The Washington Times. p. B3. - ^The Nuggets traded No. 39 pick to the Clippers forWinston Garland on June 26, 1991.
"Clippers pull off two trades".St. Petersburg Times. June 27, 1991. p. 3C. - ^The Clippers traded No. 39 pick along with No. 41 pick in the1997 NBA draft andOlden Polynice to the Pistons forWilliam Bedford and draft rights toDon MacLean on June 24, 1992.
"Knicks get Blackman in top NBA trade".The Washington Times. June 25, 1992. p. D3. - ^The Pistons traded No. 39 pick along with a No. 49 pick in the1999 NBA draft to the Suns forMark West on August 1, 1994.
"SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL".The New York Times. August 2, 1994. p. B8. - ^The Magic traded No. 42 pick along withKenny Gattison to the Grizzlies forJeff Turner on February 22, 1996.
"Gattison, Turner Swapped". Associated Press. February 22, 1996. - ^Vogel represented Lebanon in international competitions later in his career.
- ^The Pistons traded No. 48 pick to the 76ers forEric Leckner on July 25, 1994.
"TRANSACTIONS".The New York Times. July 26, 1994. p. B12. - ^The Cavaliers traded No. 50 pick to the Rockets forKeith Hughes on June 26, 1991.
"PICKS BY TEAM".The Washington Post. June 27, 1991. p. B6. - ^Nordgaard would later represent Poland in international competitions.
- ^The Lakers traded No. 53 pick along with No. 37 pick in the1994 NBA draft and No. 50 pick in the1995 NBA draft to the SuperSonics forSedale Threatt on October 2, 1991.
"Lakers Get Threatt From Seattle".The New York Times. October 3, 1991. p. B10. - ^The SuperSonics traded No. 53 pick along withEurelijus Žukauskas to the Bucks forEric Snow on June 28, 1995.
"Wednesday's Sports Transactions". Associated Press. June 29, 1995. - ^The Hornets traded J.R. Reid to the Spurs for Sidney Green, a 1993 first-round pick (#20 overall), and a 1996 second-round pick (#55 overall) on December 9, 1992.
"2007–08 Media Guide: All-time Transactions"(PDF).New Orleans Hornets. NBA. p. 129. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on December 25, 2008. RetrievedApril 11, 2011. - ^The Hornets traded a 1996 second-round pick (#55 overall), and a 1997 second-round pick (#48 overall) to the Wizards forMichael Adams on August 2, 1994.
"Predrag Drobnjak".basketball-reference.com. RetrievedApril 11, 2011. - ^The Magic traded No. 56 pick to the Cavaliers forSteve Kerr on December 3, 1992.
"PEOPLE TRANSACTIONS".The Gazette. December 4, 1992. p. C4. - ^The Mavericks tradedRodney McCray in a 3-team trade with the Bulls and the Warriors for a No. 19 pick in the 1994 draft, No. 58 pick in the 1996 draft on September 18, 1992.
"Byron Houston".basketball-reference.com. RetrievedApril 13, 2011. - ^abc"1996 Underclassmen".The Draft Review. August 4, 2007. RetrievedDecember 15, 2022.
- ^"Priest Lauderdale".The Draft Review. June 3, 2007. RetrievedDecember 15, 2022.
External links
edit- "Official site".NBA.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 1996. Retrieved2013-12-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - 1996 NBA Draft at Basketball-reference.com