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 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 ten 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 (Garnett was the first Minnesota Timberwolf to play in an NBA All-Star Game), 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. 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.

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. 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.

The Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors were not able to win the NBA draft lottery, due to pre-negotiated rules. This was extended into the 1997–1998 season.

Draft

Notable undrafted players

The following players went undrafted in the 1995 NBA Draft, but later played at least one game in the NBA.

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.

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.

• United States Cory Alexander – G, Virginia (junior)
• United States Mario Bennett – F, Arizona State (junior)
• United States Chris Carr – G/F, Southern Illinois (junior)
• United States Michael Evans – Norfolk State (junior)
• United States Rashard Griffith – C, Wisconsin (sophomore)
• United States Martin Lewis – Seward CC (sophomore)
• United States Antonio McDyess – F, Alabama (sophomore)
• United States Joe Smith – F, Maryland (sophomore)
• United States Jerry Stackhouse – G, North Carolina (sophomore)
• United States Scotty Thurman – F, Arkansas (junior)
• United States Gary Trent – F, Ohio (junior)
• United States David Vaughn III – F, Memphis (junior)
• United States Rasheed Wallace – F, North Carolina (sophomore)
• United States Corliss Williamson – F, Arkansas (junior)
• United States 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.

• United States Kevin Garnett – F, Farragut Academy (Chicago, Illinois)

Invited attendees

The 1995 NBA draft is considered to be the eighteenth 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 SkyDome in Toronto, Canada), 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 commissioner at the time. 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. Despite the high number of invites, the only notable absence for this year's draft was Theo Ratliff from the University of Wyoming. Even so, the following players were invited to attend this year's draft festivities live and in person.

• United States Michael Finley – SG/SF, Wisconsin
• United States Sherell Ford – SF/PF, UIC
• United States Kevin Garnett – PF, Farragut Academy (Chicago, Illinois)
• United States Alan Henderson – PF, Indiana
• United States Antonio McDyess – PF, Alabama
• United States Ed O'Bannon – SF, UCLA
• United States Cherokee Parks – C, Duke
• United States Bryant Reeves – C, Oklahoma State
• United States Shawn Respert – SG, Michigan State
• United States Joe Smith – PF, Maryland
• United States Jerry Stackhouse – SG/SF, North Carolina
• United States Damon Stoudamire – PG, Arizona
• United States Bob Sura – SG, Florida State
• United States Kurt Thomas – PF/C, Texas Christian
• United States Gary Trent – PF, Ohio
• United States Rasheed Wallace – PF/C, North Carolina
• United States Corliss Williamson – PF, Arkansas

See also

• List of first overall NBA draft picks

External links