The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at

General Motors Place Rogers Arena is a multi-purpose arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place (GM Place) from its opening until July 6, 2010, when Ge ...

in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, 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 ...

, and the Toronto Raptors. The Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors were not able to win the NBA draft lottery; as they were expansion teams, they were not allowed to select first in this draft. The Mavericks, despite having a talented nucleus of Jason Kidd,

Jamal Mashburn Jamal Mashburn Sr. (born November 29, 1972) is an American entrepreneur and former professional basketball player. Nicknamed the "Monster Mash", Mashburn was a prolific scorer as a small forward in his 12 seasons in the National Basketball Assoc ...

and Jimmy Jackson in the mid-1990s, had not had a winning season since 1989-90, which was also the last time they made the playoffs. By the end of the 1997 season, all three players were traded and it was time to rebuild. With the sixth selection in 1998, they drafted

Robert Traylor Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor (February 1, 1977 – May 11, 2011) was an American professional basketball player. He got his nickname because of his hulking frame. Traylor was the sixth pick in the 1998 NBA draft and played seven seasons in th ...

and quickly traded him to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

for Dirk Nowitzki and

Pat Garrity Patrick Joseph Garrity (born August 23, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played for ten years in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a member of the National Basketball Players Association Executive Comm ...

. They then traded Garrity in a package to the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash. With Nash and Nowitzki, the Mavericks quickly went from a lottery team in the late 1990s to a perennial playoff contender throughout the 2000s. Nowitzki went on to win the

2011 NBA Finals The 2011 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2010–11 season. The Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in six games to win their f ...

with Dallas without Nash, but with Kidd. Meanwhile, the Raptors were a recent expansion team that had failed to win more than 30 games in its first three seasons. With the fourth pick they selected

Antawn Jamison Antawn Cortez Jamison (; born June 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He serves as director of pro personnel for the Washington Wizards. Jamison playe ...

, whom they quickly dealt to the Golden State Warriors for Vince Carter. Carter went on to win Rookie of the Year. First overall pick

Michael Olowokandi Michael Olowokandi (born 3 April 1975) is a Nigerian former professional basketball player. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and raised in London, he played collegiately for the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, California. Nicknamed "The Kandi Man," Olowokand ...

from mid-major University of the Pacific is regarded by '' Sports Illustrated'' as one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. As of February 2019, he is the last top selection to come out of a university that is considered mid-major. Five players from the 1998 draft class played in the NBA All-Star Game at least once in their careers: Nowitzki, Carter, Jamison, Paul Pierce and

Rashard Lewis Rashard Quovon Lewis (born August 8, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Lewis entered the NBA directly from Alief Elsik High School. He rose to prominence in the NBA as a scorer with the Seattle SuperSonics, and was later ...

. All of them except Lewis scored at least 20,000 career points. Carter retired in 2020, making him the last active player drafted in the 1990s to retire. He set the record for most seasons played in the NBA with 22, becoming the first player to ever appear in NBA games in four different decades. Nowitzki missed the same four-decade status by nine months, retiring from the Mavericks in April 2019 as the first player to ever spend more than 20 NBA seasons with one team.

Draft selections

Notable undrafted players

These players eligible for the 1998 NBA Draft were not selected but played at least one game in the NBA.

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 Athle ...

players successfully applied for early draft entrance. * Rafer Alston – G,

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

(junior) *

Corey Benjamin Corey Dwight Benjamin (born February 24, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA from 1998 to 2003. He graduated from Fontana High School in Fontana, California, then played college basketball for Orego ...

– G,

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

(sophomore) *

Mike Bibby Michael Bibby (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played professionally for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last served as the head coach for Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, ...

– G, Arizona (sophomore) * Chandar Bingham – F,

Virginia Union Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richmo ...

(sophomore) * Marcus Bullard – G,

Auburn Montgomery Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is a public university in Montgomery, Alabama. Established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967, it is governed by the Auburn University Board of Trustees as a member of the Auburn University system. ...

(junior) * Vince Carter – F/G, North Carolina (junior) * Wayne Clark – G, Park (freshman) * Tim Cole – G, Northeast Mississippi CC (sophomore) * Peter Cornell – C,

Loyola Marymount Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

(junior) * Arthur Davis – G, St. Joseph's (sophomore) *

Ricky Davis Tyree Ricardo Davis (born September 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for University of Iowa. Biography Davis atten ...

– F/G, Iowa (freshman) *

Tremaine Fowlkes Tremaine J. Fowlkes (born April 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position. Fowlkes was drafted out of Fresno State by the Denver Nuggets with the 54th pick of the 1998 NBA draft, though he did n ...

– F,

(junior) *

Larry Hughes Larry Darnell Hughes Sr. (born January 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Hughes played for eight different teams during his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hughes attended Saint Louis Un ...

– G, Saint Louis (freshman) * Randell Jackson – F,

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

(junior) *

Jerome James Jerome Keith James (born November 17, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Originally from Tampa, Florida, James played college basketball at Florida A&M for three seasons and was the national leader in blocks per game in ...

– C,

Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

(junior) *

– F, North Carolina (junior) * Tyronn Lue – G, Nebraska (junior) *

Jelani McCoy Jelani Marwan McCoy (born December 6, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'10" power forward/ center, he played in the NBA from 1998-2007 for the Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Caval ...

– F/C,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(junior) * Mark Miller – G, UIC (junior) *

Nazr Mohammed Nazr Tahiru Mohammed ( ; born September 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who had a journeyman career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for eight different teams over 18 seasons. He is the current ...

– F/C, Kentucky (junior) * Paul Pierce – G/F, Kansas (junior) * Adam Roberts – G,

San Francisco State San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

(junior) * James Spears – 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) *

– F, Michigan (junior) * Winfred Walton – F,

(sophomore) * Jason Williams – G, Florida (sophomore)

High school players

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

Al Harrington Albert Harrington (born February 17, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Cape Town Tigers. Selected with the 25th overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, Harrington played 16 seasons in the ...

– F,

St. Patrick ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

( Elizabeth, New Jersey) *

– F, Alief Elsik HS ( Houston, Texas) * Ellis Richardson – G, Polytechnic ( Los Angeles, California) * Korleone Young – F,

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private, all-male, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a col ...

(

Chatham, Virginia Chatham is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Pittsylvania County. Chatham's population was 1,269 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Danville, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town wa ...

)

International players

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

Slava Medvedenko Stanislav "Slava" Medvedenko ( uk, Станіслав "Слава" Медведенко; born April 4, 1979) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player, who played with the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basket ...

– F, Budivelnyk ( Ukraine) * Dirk Nowitzki – F,

DJK Würzburg Deutsche Jugendkraft Würzburg, commonly known as DJK Würzburg, is a German sports club. It is most known for its basketball section, which in the past had a professional team. Its most known former player is Dirk Nowitzki. Currently, the sport ...

( Germany) *

Bruno Šundov Bruno Šundov (born February 10, 1980) is a retired Croatian professional basketball player. Standing at 2.21 m (7 ft 3 in), he played the center position. He played for five different NBA teams and over 20 clubs around the world. Profession ...

– C,

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

( Croatia)

References

External links

*
1998 NBA Draft
at Basketball-Reference.com {{NBA on TNT

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

See also

References

External links