The
1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at
SkyDome in Toronto,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, 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
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
. Garnett ultimately gathered fifteen
All Star selections, nine
All-NBA
The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...
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
Antonio Keithflen McDyess (born September 7, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Listed at 6'9" (2.06 m) and 245 lb (111 kg), McDyess played as a power forward.
Early life
McDyess was born in Quitman, Mississ ...
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
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...
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.
[http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nba&id=1962444 ESPN – Shawn Respert's NBA career was stunted by cancer]
The Vancouver Grizzlies and
the Toronto Raptors were not able to win the
NBA draft lottery, due to pre-negotiated rules. This would extend into the 1997-1998 season.
Draft
Notable undrafted players
The following players went
undrafted in the 1995 NBA Draft but later played in the NBA.
Trades involving Draft picks
Draft-day trades
The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.
* The Los Angeles Clippers traded
Randy Woods and the draft rights of
Antonio McDyess
Antonio Keithflen McDyess (born September 7, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Listed at 6'9" (2.06 m) and 245 lb (111 kg), McDyess played as a power forward.
Early life
McDyess was born in Quitman, Mississ ...
to the Denver Nuggets for
Rodney Rogers and the draft rights to
Brent Barry.
Early entrants
College underclassmen
The following
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
*
Cory Alexander – G,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
(junior)
*
Mario Bennett – F,
Arizona State (junior)
*
Chris Carr – G/F,
Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...
(junior)
* Michael Evans –
Norfolk State (junior)
*
Rashard Griffith – C,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
(sophomore)
*
Martin Lewis –
Seward CC (sophomore)
*
Antonio McDyess
Antonio Keithflen McDyess (born September 7, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Listed at 6'9" (2.06 m) and 245 lb (111 kg), McDyess played as a power forward.
Early life
McDyess was born in Quitman, Mississ ...
– F,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
(sophomore)
*
Joe Smith – F,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
(sophomore)
*
Jerry Stackhouse – G,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
(sophomore)
*
Scotty Thurman
Scotty Thurman (born November 10, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach, perhaps best known as the Arkansas Razorbacks' shooting guard who hit the high-arcing go-ahead three-pointer with 50.7 sec ...
– F,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...
(junior)
*
Gary Trent – F,
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
(junior)
*
David Vaughn III – F,
Memphis (junior)
*
Rasheed Wallace – F,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
(sophomore)
*
Corliss Williamson – F,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...
(junior)
* Darroll Wright – G,
Missouri Western (junior)
High school players
The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
*
Kevin Garnett – F,
Farragut Academy
Farragut Career Academy High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Little Village neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. As a career academy, Farragut emphasizes a curriculum that combines academic ...
(
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
)
See also
*
List of first overall NBA draft picks
References
External links
1995 NBA Draft
{{NBA Radio Network
Draft
National Basketball Association draft
National Basketball Association lists