1983 NBA draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)June 28, 1983
LocationFelt Forum (New York City, New York)
Network(s)
Overview
226 total selections in 10 rounds
LeagueNBA
First selectionRalph Sampson (Houston Rockets)

The 1983 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1983, in New York City. A total of 226 players were selected over 10 rounds by the league's 23 teams.

The first overall pick of this draft was 7’4” center Ralph Sampson, predicted as an NBA superstar since high school. The three-time College Player of the Year had spent all four years of his college career at the University of Virginia, and was taken first by the Houston Rockets. Displaying his graceful above-the-rim game and ability to run the court like a guard, he got off to a certain Hall of Fame bound start as an NBA All-Star and NBA Rookie of the Year before injuries several seasons in derailed his career.

Sampson was joined in the Hall by University of Houston Cougars standout Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, taken number 14 by the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite there being only 23 teams at the time of the draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers were awarded the 24th pick out of courtesy. Then-owner Ted Stepien was infamous for repeatedly trading first-round picks in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which, considering Cleveland's morose records in that time period, eventually culminated in the NBA creating a rule banning teams from dealing all of their first-round picks in consecutive years.

Four players from the 1983 draft later served or now serve as coaches—Doc Rivers for the Philadelphia 76ers, Randy Wittman for the Washington Wizards, Byron Scott for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2014 to 2016, and point guard of the 1983 NCAA championship North Carolina State Wolfpack Sidney Lowe.

While Scott won the Coach of the Year award in 2008, Rivers won an NBA Championship with the Celtics in that same year.

7’7” Manute Bol was selected in the 5th round by the Clippers, but the NBA rejected the pick on technicalities. Manute had never filed draft paperwork, and his passport listed him at 19 (at the time, 19 years was too young to be drafted).[1]

Florida State star Mitchell Wiggins, father of future No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins, was drafted 23rd by the Indiana Pacers.

