1995 NBA draft
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox sports draft The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams that were added for 1995–96 season, the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies (who relocated to Memphis in 2001). Kevin Garnett, who was taken fifth in this draft, is notable for being the first player in two decades to be selected straight out of high school (which would become more common over the next eleven drafts until the age requirement was increased to 19 years old in 2005 creating the one-and-done player). Garnett ultimately gathered fifteen All Star selections, nine All-NBA selections (four of those being First-Teams), one NBA MVP award, and multiple other accolades. Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse also had successful careers, being four-time and two-time All-Stars respectively. Wallace won an NBA championship in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons, while Stackhouse scored the most total points in the league in 2000, also with the Pistons.
The other remaining top selections had relatively productive careers, but were considered to have never reached their full potential. Joe Smith put up solid, but unspectacular numbers throughout his career and is generally considered a disappointment for a first overall selection. He was also involved in a salary cap scandal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.[1][2] Antonio McDyess was a one-time All-Star, but serious and continuing knee injuries decreased much of his effectiveness in the prime of his career. Damon Stoudamire was the 1995–96 NBA Rookie of the Year and had a solid career although he was arrested, suspended and fined several times for marijuana possession. Bryant Reeves impressed early in his career but a season after being granted a six-year, $61.8 million contract extension, his numbers went down due to weight and back problems and he retired after only playing six NBA seasons, all with the Vancouver Grizzlies.[3]
This draft was also notable for two storied NCAA players who failed to meet lofty expectations in the NBA, Ed O'Bannon and Shawn Respert.[4] O'Bannon had received national accolades for leading the UCLA Bruins to the NCAA Championship, but only played two years in the NBA. Respert played only four seasons in the NBA, while secretly hiding that he was suffering from stomach cancer.[5][6]
The Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors were not able to win the NBA draft lottery, due to pre-negotiated rules. This would extend into the 1997–1998 season.
Draft
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| G | Guard | PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | F | Forward | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
Notable undrafted players
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Trades involving Draft picks
Draft-day trades
The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.
- <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>a The Los Angeles Clippers traded Randy Woods and the draft rights of Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Rodney Rogers and the draft rights to Brent Barry.
Early entrants
College underclassmen
For the first time since 1982, the NBA would officially see college underclassmen players withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. Originally, nineteen underclassmen (including one player that was playing overseas at the time and one high schooler) had declared their entry for this year's draft, but the Lithuanian born Zydrunas Ilgauskas from Lithuania's Atletas Kaunas alongside Rodrick Rhodes from the University of Kentucky and John Wallace from the University of Syracuse would all officially withdraw their names from this year's draft before it began, which left only fifteen total underclassmen directly from college. However, this year would also be the first time since 1975 where high schoolers would be declared as eligible underclassmen for the NBA. As such, the official underclassmen count would increase from fifteen to sixteen total players with the inclusion of Farragut Academy standout phenom power forward Kevin Garnett, which started an eleven-year long trend of high school players declaring their eligibility for the NBA. Even so, the following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[7]
- Template:Flagicon Cory Alexander – G, Virginia (junior)
- Template:Flagicon Mario Bennett – F, Arizona State (junior)
- Template:Flagicon Chris Carr – G/F, Southern Illinois (junior)
- Template:Flagicon Michael Evans – Norfolk State (junior)
- Template:Flagicon Rashard Griffith – C, Wisconsin (sophomore)
- Template:Flagicon Martin Lewis – Seward CC (sophomore)
- Template:Flagicon Antonio McDyess – F, Alabama (sophomore)
- Template:Flagicon Joe Smith – F, Maryland (sophomore)
- Template:Flagicon Jerry Stackhouse – G, North Carolina (sophomore)
- Template:Flagicon Scotty Thurman – F, Arkansas (junior)
- Template:Flagicon Gary Trent – F, Ohio (junior)
- Template:Flagicon David Vaughn III – F, Memphis (junior)
- Template:Flagicon Rasheed Wallace – F, North Carolina (sophomore)
- Template:Flagicon Corliss Williamson – F, Arkansas (junior)
- Template:Flagicon Darroll Wright – G, Missouri Western (junior)
High school players
This year marked the first year since 1975 where high school players would be allowed entry into the NBA directly from high school. However, only one player during this year would go and take that route for this year. The following high school player successfully applied for early draft entrance.[7]
See also
References
External links
Template:NBA Drafts Template:NBA Draft history by team Template:1995 NBA draft Template:1995–96 NBA season by team Template:NBA on TNT Template:NBA Radio Network
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- ↑ NBA Draft busts, Sports Illustrated
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