| 1996 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | June 26, 1996 |
| Location | Continental Airlines Arena (East Rutherford, New Jersey) |
| Network | TNT |
| Overview | |
| 58 total selections in 2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers) |
| Hall of Famers | 5
|
The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996, at Continental Airlines Arena in East 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. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto Raptors, they were not allowed to select first in this draft.[1] The team with the second-highest probability, the Philadelphia 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]
It is widely considered to be one of the deepest and most talented NBA drafts in history, with one-third of the first-round picks later becoming NBA 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 one All-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 the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2007, while Wallace earned the same award in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. Five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher was also selected in the draft.
The 76ers selected two future Major League Baseball players, Mark Hendrickson and Ryan Minor, with their second-round picks.
Most experts rate it along with the 1984 NBA draft and the 2003 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 of Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Alvin Robertson, and John Stockton.[3]
Key
| PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-NBA Team |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| x | Denotes player 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
Notable undrafted players
.jpg)
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
College underclassmen
This year would officially see a steep climb up of the number of underclassmen declaring their entry into the NBA. While previous years starting in 1971 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 also sticking 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 the Nigerian born Sunday Adebayo from the University of Arkansas, Carlos Knox from IUPUI, Terquin Mott from Coppin State University, Mark Sanford from the University of Washington, Jess Settles from the University of Iowa, and Kebu Stewart from Cal 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 (including Kobe Bryant and Jermaine 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 named Priest Lauderdale previously leaving Central State University to play for the Peristeri B.C. in Greece for a grand total of 36 players that would qualify as underclassmen. That being said, the following college 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 (junior)- 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
This 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 since 1975. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[38]
- Kobe Bryant – G, Lower Merion HS (Lower Merion, Pennsylvania)
- Taj McDavid – G, Palmetto HS (Williamston, South Carolina)
- Jermaine O'Neal – F, Eau Claire HS (Columbia, South Carolina)
International players
This 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, P.A.O.K. B.C. (Greece)
Peja Stojaković – F, P.A.O.K. B.C. (Greece)
Other eligible players
| Player | Team | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priest Lauderdale
|
Peristeri B.C. (Greece) | Left Central State in 1995; playing professionally since the 1995–96 season | [39] |
Invited attendees
The 1996 NBA draft is considered to be the nineteenth NBA draft to have utilized what's properly considered the "green room" experience for NBA prospects. The NBA's green room is a staging area where anticipated draftees often sit with their families and representatives, waiting for their names to be called on draft night. Often being positioned either in front of or to the side of the podium (in this case, being positioned somewhere within the Continental Airlines Arena[40]), once a player heard his name, he would walk to the podium to shake hands and take promotional photos with the NBA commissioner. From there, the players often conducted interviews with various media outlets while backstage. From there, the players often conducted interviews with various media outlets while backstage. However, once the NBA draft started to air nationally on TV starting with the 1980 NBA draft, the green room evolved from players waiting to hear their name called and then shaking hands with these select players who were often called to the hotel to take promotional pictures with the NBA commissioner a day or two after the draft concluded to having players in real-time waiting to hear their names called up and then shaking hands with David Stern, the NBA's newest commissioner at the time.[41] The NBA compiled its list of green room invites through collective voting by the NBA's team presidents and general managers alike, which in this year's case belonged to only what they believed were the top 17 prospects at the time.[42] Despite the high number of invites and successful draft prospects involved for this year's draft, there would still be some notable absences to not be invited for this year's draft in Shareef Abdur-Rahim from the University of California, Jermaine O'Neal from Eau Claire High School in South Carolina, and arguably Ben Wallace from Virginia Union University. With that in mind, the following players were invited to attend this year's draft festivities live and in person.[40]
- Ray Allen – SG, Connecticut
- Kobe Bryant – SG, Lower Merion High School (Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania)
- Marcus Camby – C, Massachusetts
- Erick Dampier – C, Mississippi State
- Todd Fuller – C, North Carolina State
- Žydrūnas Ilgauskas – C, Atletas Kaunas (Lithuania)
- Allen Iverson – PG, Georgetown
- Kerry Kittles – SG, Villanova
- Stephon Marbury – PG, Georgia Tech
- Walter McCarty – SF/PF, Kentucky
/
Steve Nash – PG, Santa Clara- Vitaly Potapenko – C, Wright State
- Roy Rogers – PF, Alabama
- /
Predrag "Peja" Stojaković – SF, P.A.O.K. B.C. (Greece) - Antoine Walker – SF/PF, Kentucky
- Samaki Walker – PF/C, Louisville
- John Wallace – SF, Syracuse
- Jerome Williams – PF, Georgetown
- Lorenzen Wright – C, Memphis
See also
References
- ^ "Year-by-Year Lottery Probabilities". Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. NBA. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ "Raptors To Pick First After Winning Lottery". NBA.com. May 26, 2006. Retrieved June 3, 2008.
