1990 NBA draft
The 1990 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1990, in New York City, New York. One of the standouts of this draft is Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton.[1][2] He became a nine-time All-Star, achieved the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 1996, won an NBA Championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, holds many statistical records during his tenure with the since rebranded and relocated Seattle SuperSonics, and was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2013.
1990 NBA draft | |
---|---|
General information | |
Sport | Basketball |
Date(s) | June 27, 1990 |
Location | Felt Forum (New York City, New York) |
Network(s) | TNT |
Overview | |
54 total selections in 2 rounds | |
League | NBA |
First selection | Derrick Coleman (New Jersey Nets) |
The top pick of the draft was Syracuse's Derrick Coleman who was selected by the New Jersey Nets. In total, 52 of the 54 players selected went on to play at least one competitive game in the NBA, and six players were at some point of their career selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game. One player who had been projected to be a lottery pick as well as possibly the number one by media outlets and draft analysts was Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers, who died of a heart condition in March 1990 after collapsing during a game.
Draft selections





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 | Derrick Coleman* | PF/C | ![]() |
New Jersey Nets | Syracuse (Sr.) |
1 | 2 | Gary Payton^ | PG | ![]() |
Seattle SuperSonics (from Golden State via Seattle) | Oregon State (Sr.) |
1 | 3 | Chris Jackson[n 2] | PG | ![]() |
Denver Nuggets (from Miami) | LSU (So.) |
1 | 4 | Dennis Scott | SG/SF | ![]() |
Orlando Magic | Georgia Tech (Jr.) |
1 | 5 | Kendall Gill | SG | ![]() |
Charlotte Hornets | Illinois (Sr.) |
1 | 6 | Felton Spencer | C | ![]() |
Minnesota Timberwolves | Louisville (Sr.) |
1 | 7 | Lionel Simmons | SF | ![]() |
Sacramento Kings | La Salle (Sr.) |
1 | 8 | Bo Kimble | SG | ![]() |
Los Angeles Clippers | Loyola Marymount (Sr.) |
1 | 9 | Willie Burton | SG | ![]() |
Miami Heat (from Washington via Dallas and Denver) | Minnesota (Sr.) |
1 | 10 | Rumeal Robinson | PG | ![]() |
Atlanta Hawks (from Golden State) | Michigan (Sr.) |
1 | 11 | Tyrone Hill+ | PF | ![]() |
Golden State Warriors (from Atlanta) | Xavier (Sr.) |
1 | 12 | Alec Kessler | PF | ![]() |
Houston Rockets (traded to Miami for Carl Herrera and the rights to Dave Jamerson) | Georgia (Sr.) |
1 | 13 | Loy Vaught | PF | ![]() |
Los Angeles Clippers (from Cleveland) | Michigan (Sr.) |
1 | 14 | Travis Mays | PG | ![]() |
Sacramento Kings (from Indiana via Dallas) | Texas (Sr.) |
1 | 15 | Dave Jamerson | SG | ![]() |
Miami Heat (from Denver; traded with Carl Herrera to Houston for the rights to Alec Kessler) | Ohio (Sr.) |
1 | 16 | Terry Mills | SF | ![]() |
Milwaukee Bucks | Michigan (Sr.) |
1 | 17 | Jerrod Mustaf | PF/C | ![]() |
New York Knicks | Maryland (Sr.) |
1 | 18 | Duane Causwell | C | ![]() |
Sacramento Kings (from Dallas) | Temple (Sr.) |
1 | 19 | Dee Brown | SG | ![]() |
Boston Celtics | Jacksonville (Sr.) |
1 | 20 | Gerald Glass | SF/SG | ![]() |
Minnesota Timberwolves (from Philadelphia) | Ole Miss (Sr.) |
1 | 21 | Jayson Williams+ | PF/C | ![]() |
Phoenix Suns | St. John's (Sr.) |
1 | 22 | Tate George | SG | ![]() |
New Jersey Nets (from Chicago) | Connecticut (Sr.) |
1 | 23 | Anthony Bonner | PF/SF | ![]() |
Sacramento Kings (from Utah) | Saint Louis (Sr.) |
1 | 24 | Dwayne Schintzius | C | ![]() |
San Antonio Spurs | Florida (Sr.) |
1 | 25 | Alaa Abdelnaby | PF | ![]() |
Portland Trail Blazers | Duke (Sr.) |
1 | 26 | Lance Blanks | PG/SG | ![]() |
Detroit Pistons | Texas (Sr.) |
1 | 27 | Elden Campbell | PF/C | ![]() |
Los Angeles Lakers | Clemson (Sr.) |
2 | 28 | Les Jepsen | C | ![]() |
Golden State Warriors | Iowa (Sr.) |
2 | 29 | Toni Kukoč^ | SF | ![]() |
Chicago Bulls (from Orlando) | KK Split (Yugoslavia) |
2 | 30 | Carl Herrera | PF | ![]() |
Miami Heat | Houston (Jr.) |
2 | 31 | Negele Knight | PG | ![]() |
Phoenix Suns | Dayton (Sr.) |
2 | 32 | Brian Oliver | SG | ![]() |
Philadelphia 76ers | Georgia Tech (Sr.) |
2 | 33 | Walter Palmer | C | ![]() |
Utah Jazz | Dartmouth (Sr.) |
2 | 34 | Kevin Pritchard | PG | ![]() |
Golden State Warriors | Kansas (Sr.) |
2 | 35 | Greg Foster | PF/C | ![]() |
Washington Bullets | UTEP (Sr.) |
2 | 36 | Trevor Wilson | SF | ![]() |
