The 1997 NBA Draft took place on June 25, 1997 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Although the Celtics 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, usually a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson to an injury early in the season and finished with the third worst record, subsequently winning the lottery. Leading up to the draft, there was no doubt that Tim Duncan would be selected at No. 1 by the Spurs[1]. The Celtics would end up with the third and sixth picks selecting Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, both of whom were traded in the next two years. Although the draft class only produced three All-Stars (Duncan, Billups and Tracy McGrady).
Names in bold had been selected into All-NBA Team.
Round one[]
| = All-Star |
| Pick | Player | Nationality | NBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Duncan (F/C) |  United States /  US Virgin Islands
|
San Antonio Spurs | Wake Forest-Sr. |
| 2 | Keith Van Horn (PF) | United States
|
Philadelphia 76ers | Utah-Sr. |
| 3 | Chauncey Billups (PG) | United States
|
Boston Celtics | Colorado-So. |
| 4 | Antonio Daniels (PG) | United States
|
Vancouver Grizzlies | Bowling Green-Sr. |
| 5 | Tony Battie (C/PF) | United States
|
Denver Nuggets | Texas Tech-Jr. |
| 6 | Ron Mercer (SF) | United States
|
Boston Celtics | Kentucky-So. |
| 7 | Tim Thomas (SF) | United States
|
New Jersey Nets | Villanova-Fr. |
| 8 | Adonal Foyle (C) |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|
Golden State Warriors | Colgate-Jr. |
| 9 | Tracy McGrady (G/F) | United States
|
Toronto Raptors | Mt. Zion Academy (Durham, NC) |
| 10 | Danny Fortson (PF) | United States
|
Milwaukee Bucks | Cincinnati-Jr. |
| 11 | Tariq Abdul-Wahad (SF) | United States
|
Sacramento Kings | San Jose State-Sr. |
| 12 | Austin Croshere (F) | United States
|
Indiana Pacers | Providence-Sr. |
| 13 | Derek Anderson (SG) | United States
|
Cleveland Cavaliers | Kentucky-Sr. |
| 14 | Maurice Taylor (PF) | United States
|
Los Angeles Clippers | Michigan-Jr. |
| 15 | Kelvin Cato (C) | United States
|
Dallas Mavericks (from Minnesota) | Iowa State-Jr. |
| 16 | Brevin Knight (PG) | United States
|
Cleveland Cavaliers (from Phoenix) | Stanford-Sr. |
| 17 | Johnny Taylor (F) | United States
|
Orlando Magic | Chattanooga-Sr. |
| 18 | Chris Anstey (F) |  Australia
|
Dallas Mavericks (from Portland) | SE Melbourne Magic (Australia) |
| 19 | Scot Pollard (C) | United States
|
Detroit Pistons | Kansas-Sr. |
| 20 | Paul Grant (C) | United States
|
Minnesota Timberwolves (from Charlotte) | Wisconsin-Sr. |
| 21 | Anthony Parker (SG) | United States
|
New Jersey Nets (from L.A. Lakers) | Bradley-Sr. |
| 22 | Ed Gray (G) | United States
|
Atlanta Hawks | California-Sr. |
| 23 | Bobby Jackson (G) | United States
|
Seattle SuperSonics | Minnesota-Sr. |
| 24 | Rodrick Rhodes (G) | United States
|
Houston Rockets | USC-Sr. |
| 25 | John Thomas (C) | United States
|
New York Knicks | Minnesota-Sr. |
| 26 | Charles Smith (G) | United States
|
Miami Heat | New Mexico-Sr. |
| 27 | Jacque Vaughn (G) | United States
|
Utah Jazz | Kansas-Sr. |
| 28 | Keith Booth (F) | United States
|
Chicago Bulls | Maryland-Sr. |
Round two[]
| Pick | Player | Nationality | NBA Team | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Serge Zwikker (C) |  Netherlands
|
Houston Rockets (from Vancouver) | North Carolina |
| 31 | Mark Sanford (F) | United States
|
Miami Heat (from Boston) | Washington |
| 32 | Charles O'Bannon (G) | United States
|
Detroit Pistons (from San Antonio) | UCLA |
| 33 | James Cotton (G) | United States
|
Denver Nuggets | Long Beach State |
| 34 | Marko Milič (G) |  Slovenia
|
Philadelphia 76ers | Smelt Olimpija (Slovenia) |
| 35 | Bubba Wells (F) | United States
|
Dallas Mavericks | Austin Peay |
| 36 | Kebu Stewart (F) | United States
|
Philadelphia 76ers (from New Jersey) | Cal State Bakersfield |
| 37 | James Collins (G) | United States
|
Philadelphia 76ers (from Toronto) | Florida State |
| 38 | Marc Jackson (F) | United States
|
Golden State Warriors | Temple |
| 39 | Jerald Honeycutt (F) | United States
|
Milwaukee Bucks | Tulane |
| 40 | Anthony Johnson (G) | United States
|
Sacramento Kings | College of Charleston |
| 41 | Ed Elisma (F) | United States
|
Seattle SuperSonics (from L.A. Clippers) | Georgia Tech |
| 42 | Jason Lawson (C) | United States
|
Denver Nuggets (from Indiana) | Villanova |
| 43 | Stephen Jackson (G) | United States
|
Phoenix Suns | Butler CC (Kansas) |
| 44 | Gordon Malone (F) | United States
|
Minnesota Timberwolves | West Virginia |
| 45 | Cedric Henderson (F) | United States
|
Cleveland Cavaliers | Memphis |
| 46 | God Shammgod (G) | United States
|
Washington Bullets | Providence |
| 47 | Eric Washington (G) | United States
|
Orlando Magic (traded to Denver) | Alabama |
| 48 | Alvin Williams (G) | United States
|
Portland Trail Blazers | Villanova |
| 49 | Predrag Drobnjak (C) |  Yugoslavia /  Montenegro
|
Washington Bullets (from Charlotte) | Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) |
| 50 | Alain Digbeu (G) |  France
|
Atlanta Hawks (from Detroit) | Villeurbanne (France) |
| 51 | Chris Crawford (F) | United States
|
Atlanta Hawks | Marquette |
| 52 | DeJuan Wheat (G) | United States
|
Los Angeles Lakers | Louisville |
| 53 | C. J. Bruton (G) | Australia
|
Vancouver Grizzlies (from Houston) | Indian Hills CC (Iowa) |
| 54 | Paul Rogers (C) | Australia
|
Los Angeles Lakers (from New York) | Gonzaga |
| 55 | Mark Blount (C) | United States
|
Seattle SuperSonics | Pittsburgh |
| 56 | Ben Pepper (C) | Australia
|
Boston Celtics (from Miami) | Newcastle Falcons (Australia) |
| 57 | Nate Erdmann (G) | United States
|
Utah Jazz | Oklahoma |
| 58 | Roberto Dueñas (C) |  Spain
|
Chicago Bulls | FC Barcelona (Spain) |
Notable undrafted players[]
All players are American unless otherwise indicated.
| Player | School/Club Team |
|---|---|
| Pat Burke (C, Template:IRL) | Auburn |
| Troy Hudson (PG) | Southern Illinois |
| Damon Jones (PG) | Houston |
| Mikki Moore (PF/C) | Nebraska |
| Ira Newble (SG/SF) | Miami (Ohio) |