The 1983 NBA Draft took place on June 28, 1983 in New York City. A total of 226 players were selected over 10 rounds by the league's 23 teams. At least four players from the 1983 draft now serve as coaches. Two serve at major-college programs—Sidney Lowe at North Carolina State and Craig Robinson (who never played in the NBA) at Oregon State—and two in the NBA—Doc Rivers for the Boston Celtics, and Byron Scott for the Cleveland Cavaliers. While Scott won the Coach of the Year award in 2008, Rivers won an NBA Championship with the Celtics on that same year (it could be also noted that Rivers won that award prior to Scott, in 2000, while he was still coaching the Orlando Magic). Robinson, who led the Beavers to the 2009 College Basketball Invitational title, has an additional claim to fame as the older brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama.
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for (an) All-Star Game(s) and (an) All-NBA Team(s) |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for (an) All-Star Game(s) |
| x | Denotes player who has been selected for (an) All-NBA Team(s) |
Ralph Sampson (#50) was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets. In the 1984 NBA Draft, the Rockets would have the first pick again, and select Hakeem Olajuwon The two became known as the Twin Towers.
Round one[]
| = All-Star |
| Pick | Player | Nationality | NBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Sampson* (C) |  United States
|
Houston Rockets | Virginia-Sr. |
| 2 | Steve Stipanovich (C) | United States
|
Indiana Pacers | Missouri-Sr. |
| 3 | Rodney McCray (SF) | United States
|
Houston Rockets (from Cleveland via Philadelphia) | Louisville-Sr. |
| 4 | Byron Scott (SG) | United States
|
San Diego Clippers | Arizona State-Jr. |
| 5 | Sidney Green (PF) | United States
|
Chicago Bulls | UNLV-Sr. |
| 6 | Russell Cross (C) | United States
|
Golden State Warriors | Purdue-Jr. |
| 7 | Thurl Bailey (SF) | United States
|
Utah Jazz | North Carolina State-Sr. |
| 8 | Antoine Carr (SF) | United States
|
Detroit Pistons | Wichita State-Sr. |
| 9 | Dale Ellis* (SG) | United States
|
Dallas Mavericks | Tennessee-Sr. |
| 10 | Jeff Malone+ (SG) | United States
|
Washington Bullets | Mississippi State-Sr. |
| 11 | Derek Harper (PG/SG) | United States
|
Dallas Mavericks (from Atlanta via Cleveland) | Illinois-Jr. |
| 12 | Darrell Walker (SG) | United States
|
New York Knicks | Arkansas-Sr. |
| 13 | Ennis Whatley (PG) | United States
|
Kansas City Kings | Alabama-So. |
| 14 | Clyde Drexler^ (SG) | United States
|
Portland Trail Blazers | Houston-Jr. |
| 15 | Howard Carter (SG) | United States
|
Denver Nuggets | LSU-Sr. |
| 16 | Jon Sundvold (PG) | United States
|
Seattle SuperSonics | Missouri-Sr. |
| 17 | Leo Rautins (SF) | Template:CAN | Philadelphia 76ers (from New Jersey) | Syracuse-Sr. |
| 18 | Randy Breuer (C) | United States
|
Milwaukee Bucks | Minnesota-Sr. |
| 19 | John Paxson (PG) | United States
|
San Antonio Spurs | Notre Dame-Sr. |
| 20 | Roy Hinson (C) | United States
|
Cleveland Cavaliers (from Phoenix) | Rutgers-Sr. |
| 21 | Greg Kite (C) | United States
|
Boston Celtics | BYU |
| 22 | Randy Wittman (SG) | United States
|
Washington Bullets (from Los Angeles) | Indiana-Sr. |
| 23 | Mitchell Wiggins (SG) | United States
|
Indiana Pacers (from Philadelphia) | Florida State-Sr. |
| 24 | Stewart Granger (PG) | Template:CAN | Cleveland Cavaliers * | Villanova-Sr. |
* compensation for draft choices traded away by Ted Stepien
Notable post-first round picks[]
| Pick | Player | Nationality | NBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Sidney Lowe (PG) | United States
|
Chicago Bulls | N.C. State |
| 30 | Mark West (C) | United States
|
Dallas Mavericks | Old Dominion |
| 31 | Doc Rivers+ (PG) | United States
|
Atlanta Hawks | Marquette |
| 48 | Craig Ehlo (SG) | United States
|
Houston Rockets | Washington State |
| 54 | Bobby Hansen (SG) | United States
|
Utah Jazz | Iowa |
| 93 | Craig Robinson (SF) | United States
|
Philadelphia 76ers | Princeton |
| 97 | Manute Bol (C) | Template:SUD | San Diego Clippers | Bridgeport |
| 137 | Sedale Threatt (SG) | United States
|
Philadelphia 76ers | West Virginia Tech |