1989 NBA draft
The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn Kemp, Glen Rice, Sean Elliott, Nick Anderson, Dana Barros, Tim Hardaway, Vlade Divac, Clifford Robinson, B. J. Armstrong and Mookie Blaylock.[1][2]
1989 NBA draft | |
---|---|
General information | |
Sport | Basketball |
Date(s) | June 27, 1989 |
Location | Felt Forum (New York City) |
Network(s) | TBS |
Overview | |
54 total selections in 2 rounds | |
League | NBA |
First selection | Pervis Ellison (Sacramento Kings) |
The draft was reduced from three rounds in the previous year to the two-round format that is still in use to the present day.[3][2] As a result, NBA drafts from this season until 1995 produced the lowest number of total draft picks selected at 54 overall selections.
This was the first draft for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic, prior to their inaugural season. This was also the first draft televised prime time on U.S. national television.[4]
Draft selections

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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 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 |
Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Nationality[n 1] | NBA team | School/Club team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Pervis Ellison | PF | ![]() |
Sacramento Kings | Louisville (Sr.) |
1 | 2 | Danny Ferry | PF | ![]() |
Los Angeles Clippers | Duke (Sr.) |
1 | 3 | Sean Elliott+ | SF/SG | ![]() |
San Antonio Spurs | Arizona (Sr.) |
1 | 4 | Glen Rice* | SF | ![]() |
Miami Heat | Michigan (Sr.) |
1 | 5 | J. R. Reid | PF/C | ![]() |
Charlotte Hornets | North Carolina (Jr.) |
1 | 6 | Stacey King | C | ![]() |
Chicago Bulls (from New Jersey) | Oklahoma (Sr.) |
1 | 7 | George McCloud | SG/SF | ![]() |
Indiana Pacers | Florida State (Sr.) |
1 | 8 | Randy White | PF | ![]() |
Dallas Mavericks | Louisiana Tech (Sr.) |
1 | 9 | Tom Hammonds | PF/C | ![]() |
Washington Bullets | Georgia Tech (Sr.) |
1 | 10 | Pooh Richardson | PG | ![]() |
Minnesota Timberwolves | UCLA (Sr.) |
1 | 11 | Nick Anderson | SF/SG | ![]() |
Orlando Magic | Illinois (Jr.) |
1 | 12 | Mookie Blaylock+ | PG | ![]() |
New Jersey Nets (from Portland) | Oklahoma (Sr.) |
1 | 13 | Michael Smith | PF | ![]() |
Boston Celtics | BYU (Sr.) |
1 | 14 | Tim Hardaway^ | PG | ![]() |
Golden State Warriors | UTEP (Sr.) |
1 | 15 | Todd Lichti | SG | ![]() |
Denver Nuggets | Stanford (Sr.) |
1 | 16 | Dana Barros+ | PG | ![]() |
Seattle SuperSonics (from Houston via Golden State) | Boston College (Sr.) |
1 | 17 | Shawn Kemp* | PF/C | ![]() |
Seattle SuperSonics (from Philadelphia) | Concord (Elkhart, Indiana) |
1 | 18 | B. J. Armstrong+ | PG | ![]() |
Chicago Bulls | Iowa (Sr.) |
1 | 19 | Kenny Payne | PF | ![]() |
Philadelphia 76ers (from Seattle) | Louisville (Sr.) |
1 | 20 | Jeff Sanders | PF/C | ![]() |
Chicago Bulls (from Milwaukee via Seattle) | Georgia Southern (Sr.) |
1 | 21 | Blue Edwards | SF/SG | ![]() |
Utah Jazz | East Carolina (Sr.) |
1 | 22 | Byron Irvin | SG | ![]() |
Portland Trail Blazers (from New York) | Missouri (Sr.) |
1 | 23 | Roy Marble | SG/SF | ![]() |
Atlanta Hawks | Iowa (Sr.) |
1 | 24 | Anthony Cook | PF/C | ![]() |
Phoenix Suns (traded to Detroit)[5] | Arizona (Sr.) |
1 | 25 | John Morton | PG | ![]() |
Cleveland Cavaliers | Seton Hall (Sr.) |
1 | 26 | Vlade Divac^ | C | ![]() |
Los Angeles Lakers | KK Partizan (Yugoslavia) |
1 | 27 | Kenny Battle | PF | ![]() |
Detroit Pistons (traded to Phoenix)[5] | Illinois (Sr.) |
2 | 28 | Sherman Douglas | G | ![]() |
Miami Heat | Syracuse (Sr.) |
2 | 29 | Dyron Nix | F | ![]() |
Charlotte Hornets | Tennessee (Sr.) |
2 | 30 | Frank Kornet | F | ![]() |
Milwaukee Bucks | Vanderbilt (Sr.) |
2 | 31 | Jeff Martin | G | ![]() |
Los Angeles Clippers | Murray State (Sr.) |
2 | 32 | Stanley Brundy | F | ![]() |
New Jersey Nets | DePaul (Sr.) |
2 | 33 | Jay Edwards | G | ![]() |
Los Angeles Clippers | Indiana (So.) |
2 | 34 | Gary Leonard | C | ![]() |
Minnesota Timberwolves | Missouri (Sr.) |
2 | 35 | Pat Durham | F | ![]() |
Dallas Mavericks | Colorado State (Sr.) |
2 | 36 | Clifford Robinson+ | PF/C | ![]() |
Portland Trail Blazers | Connecticut (Sr.) |