Draft

A man, wearing white shirt with a logo and the word "NBA PLAYERS" on the front, is standing and posing for a photo.
Ralph Sampson was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets.
A man, wearing white shirt with a logo and the word "NBA PLAYERS" on the front, is standing and posing for a photo.
Clyde Drexler was selected fourteenth overall by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Doc Rivers was selected thirty-first overall by the Atlanta Hawks
PGPoint guard SGShooting guard SFSmall forward PFPower forward CCenter
^ 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
# Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game
Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Team School/club team
1 1 Ralph Sampson^ C  United States Houston Rockets Virginia (Sr.)
1 2 Steve Stipanovich C  United States Indiana Pacers Missouri (Sr.)
1 3 Rodney McCray SF  United States Houston Rockets (from Cleveland via Philadelphia) Louisville (Sr.)
1 4 Byron Scott SG  United States San Diego Clippers Arizona State (Jr.)
1 5 Sidney Green PF  United States Chicago Bulls UNLV (Sr.)
1 6 Russell Cross C  United States Golden State Warriors Purdue (Jr.)
1 7 Thurl Bailey PF  United States Utah Jazz NC State (Sr.)
1 8 Antoine Carr PF  United States Detroit Pistons Wichita State (Sr.)
1 9 Dale Ellis* SG  United States Dallas Mavericks Tennessee (Sr.)
1 10 Jeff Malone+ SG  United States Washington Bullets Mississippi State (Sr.)
1 11 Derek Harper PG/SG  United States Dallas Mavericks (from Atlanta via Cleveland) Illinois (Jr.)
1 12 Darrell Walker SG  United States New York Knicks Arkansas (Sr.)
1 13 Ennis Whatley PG  United States Kansas City Kings Alabama (So.)
1 14 Clyde Drexler^ SG  United States Portland Trail Blazers Houston (Jr.)
1 15 Howard Carter SG  United States Denver Nuggets LSU (Sr.)
1 16 Jon Sundvold PG  United States Seattle SuperSonics Missouri (Sr.)
1 17 Leo Rautins SF  Canada Philadelphia 76ers (from New Jersey) Syracuse (Sr.)
1 18 Randy Breuer C  United States Milwaukee Bucks Minnesota (Sr.)
1 19 John Paxson PG  United States San Antonio Spurs Notre Dame (Sr.)
1 20 Roy Hinson C  United States Cleveland Cavaliers (from Phoenix) Rutgers (Sr.)
1 21 Greg Kite C  United States Boston Celtics BYU (Sr.)
1 22 Randy Wittman SG  United States Washington Bullets (from Los Angeles) Indiana (Sr.)
1 23 Mitchell Wiggins SG  United States Indiana Pacers (from Philadelphia) Florida State (Sr.)
1 24 Stewart Granger PG  Canada Cleveland Cavaliers * Villanova (Sr.)
2 25 Sidney Lowe PG  United States Chicago Bulls NC State (Sr.)
2 26 Leroy Combs SF  United States Indiana Pacers Oklahoma State (Sr.)
2 27 John Garris PF  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Boston College (Sr.)
2 28 Rod Foster PG  United States Phoenix Suns UCLA (Sr.)
2 29 Larry Micheaux PF  United States Chicago Bulls Houston (Sr.)
2 30 Mark West C  United States Dallas Mavericks Old Dominion (Sr.)
2 31 Doc Rivers+ PG  United States Atlanta Hawks Marquette (Jr.)
2 32 Michael Britt# SF  United States Washington Bullets UDC (Sr.)
2 33 Dirk Minniefield PG  United States Dallas Mavericks Kentucky (Sr.)
2 34 Guy Williams F  United States Washington Bullets Washington State (Sr.)
2 35 Darrell Lockhart C  United States San Antonio Spurs Auburn (Sr.)
2 36 Scooter McCray PF  United States Seattle SuperSonics Louisville (Sr.)
2 37 David Russell# SF  United States Denver Nuggets St. John's (Sr.)
2 38 Chris McNealy PF  United States Kansas City Kings San Jose State (Sr.)
2 39 Granville Waiters C  United States Portland Trail Blazers Ohio State (Sr.)