- ^ "NBA's Best Draft Classes". Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. Archived from the original on May 28, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ a b The 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. - ^ a b The Mavericks traded the No. 6 pick and a future pick (#6 pick in 1997 NBA draft) to the Celtics for Eric 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. - ^ a b The Pacers traded No. 23 pick along with Mark Jackson and Ricky Pierce to the Nuggets for No. 10 pick along with Jalen Rose and Reggie Williams on June 13, 1996.
Boeck, Greg (June 14, 1996). "Nuggets begin overhaul, make two trades". USA Today. p. 12C. - ^ a b The Magic traded No. 11 pick and Scott 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 with Tom Gugliotta, No. 13 pick in the 1998 NBA draft, and No. 7 pick in the 2000 NBA draft to the Warriors for Chris Webber on November 17, 1994.
Brown, Clifton (November 18, 1994). "Sign Him, Trade Him: Webber Becomes Bullet". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2008. - ^ The Cavaliers traded Mark 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 center Vlade Divac on July 1, 1996.
Macenka, Joe (July 1, 1996). "Divac Agrees to Charlotte Trade". Associated Press. - ^ The Heat traded No. 16 pick along with Glen Rice, Khalid Reeves, and Matt Geiger for Alonzo Mourning, Pete Myers and LeRon Ellis on November 3, 1995.
Nielsen, David (November 4, 1995). "Heat get Mourning from the Hornets". The Washington Times. p. D1. - ^ a b The Pistons traded the No. 18 pick along with Dennis Rodman to the Spurs for the No. 26 pick along with Sean Elliott and David Wood on October 1, 1993.Adler, Alan L. (October 2, 1993). "Sports News". Associated Press.
- ^ The Spurs traded No. 18 pick along with J.R. Reid and Brad Lohaus to the Knicks for Charles Smith and Monty Williams on February 8, 1996.
Daniels, Graig (February 9, 1996). "Spurs put boots to deal". Financial Post. p. 43. - ^ a b The Hawks traded No. 19 pick along with Kevin Willis to the Heat for No. 45 pick along with Steve Smith and Grant 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 hiring Pat Riley on September 1, 1995.
"Knicks, Heat arrange deal in Riley case". Toronto Star. September 2, 1995. p. F8. - ^ a b c d The Rockets traded No. 22 and No. 51 picks along with Pete Chilcutt, Tim Breaux and the No. 53 pick in the 1997 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 in 2000 NBA draft) on June 26, 1996.
Jackson, Barry (June 27, 1996). "Riley Finds New Forward in Estonia". The Miami Herald. - ^ a b c The 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 to Travis Knight on July 12, 1996.
- ^ The Raptors traded No. 32 pick along with No. 37 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, Tony Massenburg and Ed Pinckney to the 76ers for Sharone 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 for Željko 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 the 1991 NBA draft to the Kings for Mike 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 with Šarūnas Marčiulionis to the Nuggets for Mahmoud 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 for Winston 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 the 1997 NBA draft and Olden Polynice to the Pistons for William Bedford and draft rights to Don 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 the 1999 NBA draft to the Suns for Mark West on August 1, 1994.
"SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL". The New York Times. August 2, 1994. p. B8. - ^ The Magic traded No. 42 pick along with Kenny Gattison to the Grizzlies for Jeff 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 for Eric Leckner on July 25, 1994.
"TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. July 26, 1994. p. B12. - ^ The Cavaliers traded No. 50 pick to the Rockets for Keith 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 the 1994 NBA draft and No. 50 pick in the 1995 NBA draft to the SuperSonics for Sedale 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 with Eurelijus Žukauskas to the Bucks for Eric 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 from the original (PDF) on December 25, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2011. - ^ The Hornets traded a 1996 second-round pick (#55 overall), and a 1997 second-round pick (#48 overall) to the Wizards for Michael Adams on August 2, 1994.
"Predrag Drobnjak". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2011. - ^ The Magic traded No. 56 pick to the Cavaliers for Steve Kerr on December 3, 1992.
"PEOPLE TRANSACTIONS". The Gazette. December 4, 1992. p. C4. - ^ The Mavericks traded Rodney 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. Retrieved April 13, 2011. - ^ a b c "1996 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. August 4, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ "Priest Lauderdale". The Draft Review. June 3, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ a b "1996 Green Room Invites - the Draft Review". Retrieved December 29, 2025.
- ^ Maurer, Matthew (February 18, 2024). "Draft Broadcasts - The Draft Review". The Draft Review. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
- ^ "Green Room - The Draft Review". The Draft Review. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
External links
- "Official site". NBA.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 1996. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - 1996 NBA Draft at Basketball-reference.com
