The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at

Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles' Coliseum (which was called Charlott ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto Raptors they were not allowed to select first in this draft. Although the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

had the second-worst record in the 1996–97 season and the best odds (36 percent) of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs lost David Robinson and Sean Elliott to injury early in the season, finished with the third-worst record, and subsequently won the lottery. Leading up to the draft, there was no doubt that Tim Duncan would be selected at No. 1 by the Spurs as he was considered to be far and away the best prospect. After Duncan, the rest of the draft was regarded with some skepticism.Peter May. May 21, 2007. "Luck of draw went Spurs' way in '97 with Duncan - The Boston Globe". ''Boston Globe''
/ref> The Celtics had the third and sixth picks, selecting

Chauncey Billups Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 17 seasons in the NBA. Afte ...

and

Ron Mercer Ronald Eugene Mercer (born May 18, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. After his career at the University of Kentucky, Mercer played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA); he ended his career wit ...

, both of whom were traded in the next two years. The

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

forfeited their 1997 first-round pick in connection with the signing of

Juwan Howard Juwan Antonio Howard (born February 7, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team. A one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA power forward, he began his NBA career ...

. (Washington would have had the 17th pick.) Thus, the draft only had 28 first-round selections and 57 selections overall.

Draft selections

Notable undrafted players

These players eligible for the 1997 NBA Draft were not selected but played in the NBA. Burke Pat

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. * Gracen Averil – G,

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

(junior) * Tony Battie – F/C,

(junior) *

– G,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

(sophomore) * Carl Blanton – F, Sinclair CC (junior) *

Mark Blount Mark D. Blount ( ; born November 30, 1975) is an American retired professional basketball center with four teams in the National Basketball Association between 2000 and 2009. Career Blount spent his freshman year of high school in Summerville, ...

– C/F,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

(sophomore) * C. J. Bruton – G, Indian Hills CC (sophomore) * Dan Buie – F, Washburn (junior) *

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

– G,

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...

(junior) * Tony Doyle – F,

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

(junior) * Ian Folmar – F, Slippery Rock (junior) *

Danny Fortson Daniel Anthony Fortson (born March 27, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2007. Early life Although born in Phila ...

– F,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

(junior) * Adonal Foyle – C/F, Colgate (junior) * Darryl Hardy – F, Winston–Salem State (junior) * Antjonne Holmes – F, Central Baptist (freshman) *

Troy Hudson Troy Elderon Hudson (born March 13, 1976) is an American retired professional basketball point guard. He played 11 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after going undrafted in 1997. He averaged a career-high 14.2 points per game wi ...

– G,

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) *

Marc Jackson Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...

– F/C,

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

* Stephen Jackson – F/G, Butler CC (freshman) * Ed Jenkins – F,

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

(junior) * Marcus Johnson – F,

(junior) *

Damon Jones Damon Darron Jones (born August 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A combo guard, he played college baske ...

– G,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

(junior) * Nate Langley – G,

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...

(junior) * Keith Love – G,

Rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

(junior) * Gordon Malone – F,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

(junior) * Amere May – F,

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada * Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village * Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton * Shaw, Swindon, a suburb of Swindon ...

(junior) * Elgie McCoy – F, Kutztown (junior) *

– G/F,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

(sophomore) * Victor Page – G, Georgetown (sophomore) * Shawn Ritzie – G, Norwalk CC (sophomore) * Paul Rogers – F/C, Gonzaga (junior) * Bryon Ruffner – F, BYU (junior) * Olivier Saint-Jean – San Jose State (junior) * Mark Sanford – F,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

(junior) * God Shammgod – G,

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

(sophomore) *

Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played power forward and center positions. Originally from Detroit, Taylor played college basketball at Michigan and was selected by the L ...

– F,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

(junior) * Tim Thomas – F, Villanova (freshman) * Mark Young – F, Kansas State (junior)

High school players

The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance. *

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...

– G/F,

Mount Zion Christian Academy Mount Zion Christian Academy (MZCA) is a private, college preparatory, non-denominational, co-educational Christian day school (grades K–12) and boarding school (grades 9–12) located in Durham, North Carolina. The Academy is most n ...

(

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th- ...

)

International players

The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance. *

Marko Milič Marko Milič (born May 7, 1977) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. He represented the senior Slovenian national basketball team. Professional career After being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1997 NBA draft (34th pic ...

– G/F, Smelt Olimpija (

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

)

Other eligible players

References

External links

*
1997 NBA Draft
at Basketball-reference {{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Nba Draft

Draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

National Basketball Association draft National Basketball Association lists

Draft selections

Notable undrafted players

Early entrants

College underclassmen

High school players

International players

Other eligible players

See also

References

External links