The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill would end up as perennial All-Stars (10 and 7-time selections, respectively), though Hill's career was marred by severe injuries.
The first overall pick Glenn Robinson was involved in a contract holdout shortly after being selected, reportedly seeking a 13-year, $100 million contract. Both Robinson and the Milwaukee Bucks eventually agreed on a 10-year, $68 million contract, which once stood as the richest contract ever signed by a rookie in professional sports.[1] A fixed salary cap for rookies was implemented by the NBA the following season. Robinson himself had a productive NBA career, becoming a two-time NBA All-Star and winning an NBA Championship in 2005 in his final year with the San Antonio Spurs.[2]
This is the final draft to date to see all of the first three picks make All-Star rosters with the teams that originally drafted them.[3]
Draft selections
| PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
| ^ | 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 |
| x | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-NBA Team |
| # | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game |
Notable undrafted players
These players went undrafted in 1994 but played in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melvin Booker | PG |  United States
|
Missouri (Sr.) |
| Lazaro Borrell | SF |  Cuba
|
Lobos de Villa Clara (Cuba) |
| Jimmy Carruth | PF | United States
|
Virginia Tech (Sr.) |
| Robert Churchwell | SG | United States
|
Georgetown (Sr.) |
| Thomas Hamilton | C | United States
|
King College Prep (Chicago, Illinois) |
| Askia Jones | SG | United States
|
Kansas State (Sr.) |
| Ryan Lorthridge | SG | United States
|
Jackson State (Sr.) |
| Ivano Newbill | F | United States
|
Georgia Tech (Sr.) |
| Derrick Phelps | PG | United States
|
North Carolina (Sr.) |
| Trevor Ruffin | PG | United States
|
Hawaii (Sr.) |
| Kevin Salvadori | C | United States
|
North Carolina (Sr.) |
| Stevin Smith | SG | United States
|
Arizona State (Sr.) |
| Aaron Swinson | SF | United States
|
Auburn (Sr.) |
| Logan Vander Velden | SF | United States
|
Green Bay (Sr.) |
| Fred Vinson | SG | United States
|
Georgia Tech (Sr.) |
Early entrants
College underclassmen
For the twelfth year in a row and the sixteenth time in seventeen years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. However, it would be the eighth time in nine years that players that left college early to play professionally overseas would declare entry into the NBA draft as an underclassman of sorts, with the University of Kansas' Darrin Hancock playing for the Aix Maurienne Savoie Basket in France and the University of Alabama's Cedric Moore playing for the GSSV Donar out in The Netherlands. With their inclusions, the official number of underclassmen would increase from eighteen to twenty total players. Regardless, the following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[5]
- Maurice Barnett – C, Elizabeth City State (junior)
- Jamie Brandon – G, LSU (junior)
- Charles Claxton – C, Georgia (junior)
- Rennie Clemons – G, Illinois (junior)
- Sedric Curry – F, North Dakota (junior)
Yinka Dare – C, George Washington (sophomore)- Thomas Hamilton – C, Wabash Valley (freshman)
- Lemon Haynes – F, Augusta (junior)
- Juwan Howard – F, Michigan (junior)
- Jason Kidd – G, California (sophomore)
- Voshon Lenard – G, Minnesota (junior)
- Donyell Marshall – F, Connecticut (junior)
- Lamond Murray – F, California (junior)
- Glenn Robinson – F, Purdue (junior)
- Jalen Rose – G/F, Michigan (junior)
- Clifford Rozier – F, Louisville (junior)
- Johnny Tyson – C, Central Oklahoma (junior)
- Dontonio Wingfield – F, Cincinnati (freshman)
Other eligible players
| Player | Team | Note | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darrin Hancock
|
Aix Maurienne Savoie Basket (France) | Left Kansas in 1993; playing professionally since the 1993–94 season | [6] |
| Cedric Moore
|
GSSV Donar (The Netherlands) | Left Alabama in 1993; playing professionally since the 1993–94 season | [7] |
See also
References
- ^ The Votes Are In – Dated Nov 14, 1994
- ^ NBA Draft: Ranking the No. 1 Picks in NBA Draft History – Dated 21/June/2010
- ^ Unterberger, Andrew (May 28, 2014). "Reminder: At least one of the top three picks in this NBA draft will probably be a miss". The 700 Level. Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
- ^ The Lakers traded No. 37 pick along with No. 50 pick in the 1995 NBA draft and No. 53 pick in the 1996 NBA draft to the SuperSonics for Sedale Threatt on October 2, 1991.
"Lakers Get Threatt From Seattle". The New York Times. October 3, 1991. p. B10. - ^ "1994 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. August 4, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ "DARRIN HANCOCK TO BE A DODGE CITY LEGEND". Hoops Zone. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ "Cedric Moore 1994 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. May 6, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2022.