2 | 37 | Michael Ansley | F | ![]() |
Orlando Magic | Alabama (Sr.) |
2 | 38 | Doug West | G/F | ![]() |
Minnesota Timberwolves | Villanova (Sr.) |
2 | 39 | Ed Horton | PF/C | ![]() |
Washington Bullets | Iowa (Sr.) |
2 | 40 | Dino Rađa^ | PF | ![]() |
Boston Celtics | KK Split (Yugoslavia) |
2 | 41 | Doug Roth | C | ![]() |
Washington Bullets | Tennessee (Sr.) |
2 | 42 | Michael Cutright# | SG | ![]() |
Denver Nuggets | McNeese State (Sr.) |
2 | 43 | Chucky Brown | PF | ![]() |
Cleveland Cavaliers | NC State (Sr.) |
2 | 44 | Reggie Cross# | PF | ![]() |
Philadelphia 76ers | Hawaii (Sr.) |
2 | 45 | Scott Haffner | G | ![]() |
Miami Heat | Evansville (Sr.) |
2 | 46 | Ricky Blanton | F | ![]() |
Phoenix Suns | LSU (Sr.) |
2 | 47 | Reggie Turner# | SF | ![]() |
Denver Nuggets | UAB (Sr.) |
2 | 48 | Junie Lewis# | PG | ![]() |
Utah Jazz | South Alabama (Sr.) |
2 | 49 | Haywoode Workman | G | ![]() |
Atlanta Hawks | Oral Roberts (Sr.) |
2 | 50 | Brian Quinnett | F | ![]() |
New York Knicks | Washington State (Sr.) |
2 | 51 | Mike Morrison | G | ![]() |
Phoenix Suns | Loyola (MD) (Sr.) |
2 | 52 | Greg Grant | G | ![]() |
Phoenix Suns | Trenton State (Sr.) |
2 | 53 | Jeff Hodge# | SG | ![]() |
Dallas Mavericks | South Alabama (Sr.) |
2 | 54 | Toney Mack# | SG | ![]() |
Philadelphia 76ers | Georgia (Jr.) |
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1989 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
---|---|---|---|
Raymond Brown | PF | ![]() |
Idaho (Sr.) |
Torgeir Bryn | PF/C | ![]() |
Texas State (Sr.) |
Steve Bucknall | SG/SF | ![]() |
North Carolina (Sr.) |
Adrian Caldwell | PF | ![]() |
Lamar (Sr.) |
Chris Childs | SG | ![]() |
Boise State (Sr.) |
Lanard Copeland | SG | ![]() ![]() |
Georgia State (Sr.) |
Terry Davis | PF/C | ![]() |
Virginia Union (Sr.) |
Tony Dawson | SF | ![]() |
Florida State (Sr.) |
Byron Dinkins | PG | ![]() |
Charlotte (Sr.) |
Aleksandar Đorđević | SG | ![]() |
Partizan Belgrade (Yugoslavia) |
Terry Dozier | SF | ![]() |
South Carolina (Sr.) |
Paul Graham | SG/SF | ![]() |
Ohio (Sr.) |
Alvin Heggs | SF | ![]() |
Texas (Sr.) |
Mike Higgins | PF | ![]() ![]() |
Northern Colorado (Sr.) |
Tom Hovasse | SF | ![]() |
Penn State (Sr.) |
Jaren Jackson | SG | ![]() |
Georgetown (Sr.) |
Eric Johnson | PG | ![]() ![]() |
Nebraska (Sr.) |
Thomas Jordan | PF | ![]() |
Oklahoma State (So.) |
Stan Kimbrough | PG | ![]() |
Xavier (Sr.) |
Jeff Lebo | SG | ![]() |
North Carolina (Sr.) |
Clifford Lett | PG | ![]() |
Florida (Sr.) |
Mel McCants | SF/PF | ![]() |
Purdue (Sr.) |
Charles Smith | PG/SG | ![]() |
Georgetown (Sr.) |
Jay Taylor | SG/SF | ![]() |
Eastern Illinois (Sr.) |
Leonard Taylor | PF | ![]() |
California (Sr.) |
Gundars Vētra | SG/SF | ![]() |
VEF Rīga (Soviet Union) |
Kennard Winchester | SF/SG | ![]() |
Averett (Sr.) |
Howard Wright | SF/PF | ![]() |
Stanford (Sr.) |
Early entrants
College underclassmen
The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[6]
Nick Anderson – G, Illinois (junior)
Rudy Bourgarel – C, Marist (junior)
Martin Den Hengst – C, Sheridan (freshman)
Jay Edwards – G, Indiana (sophomore)
Benny Green – G, Tennessee–Chattanooga (junior)
Shawn Kemp – F, Trinity Valley CC (freshman)
Toney Mack – G, Georgia (junior)
J. R. Reid – F, North Carolina (junior)
Maurice Selvin – G, Puget Sound (sophomore)
Alex Soyebo – C, Northland Pioneer (freshman)
Johnny Steptoe – F, Southern (sophomore)
Richard Whitmore – G, Brown (junior)
International players
The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[6]
Vlade Divac – C, Partizan (Yugoslavia)
Notes
- Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.
References
- "1989 NBA draft".
- "NBA Past Drafts - RealGM".
- "1989 NBA draft".
- "NBA Draft Will Move To Prime-Time on TBS". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. March 15, 1989. pp. D4.
- The Pistons traded the rights to Kenny Battle and Micheal Williams to the Suns for rights to Anthony Cook on the draft day.
Berry, Walter (June 28, 1989). "Associatred Press sports news". Associated Press. - "1989 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. August 4, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2022.