2 40 Jim Thomas SG  United States Indiana Pacers Indiana (Sr.)
2 41 Ted Kitchel# SF  United States Milwaukee Bucks Indiana (Sr.)
2 42 Mike Davis# SG  United States Milwaukee Bucks Alabama (Sr.)
2 43 Pace Mannion SF  United States Golden State Warriors Utah (Sr.)
2 44 Horace Owens# SG  United States New Jersey Nets Rhode Island (Sr.)
2 45 Paul Williams# SF  United States Phoenix Suns Arizona State (Sr.)
2 46 Kevin Williams PG  United States San Antonio Spurs St. John's (Sr.)
2 47 Kenneth Lyons# PF  United States Philadelphia 76ers North Texas State (Sr.)
3 48 Craig Ehlo SG  United States Houston Rockets Washington State (Sr.)
3 49 Greg Jones# G  United States Indiana Pacers West Virginia (Sr.)
3 50 Paul Thompson SF  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Tulane (Sr.)
3 51 Dereck Whittenburg# G  United States Phoenix Suns NC State (Sr.)
3 52 Winfred King# G  United States Indiana Pacers East Tennessee State (Sr.)
3 53 Mike Holton SG  United States Golden State Warriors UCLA (Sr.)
3 54 Bob Hansen SG  United States Utah Jazz Iowa (Sr.)
3 55 Erich Santifer# G  United States Detroit Pistons Syracuse (Sr.)
3 56 Larry Anderson# SG  United States Cleveland Cavaliers UNLV (Sr.)
3 57 Darren Daye SF  United States Washington Bullets UCLA (Sr.)
3 58 John Pinone SF  United States Atlanta Hawks Villanova (Sr.)
3 59 Bruce Kuczenski PF  United States New Jersey Nets Connecticut (Sr.)
3 60 Steve Harriel# F  United States Kansas City Kings Washington State (Sr.)
3 61 David Little# F  United States Denver Nuggets Oklahoma (Sr.)
3 62 Tom Piotrowski C  United States Portland Trail Blazers La Salle (Sr.)
3 63 Frank Burnell# G  United States Seattle SuperSonics Stetson (Sr.)
3 64 Claude Riley# F  United States Philadelphia 76ers Texas A&M (Sr.)
3 65 Billy Goodwin# G  United States Milwaukee Bucks St. John's (Sr.)
3 66 Les Craft# C  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Kansas State (Sr.)
3 67 Derrick Hord# G  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Kentucky (Sr.)
3 68 Craig Robinson# F  United States Boston Celtics Virginia (Sr.)
3 69 Orlando Phillips# F  United States Los Angeles Lakers Pepperdine (Sr.)
3 70 Dan Ruland# F  United States Philadelphia 76ers James Madison (Sr.)
4 71 Darrell Browder# G  United States Houston Rockets TCU (Sr.)
4 72 Terry Fair# C  United States Indiana Pacers Georgia (Sr.)
4 73 Dwight Jones# F  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Cincinnati (Sr.)
4 74 Kalpatrick Wells# F  United States Philadelphia 76ers Mississippi State (Sr.)
4 75 Ron Crevier C  Canada Chicago Bulls Boston College (Sr.)
4 76 Doug Arnold# F  United States Utah Jazz TCU (Sr.)
4 77 Peter Thibeaux SF  United States Golden State Warriors Saint Mary's (Sr.)
4 78 Steve Bouchie# F  United States Detroit Pistons Indiana (Sr.)
4 79 Johnny Martin# F  United States Dallas Mavericks Northwestern State (Sr.)
4 80 Dan Gay# F  United States Washington Bullets Southwestern Louisiana (Sr.)
4 81 Harry Kelly# F  United States Atlanta Hawks Texas Southern (Sr.)
4 82 Mark Jones PG  United States New York Knicks St. Bonaventure (Sr.)
4 83 York Gross# G  United States Denver Nuggets UC Santa Barbara (Sr.)
4 84 Mike Jackson# G  United States Kansas City Kings Wyoming (Sr.)
4 85 Tim Dunham# G  United States Portland Trail Blazers Chaminade (Sr.)
4 86 Pete DeBisschop# C  United States Seattle SuperSonics Fairfield (Sr.)
4 87 Barney Mines# G  United States New Jersey Nets Bradley (Sr.)
4 88 Mark Nickens# G  United States Milwaukee Bucks American (Sr.)
4 89 Sam Mosley# F  United States Phoenix Suns Nevada (Sr.)
