1995 NBA 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, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. 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. Garnett would go on to gather fifteen All Star selections, eight 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.
| 1995 NBA Draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | June 28, 1995 |
| Location | SkyDome (Toronto, Ontario) |
| Network(s) | TNT |
| Overview | |
| 58 total selections in 2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Joe Smith (Golden State Warriors) |
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 of the biggest busts in NBA history, 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]
Draft
| 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 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 |
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- 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.
Notable undrafted players
The following players went undrafted in the 1995 NBA Draft but later played in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Amaechi | C |  |
Penn State (Sr.) |
| Corey Beck | PG |  |
Arkansas (Sr.) |
| Rick Brunson | G | |
Temple (Sr.) |
| John Coker | C | |
Boise State (Sr.) |
| Nate Driggers | SG | |
Montevallo (Sr.) |
| Devin Gray | SF | |
Clemson (Sr.) |
| Thomas Hamilton | C | |
Pittsburgh (So.) |
| Michael Hawkins | PG | |
Xavier (Sr.) |
| Gerard King | SF | |
Nicholls State (Sr.) |
| Matt Maloney | G | |
Penn (Sr.) |
| Clint McDaniel | SG | |
Arkansas (Sr.) |
| Kevin Ollie | G | |
Connecticut (Sr.) |
| James Scott | SF | |
St. John's (Sr.) |
| Larry Sykes | PF | |
Xavier (Sr.) |
Trades involving Draft picks
Draft-day trades
The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.
- 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.
References
- NBA Draft Busts – Joe Smith
- Millea, John (2000). "Lonewolf". The Sporting News.
- CNNSI.com: Say It Ain't So – Vancouver Grizzlies
- NBA Draft busts, Sports Illustrated
- Bleacher Report – The NBA's Biggest Draft Busts Of the Last 20 Years
- http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nba&id=1962444 ESPN – Shawn Respert's NBA career was stunted by cancer