Arvid Kramer (born October 3, 1956) is a retired American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, mostly known for being the first overall pick by the Miami Heat of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) in the 1988 expansion draft at the age of 31, and furthermore being the only player to be selected in two expansion drafts and never playing for the teams that drafted him. He is tall and and played at the center position during most of his basketball career.

Professional career

Anchorage Northern Knights (1979-1980)

Kramer was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 3rd round (1st pick, 45th overall) of the 1979 NBA draft in his senior year. After the draft, the Jazz made a 2-for-1 trade involving Bernard King, which left no room for Kramer on their roster, so they waived him. He played for the

Anchorage Northern Knights The Anchorage Northern Knights were a professional basketball team based in Anchorage, Alaska from 1977 to 1982. The team played in the Eastern Basketball Association (EBA) during the 1977–78 season. The next season, the league changed its name t ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

during the 1979–80 season.

Denver Nuggets (1980)

Kramer was signed to a 10-day contract by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

on February 28, 1980, and was later signed for the remainder of the season. He only played eight games with the Nuggets during the 1979–80 season.

Telekom Baskets Bonn (1995-1996)

The expansion Miami Heat of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

made Kramer the first overall pick in the 1988 expansion draft at the age of 31. The

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

wanted to make sure that their players

Uwe Blab Uwe Konstantin Blab (born March 26, 1962) is a German former professional basketball player who had a five-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). High School and College Blab attended Effingham High School in Illinois, which ...

Steve Alford Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). Born and raised in Indiana, he was a ...

Bill Wennington William Percey Wennington (born April 26, 1963) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who won three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships with the Chicago Bulls. A center, he represented Canada in the 1984 Olympics and ...

, who were left unprotected, would not be selected, so they offered the Miami Heat the rights to Arvid Kramer and their first choice (No. 20) in the college draft (which later would turn out to become

Kevin Edwards Kevin Durell Edwards (born October 30, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who currently serves as DePaul University men's basketball team's director of community, corporate, and professional relations. Edwards was selecte ...

). He never played for the Heat. Kramer later played for Telekom Baskets Bonn during the 1995–96 season. He retired as a player in 1996 and worked as a general manager for the Baskets in Bonn, Germany from 1996 to 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Arvid 1956 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Anchorage Northern Knights players Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings men's basketball players Basketball players from Minnesota Bayer Giants Leverkusen players Centers (basketball) Dallas Mavericks expansion draft picks Denver Nuggets players Mens Sana Basket players Miami Heat expansion draft picks People from Fulda, Minnesota Telekom Baskets Bonn players Utah Jazz draft picks