4 90 Brant Weidner PF  United States San Antonio Spurs William & Mary (Sr.)
4 91 Carlos Clark SG  United States Boston Celtics Ole Miss (Sr.)
4 92 Terry Lewis# G  United States Los Angeles Lakers Mississippi State (Sr.)
4 93 Craig Robinson# F  United States Philadelphia 76ers Princeton (Sr.)
5 94 Chuck Barnett# G  United States Houston Rockets Oklahoma (Sr.)
5 95 Roger Stieg# F  United States Indiana Pacers Ole Miss (Sr.)
5 96 Chris Logan# F  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Holy Cross (Sr.)
5 97 Manute Bol C  Sudan San Diego Clippers (Pick voided on technicalities)[1] (Sudan)
5 98 Tim Andree# C  United States Chicago Bulls Notre Dame (Sr.)
5 99 Greg Hines# F  United States Golden State Warriors Hampton (Sr.)
5 100 Matt Clark# G  United States Utah Jazz Oklahoma State (Sr.)
5 101 Ken Austin PF  United States Detroit Pistons Rice (Sr.)
5 102 Jim Lampley C  United States Dallas Mavericks Arkansas–Little Rock (Sr.)
5 103 Robin Dixon# G  United States Washington Bullets New Hampshire (Sr.)
5 104 Charles Jones# F  United States Atlanta Hawks Oklahoma (Sr.)
5 105 Troy Lee Mikell# G  United States New York Knicks East Tennessee State (Sr.)
5 106 Lorenza Andrews# G  United States Kansas City Kings Oklahoma State (Sr.)
5 107 James Braddock# G  United States Denver Nuggets North Carolina (Sr.)
5 108 Gary Monroe# F  United States Portland Trail Blazers Wright State (Sr.)
5 109 Brad Watson# G  United States Seattle SuperSonics Washington (Sr.)
5 110 Tyren Naulls# G  United States New Jersey Nets Texas A&M (Sr.)
5 111 Mark Petteway# F  United States Milwaukee Bucks New Orleans (Sr.)
5 112 Jeff Pehl# F  United States San Antonio Spurs Richmond (Sr.)
5 113 Rick Lamb# C  United States Phoenix Suns Illinois State (Sr.)
5 114 Bob Reitz# G  United States Boston Celtics Stonehill (Sr.)
5 115 Danny Dixon# G  United States Los Angeles Lakers Alabama A&M (Sr.)
5 116 Mike Milligan# F  United States Philadelphia 76ers Tennessee State (Sr.)
6 117 Jim Stack# F  United States Houston Rockets Northwestern (Sr.)
6 118 Cliff Pruitt# F  United States Indiana Pacers UAB (Sr.)
6 119 Mel McLaughlin# G  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Central Michigan (Sr.)
6 120 Russell Todd# F  United States Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia (Sr.)
6 121 Ernest Patterson# G  United States Chicago Bulls New Mexico State (Sr.)
6 122 Fred Gilliam# F  United States Utah Jazz Clemson (Sr.)
6 123 Tom Heywood# C  United States Golden State Warriors Weber State (Sr.)
6 124 Derek Perry# F  United States Detroit Pistons Michigan State (Sr.)
6 125 Billy Allen# G  United States Dallas Mavericks Nevada (Sr.)
6 126 Donald Carroll# F  United States Washington Bullets St. Augustine's (Sr.)
6 127 Tom Bethea# G  United States Atlanta Hawks Richmond (Sr.)
6 128 Tony Simms# G  Canada New York Knicks Boston University (Sr.)
6 129 Glenn Green# F  United States Denver Nuggets Murray State (Sr.)
6 130 Alvis Rogers# F  United States Kansas City Kings Wake Forest (Sr.)
6 131 Derrick Pope# F  United States Portland Trail Blazers Montana (Sr.)
6 132 Tony Wilson# F  United States Seattle SuperSonics Western Kentucky (Sr.)
6 133 Oscar Taylor# F  United States New Jersey Nets New Orleans (Sr.)
6 134 Charles Hurt# F  United States Milwaukee Bucks Kentucky (Sr.)
6 135 Edward Bona# F  Sudan Phoenix Suns Fordham (Sr.)
6 136 Ricky Hooker# G  United States San Antonio Spurs St. Mary's (Texas) (Sr.)
6 137 Paul Atkins# F  United States Boston Celtics Dallas Baptist (Sr.)
6 138 Mark Steele# F  United States Los Angeles Lakers Colorado State (Sr.)
6 139 Sedale Threatt SG  United States Philadelphia 76ers West Virginia Tech (Sr.)