Atlanta Hawks | UCLA (Sr.) |
2 | 37 | A. J. English | SG | ![]() |
Washington Bullets | Virginia Union (Sr.) |
2 | 38 | Jud Buechler | SF | ![]() |
Seattle SuperSonics | Arizona (Sr.) |
2 | 39 | Steve Scheffler | C/PF | ![]() |
Charlotte Hornets | Purdue (Sr.) |
2 | 40 | Bimbo Coles | PG | ![]() |
Sacramento Kings | Virginia Tech (Sr.) |
2 | 41 | Steve Bardo | SG | ![]() |
Atlanta Hawks | Illinois (Sr.) |
2 | 42 | Marcus Liberty | SF | ![]() |
Denver Nuggets | Illinois (So.) |
2 | 43 | Tony Massenburg | PF/C | ![]() |
San Antonio Spurs | Maryland (Sr.) |
2 | 44 | Steve Henson | PG | ![]() |
Milwaukee Bucks | Kansas State (Sr.) |
2 | 45 | Antonio Davis+ | PF/C | ![]() |
Indiana Pacers | UTEP (Sr.) |
2 | 46 | Kenny Williams | SF/PF | ![]() |
Indiana Pacers | Barton CC (Fr.) |
2 | 47 | Derek Strong | PF | ![]() |
Philadelphia 76ers | Xavier (Jr.) |
2 | 48 | Cedric Ceballos+ | SF | ![]() |
Phoenix Suns | Cal State Fullerton (Sr.) |
2 | 49 | Phil Henderson# | SG | ![]() |
Dallas Mavericks | Duke (Sr.) |
2 | 50 | Miloš Babić | C | ![]() |
Phoenix Suns | Tennessee Tech (Jr.) |
2 | 51 | Tony Smith | SG/PG | ![]() |
Los Angeles Lakers (from San Antonio) | Marquette (Sr.) |
2 | 52 | Stefano Rusconi | PF/C | ![]() |
Cleveland Cavaliers | Ranger Varese (Italy) |
2 | 53 | Abdul Shamsid-Deen# | C | ![]() |
Seattle SuperSonics | Providence (Sr.) |
2 | 54 | Sean Higgins | SG/SF | ![]() |
San Antonio Spurs (from L.A. Lakers) | Michigan (Jr.) |
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1990 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
---|---|---|---|
Keith Askins | F | ![]() |
Alabama (Sr.) |
Cedric Ball | SF | ![]() |
Charlotte (Sr.) |
David Benoit | SF | ![]() |
Alabama (Sr.) |
Matt Bullard | F | ![]() |
Iowa (Sr.) |
Rick Calloway | SG | ![]() |
Kansas (Sr.) |
Richard Coffey | SF | ![]() |
Minnesota (Sr.) |
Marty Conlon | PF/C | ![]() |
Providence (Sr.) |
Michael Curry | SG/SF | ![]() |
Georgia Southern (Sr.) |
Dan Godfread | C | ![]() |
Evansville (Sr.) |
Andrés Guibert | PF/C | ![]() |
Cantera Instituto Manuel Fajardo (Cuba) |
Tony Harris | SG | ![]() |
New Orleans (Sr.) |
Skeeter Henry | SG | ![]() |
Oklahoma (Sr.) |
Brian Howard | SF | ![]() |
NC State (Sr.) |
Kurk Lee | PG | ![]() |
Towson (Sr.) |
Ian Lockhart | SF | ![]() |
Tennessee (Sr.) |
Tharon Mayes | SG | ![]() |
Florida State (Sr.) |
Chris Munk | PF | ![]() |
USC (Sr.) |
Melvin Newbern | SG | ![]() |
Minnesota (Sr.) |
Dan O'Sullivan | C/PF | ![]() |
Fordham (Sr.) |
Alan Ogg | C | ![]() |
UAB (Sr.) |
Anthony Pullard | PF | ![]() |
McNeese State (Sr.) |
Eldridge Recasner | G | ![]() |
Washington (Sr.) |
Larry Robinson | SF/SG | ![]() |
Centenary (Sr.) |
Irving Thomas | PF | ![]() |
Florida State (Sr.) |
Stephen Thompson | SG | ![]() |
Syracuse (Sr.) |
Andy Toolson | SG/SF | ![]() |
BYU (Sr.) |
Scott Williams | C/PF | ![]() |
North Carolina (Sr.) |
Early entrants
College underclassmen
The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[4]
Kelvin Ardister – F, Idaho (junior)
Herb Barthol – C, Cleveland State (junior)
Gabriel Estaba – F, South Alabama (junior)
David Shon Henderson – G, Idaho (junior)
Carl Herrera – F, Houston (junior)
Sean Higgins – F, Michigan (junior)
Chris Jackson – G, LSU (sophomore)
Marcus Liberty – F, Illinois (junior)
Kenny Miller – F, Barton County CC (junior)
Jerrod Mustaf – F, Maryland (sophomore)
Dennis Scott – F, Georgia Tech (junior)
Per Stumer – F, Loyola Marymount (junior)
Kenny Williams – F, Elizabeth City State (sophomore)
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.
- Chris Jackson changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1993.[3]
References
- Magazine, Dime (October 4, 2007). "NBA Rumors - Trades - Free Agents - Basketball Olympics - Dime Magazine » Blog Archive » The H.O.F. Watch - Gary Payton". Dimemag.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
- "ESPN.com - NBA - DAILY DIME: SPECIAL EDITION10 greatest point guards ever". Sports.espn.go.com. May 11, 2006. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
- Eddie Maisonet (March 25, 2014). "Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: Here, gone and quickly forgotten". SB⋆NATION. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- "1990 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. August 4, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- "Jesse Spinner 1990 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. December 16, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2022.