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) | ![]() ![]() |
San Antonio Spurs | Wake Forest-Sr. |
2 | Keith Van Horn (PF) | ![]() |
Philadelphia 76ers | Utah-Sr. |
3 | Chauncey Billups (PG) | ![]() |
Boston Celtics | Colorado-So. |
4 | Antonio Daniels (PG) | ![]() |
Vancouver Grizzlies | Bowling Green-Sr. |
5 | Tony Battie (C/PF) | ![]() |
Denver Nuggets | Texas Tech-Jr. |
6 | Ron Mercer (SF) | ![]() |
Boston Celtics | Kentucky-So. |
7 | Tim Thomas (SF) | ![]() |
New Jersey Nets | Villanova-Fr. |
8 | Adonal Foyle (C) | ![]() |
Golden State Warriors | Colgate-Jr. |
9 | Tracy McGrady (G/F) | ![]() |
Toronto Raptors | Mt. Zion Academy (Durham, NC) |
10 | Danny Fortson (PF) | ![]() |
Milwaukee Bucks | Cincinnati-Jr. |
11 | Tariq Abdul-Wahad (SF) | ![]() |
Sacramento Kings | San Jose State-Sr. |
12 | Austin Croshere (F) | ![]() |
Indiana Pacers | Providence-Sr. |
13 | Derek Anderson (SG) | ![]() |
Cleveland Cavaliers | Kentucky-Sr. |
14 | Maurice Taylor (PF) | ![]() |
Los Angeles Clippers | Michigan-Jr. |
15 | Kelvin Cato (C) | ![]() |
Dallas Mavericks (from Minnesota) | Iowa State-Jr. |
16 | Brevin Knight (PG) | ![]() |
Cleveland Cavaliers (from Phoenix) | Stanford-Sr. |
17 | Johnny Taylor (F) | ![]() |
Orlando Magic | Chattanooga-Sr. |
18 | Chris Anstey (F) | ![]() |
Dallas Mavericks (from Portland) | SE Melbourne Magic (Australia) |
19 | Scot Pollard (C) | ![]() |
Detroit Pistons | Kansas-Sr. |
20 | Paul Grant (C) | ![]() |
Minnesota Timberwolves (from Charlotte) | Wisconsin-Sr. |
21 | Anthony Parker (SG) | ![]() |
New Jersey Nets (from L.A. Lakers) | Bradley-Sr. |
22 | Ed Gray (G) | ![]() |
Atlanta Hawks | California-Sr. |
23 | Bobby Jackson (G) | ![]() |
Seattle SuperSonics | Minnesota-Sr. |
24 | Rodrick Rhodes (G) | ![]() |
Houston Rockets | USC-Sr. |
25 | John Thomas (C) | ![]() |
New York Knicks | Minnesota-Sr. |
26 | Charles Smith (G) | ![]() |
Miami Heat | New Mexico-Sr. |
27 | Jacque Vaughn (G) | ![]() |
Utah Jazz | Kansas-Sr. |
28 | Keith Booth (F) | ![]() |
Chicago Bulls | Maryland-Sr. |
Round two[]
Pick | Player | Nationality | NBA Team | School/Club Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
30 | Serge Zwikker (C) | ![]() |
Houston Rockets (from Vancouver) | North Carolina |
31 | Mark Sanford (F) | ![]() |
Miami Heat (from Boston) | Washington |
32 | Charles O'Bannon (G) | ![]() |
Detroit Pistons (from San Antonio) | UCLA |
33 | James Cotton (G) | ![]() |
Denver Nuggets | Long Beach State |
34 | Marko Milič (G) | ![]() |
Philadelphia 76ers | Smelt Olimpija (Slovenia) |
35 | Bubba Wells (F) | ![]() |
Dallas Mavericks | Austin Peay |
36 | Kebu Stewart (F) | ![]() |
Philadelphia 76ers (from New Jersey) | Cal State Bakersfield |
37 | James Collins (G) | ![]() |
Philadelphia 76ers (from Toronto) | Florida State |
38 | Marc Jackson (F) | ![]() |
Golden State Warriors | Temple |
39 | Jerald Honeycutt (F) | ![]() |
Milwaukee Bucks | Tulane |
40 | Anthony Johnson (G) | ![]() |
Sacramento Kings | College of Charleston |
41 | Ed Elisma (F) | ![]() |
Seattle SuperSonics (from L.A. Clippers) | Georgia Tech |
42 | Jason Lawson (C) | ![]() |
Denver Nuggets (from Indiana) | Villanova |
43 | Stephen Jackson (G) | ![]() |
Phoenix Suns | Butler CC (Kansas) |
44 | Gordon Malone (F) | ![]() |
Minnesota Timberwolves | West Virginia |
45 | Cedric Henderson (F) | ![]() |
Cleveland Cavaliers | Memphis |
46 | God Shammgod (G) | ![]() |
Washington Bullets | Providence |
47 | Eric Washington (G) | ![]() |
Orlando Magic (traded to Denver) | Alabama |
48 | Alvin Williams (G) | ![]() |
Portland Trail Blazers | Villanova |
49 | Predrag Drobnjak (C) | ![]() ![]() |
Washington Bullets (from Charlotte) | Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) |
50 | Alain Digbeu (G) | ![]() |
Atlanta Hawks (from Detroit) | Villeurbanne (France) |
51 | Chris Crawford (F) | ![]() |
Atlanta Hawks | Marquette |
52 | DeJuan Wheat (G) | ![]() |
Los Angeles Lakers | Louisville |
53 | C. J. Bruton (G) | ![]() |
Vancouver Grizzlies (from Houston) | Indian Hills CC (Iowa) |
54 | Paul Rogers (C) | ![]() |
Los Angeles Lakers (from New York) | Gonzaga |
55 | Mark Blount (C) | ![]() |
Seattle SuperSonics | Pittsburgh |
56 | Ben Pepper (C) | ![]() |
Boston Celtics (from Miami) | Newcastle Falcons (Australia) |
57 | Nate Erdmann (G) | ![]() |
Utah Jazz | Oklahoma |
58 | Roberto Dueñas (C) | 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) |