7 140 Brian Kellerman# G  United States Houston Rockets Idaho (Sr.)
7 141 Tony Brown# G  United States Indiana Pacers Indiana (Sr.)
7 142 John Colombo# G  United States Cleveland Cavaliers John Carroll (Sr.)
7 143 Dan Evans# F  United States San Diego Clippers Oregon State (Sr.)
7 144 Jacque Hill# G  United States Chicago Bulls USC (Sr.)
7 145 Peter Williams# F  United States Golden State Warriors Utah (Sr.)
7 146 Gerald Kazanowski# F  Canada Utah Jazz Victoria (Sr.)
7 147 Rob Gonzalez# F  United States Detroit Pistons Colorado (Sr.)
7 148 Terrell Schlundt# F  United States Dallas Mavericks Marquette (Sr.)
7 149 Danny Womack# G  United States Washington Bullets Winston-Salem State (Sr.)
7 150 Lex Drum# C  United States Atlanta Hawks UAB (Sr.)
7 151 Desi Barmore# F  Israel New York Knicks Fresno State (Sr.)
7 152 Dane Suttle SG  United States Kansas City Kings Pepperdine (Sr.)
7 153 Maurice McDaniel# C  United States Denver Nuggets Catawba (Sr.)
7 154 Paul Little# F  United States Portland Trail Blazers Penn (Sr.)
7 155 Tony Gattis# F  United States Seattle SuperSonics Mercer (Sr.)
7 156 Keith Bennett# F  United States
 Israel
New Jersey Nets Sacred Heart (Sr.)
7 157 Anthony Hicks# G  United States Milwaukee Bucks Xavier (Sr.)
7 158 Keith Williams# C  United States San Antonio Spurs Oklahoma Panhandle State (Sr.)
7 159 Fred Brown# G  United States Phoenix Suns VCU (Sr.)
7 160 Ron Jackson# G  United States Boston Celtics Providence (Sr.)
7 161 Ricky Mixon# G  United States Los Angeles Lakers Cal State Fullerton (Sr.)
7 162 Tony Bruin# F  United States Philadelphia 76ers Syracuse (Sr.)
8 163 Jeff Bolding# F  United States Houston Rockets Arkansas State (Sr.)
8 164 Ray McCallum# G  United States Indiana Pacers Ball State (Sr.)
8 165 Larry Tucker# F  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Lewis (Sr.)
8 166 Mark Gannon# F  United States San Diego Clippers Iowa (Sr.)
8 167 Terry Bradley# F  United States Milwaukee Bucks Chicago State (Sr.)
8 168 Michael McCombs# F  United States Utah Jazz Santa Fe (New Mexico) (Sr.)
8 169 Doug Harris# F  United States Golden State Warriors Central Washington (Sr.)
8 170 George Wenzel# F  United States Detroit Pistons Augustana College (Illinois) (Sr.)
8 171 Bill Sadler# F  United States Dallas Mavericks Pepperdine (Sr.)
8 172 Bernard Perry# G  United States Washington Bullets Howard (Sr.)
8 173 George Thomas# G  United States Atlanta Hawks Georgia Tech (Sr.)
8 174 Mike Lang# F  United States New York Knicks Penn Staet (Sr.)
8 175 Cliff Tribus# F  United States Milwaukee Bucks Davidson (Sr.)
8 176 Preston Neumayr# G  United States Kansas City Kings UC Davis (Sr.)
8 177 Frank Smith# C  United States Portland Trail Blazers Arizona (Sr.)
8 178 Ray Smith# F  United States Seattle SuperSonics Armstrong Atlantic State (Sr.)
8 179 Joey Myers# F  United States New Jersey Nets Duquesne (Sr.)
8 180 Brett Burkholder# C  United States Milwaukee Bucks DePaul (Sr.)
8 181 Mike Mulquin# F  United States Phoenix Suns Villanova (Sr.)
8 182 Norvell Brown# G  United States San Antonio Spurs Oklahoma Christian (Sr.)
8 183 Trent Johnson# F  United States Boston Celtics Pittsburgh (Sr.)
8 184 Gordon Austin# G  United States Philadelphia 76ers American (Sr.)
9 185 James Campbell# G  United States Houston Rockets Oklahoma Christian (Sr.)
9 186 Lynn Mitchem# F  United States Indiana Pacers Butler (Sr.)
9 187 Joe Brown# F  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Georgia State (Sr.)
9 188 David Maxwell# G  United States San Diego Clippers Fordham (Sr.)
