| 2001 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | June 27, 2001 |
| Location | The Theater at Madison Square Garden (New York City, New York) |
| Network | TNT |
| Overview | |
| 57 total selections in2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Kwame Brown (Washington Wizards) |
| Hall of Famers | 2 |
The2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001, inNew York City, New York.Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by theWashington Wizards, over players that have gone on to have more successful NBA careers, has been a source of great criticism by numerous media outlets.[1] Several international players from this draft,Pau Gasol (Spain),Tony Parker (France) andMehmet Okur (Turkey), becameNBA All-Stars.
TheMinnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round pick due tosalary cap violations.[2] It would be the first of two first rounders that would have to forfeit their picks during the early 2000s.
Eight of the players selected in this draft would never play in an NBA game in their professional basketball careers. Both of the players drafted by theNew York Knicks (Michael Wright andEric Chenowith) were among this group.
The final remaining active player from this draft wasJoe Johnson, who retired from the NBA following the2022 season. Thus, no active players remain from this class.
| G | Guard | PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | F | Forward | 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 were not selected in the draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Position | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Arroyo | PG |  Puerto Rico | FIU (Sr.) |
| Charlie Bell | G |  United States | Michigan State (Sr.) |
| Tierre Brown | G | United States | McNeese State (Sr.) |
| Joe Crispin | PG | United States | Penn State (Sr.) |
| Maurice Evans | SG/SF | United States | Texas (Jr.) |
| Tang Hamilton | SF | United States | Mississippi State (Sr.) |
| Walter Herrmann | SF |  Argentina | Atenas de Córdoba (Argentina) |
| Horace Jenkins | PG | United States | William Paterson (Sr.) |
| Jamario Moon | SF | United States | Meridian CC (Fr.) |
| Andrés Nocioni | PF/SF | Argentina | TAU Cerámica (Spain) |
| Dean Oliver | PG | United States | Iowa (Sr.) |
| Norman Richardson | G | United States | Hofstra (Sr.) |
| Paul Shirley | PF | United States | Iowa State (Sr.) |
| Cezary Trybański | C |  Poland | Znicz Pruszków (Poland) |
| Ratko Varda | C |  Yugoslavia | Partizan (Serbia) |
| Mike Wilks | PG | United States | Rice (Sr.) |
This year would officially mark the very first year where the number of underclassmen that declared their entry into the NBA draft would exceed the number of selections made with 75 players that fit the underclassmen criteria declaring their initial entry for the NBA draft. However, it would also mark the largest number of dropped players yet with 23 of those players either coming from college or overseas deciding to withdraw from the draft for one reason or another. The followingcollege basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[14]
Gilbert Arenas – G,Arizona (sophomore)Brandon Armstrong – G,Pepperdine (junior) Malcolm Battles – F,Point Mark (junior)Tavorris Bell – F,Rhode Island (junior) Preston Bennett – F,Grayson (freshman)Michael Bradley – F,Villanova (junior)Jamison Brewer – G,Auburn (sophomore)Kedrick Brown – F,Okaloosa-Walton CC (sophomore)SirValiant Brown – G,George Washington (sophomore) Nick Burwell – G,Orange Coast (sophomore)Jason Collins – C,Stanford (junior)Omar Cook – G,St. John's (freshman)
Samuel Dalembert – C/F,Seton Hall (sophomore)Maurice Evans – G,Texas (junior)
Benjamin Eze – F,Southern Idaho (freshman)Alton Ford – F,Houston (freshman)Joseph Forte – G,North Carolina (sophomore)Jerry Green – G,UC Irvine (junior)Eddie Griffin – F,Seton Hall (freshman) Rob Griffin – F,Kentucky Wesleyan (junior)Trenton Hassell – G,Austin Peay (junior)Kirk Haston – F,Indiana (junior) Draper Housley – G,Lee College (sophomore)Steven Hunter – C/F,DePaul (sophomore)Richard Jefferson – F,Arizona (junior)Joe Johnson – F/G,Arkansas (sophomore) D. A. Layne – G,Georgia (junior) Zach Marbury – G,Rhode Island (sophomore)Jamario Moon – F,Meridian (freshman)Troy Murphy – F,Notre Dame (junior)Zach Randolph – F,Michigan State (freshman)Jason Richardson – G,Michigan State (sophomore)Kenny Satterfield – G,Cincinnati (sophomore)Bobby Simmons – F,DePaul (junior)Will Solomon – G,Clemson (junior) Clifton Terry – F,Kennedy–King (sophomore)Gerald Wallace – F/G,Alabama (freshman)Rodney White – F,Charlotte (freshman)Michael Wright – F,Arizona (junior)This would be the seventh straight year in a row where at least one high school player would declare their entry into the NBA draft directly out of high school after previously only allowing it one time back in1975. This year would also mark the year with the highest amount of players coming directly out of high school yet with six players deciding to make the jump into an opportunity at the NBA (though only five of them would get it). Not only that, but it marked the first time that a high schooler would be taken as the #1 pick of the NBA draft. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[14]
Kwame Brown – F,Glynn Academy (Brunswick, Georgia)Tyson Chandler – F/C,Dominguez High School (Compton, California)
Ousmane Cisse – F,St. Jude Educational Institute (Montgomery, Alabama)Eddy Curry – C/F,Thornwood High School (South Holland, Illinois)
DeSagana Diop – C,Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) Tony Key – C,Centennial High School (Compton, California)The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[14]
Denis Ershov – C, Pulkovo Saint Petersburg (Russia)
Antonis Fotsis – F,Panathinaikos (Greece)
Pau Gasol – F,FC Barcelona (Spain)Raül López – G,Real Madrid (Spain)
Tony Parker – G,Paris Basket Racing (France)
Vladimir Radmanović – F,FMP (FR Yugoslavia)| Player | Team | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
 Robertas Javtokas | Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) | LeftArizona in 2000; playing professionally since the 2000–01 season | [15] |
Haiti but grew up and spent his childhood in Canada, where he later became a citizen in 2007.