9 189 Kenneth Orange# C  United States Chicago Bulls Oklahoma Christian (Sr.)
9 190 Greg Goorjian# G  United States Golden State Warriors Loyola Marymount (Sr.)
9 191 Ron Webb# F  United States Utah Jazz Oklahoma Christian (Sr.)
9 192 Marlow McLain# G  United States Detroit Pistons Eastern Michigan (Sr.)
9 193 Sherrod Arnold# G  United States Dallas Mavericks Chicago State (Sr.)
9 194 Ricky Moreland# F  United States Washington Bullets UMBC (Sr.)
9 195 Will Cotchery# G  United States Atlanta Hawks West Alabama (Sr.)
9 196 Charles Jones# C  United States New York Knicks Marshall (Sr.)
9 197 Bernard Hill# F  United States Kansas City Kings Oklahoma Panhandle State (Sr.)
9 198 Bobby Van Noy# F  United States Denver Nuggets Catawba (Sr.)
9 199 Phil Hopson# F  United States Portland Trail Blazers Idaho (Sr.)
9 200 Tony Washington# G  United States Seattle SuperSonics Hampton (Sr.)
9 201 Kevin Black# F  United States New Jersey Nets Rutgers (Sr.)
9 202 Bill Varner# F  United States Milwaukee Bucks Notre Dame (Sr.)
9 203 Gary Gaspard# G  United States San Antonio Spurs St. Mary's (Texas) (Sr.)
9 204 Joe Dykstra# F  United States Phoenix Suns Western Illinois (Sr.)
9 205 John Rice# G  United States Boston Celtics UMass Boston (Sr.)
9 206 Charles Fisher# G  United States Philadelphia 76ers James Madison (Sr.)
10 207 Mark Smed# F  Germany
 United States
Indiana Pacers Augustana College (South Dakota) (Sr.)
10 208 Joe Hanley# F  United States Cleveland Cavaliers Xavier (Sr.)
10 209 Keith Smith# G  United States San Diego Clippers San Diego State (Sr.)
10 210 Tom Emma# G  United States Chicago Bulls Duke (Sr.)
10 211 Odell Mosteller# G  United States Utah Jazz Auburn (Sr.)
10 212 Michael Zeno# C  United States Golden State Warriors Long Beach State (Sr.)
10 213 Ike Person# F  United States Detroit Pistons Michigan (Sr.)
10 214 Clyde Corley# F  United States Dallas Mavericks FIU (Sr.)
10 215 Isaiah Singletary# G  United States Washington Bullets Saint Louis (Sr.)
10 216 Ronnie Carr# G  United States Atlanta Hawks Western Carolina (Sr.)
10 217 Bernard Randolph# F  United States New York Knicks DePaul (Sr.)
10 218 Cleveland McCrae# F  United States Denver Nuggets Catawba (Sr.)
10 219 Aaron Haskins# F  United States Kansas City Kings Washington State (Sr.)
10 220 Russ Christianson# F  United States Portland Trail Blazers Eastern Oregon (Sr.)
10 221 David Binion# F  United States Seattle SuperSonics North Carolina Central (Sr.)
10 222 Rich Simkus# C  United States New Jersey Nets Princeton (Sr.)
10 223 Bob Kelly# G  United States Milwaukee Bucks St. John's (Sr.)
10 224 Bo Overton# G  United States Phoenix Suns Oklahoma (Sr.)
10 225 Lamar Heard# F  United States San Antonio Spurs Georgia (Sr.)
10 226 Andy Kupec# G  United States Milwaukee Bucks Bentley (Sr.)

*Compensation for draft choices previously traded away by Ted Stepien.

Early entrants

College underclassmen

The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[2]

See also

References

General
  • "Complete First Round Results 1980-89". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 21, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  • "1983 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  • "1982–1986 NBA Drafts". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Archived from the original on November 16, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
Specific
  1. 1 2 "A Gift From On High". CNN. June 28, 2010. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  2. "1983 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
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