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1998 NBA draft

{{short description|Basketball player selection}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox sports draft

| name = 1998 NBA draft

| image =

| caption =

| logo =

| logosize =

| sport = Basketball

| date = June 24, 1998

| location = General Motors Place (Vancouver, British Columbia)

| network = TNT, TSN

| league = NBA

| teams =

| overall = 58

| rounds = 2

| first = Michael Olowokandi (Los Angeles Clippers)

| hofnum = {{Collapsible list

| title = 3

|1 = SF Vince Carter

|2 = PF Dirk Nowitzki

|3 = SF Paul Pierce}}

| prev = 1997

| next = 1999

}}

The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Toronto Raptors.

The Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors were not able to win the NBA draft lottery; as they were expansion teams, they were not allowed to select first in this draft.

The Mavericks, despite having a talented nucleus of Jason Kidd, Jamal Mashburn and Jimmy Jackson in the mid-1990s, had not had a winning season since 1989-90, which was also the last time they made the playoffs. By the end of the 1997 season, all three players were traded and it was time to rebuild. With the sixth selection in 1998, they drafted Robert Traylor and quickly traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks for Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity. They then traded Garrity in a package to the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash. With Nash and Nowitzki, the Mavericks quickly went from a lottery team in the late 1990s to a perennial playoff contender throughout the 2000s. Nowitzki went on to win the 2011 NBA Finals with Dallas without Nash, but with Kidd.

Meanwhile, the Raptors were a recent expansion team that had failed to win more than 30 games in its first three seasons. With the fourth pick they selected Antawn Jamison, whom they quickly dealt to the Golden State Warriors for Vince Carter. Carter went on to win Rookie of the Year.

First overall pick Michael Olowokandi from mid-major University of the Pacific is regarded by Sports Illustrated as one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history.{{cite web

| url = http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/06/24/gallery.nbabusts/content.18.html

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050627010627/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/06/24/gallery.nbabusts/content.18.html

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = June 27, 2005

| title = Sports Illustrated photo gallery}} As of February 2019, he is the last top selection to come out of a university that is considered mid-major.

Five players from the 1998 draft class played in the NBA All-Star Game at least once in their careers: Nowitzki, Carter, Jamison, Paul Pierce and Rashard Lewis. All of them except Lewis scored at least 20,000 career points.

Carter retired in 2020, making him the last active player drafted in the 1990s to retire. He set the record for most seasons played in the NBA with 22, becoming the first player to ever appear in NBA games in four different decades. Nowitzki missed the same four-decade status by nine months, retiring from the Mavericks in April 2019 as the first player to ever spend more than 20 NBA seasons with one team.

Draft selections

{{stack|File:Michael Olowokandi.jpg was selected first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers.]]

File:Antawn Jamison Wizards 2006-07.jpg was selected 4th overall by the Toronto Raptors (traded to the Golden State Warriors).]]

File:Lipofsky Vince Carter.jpg was selected 5th overall by the Golden State Warriors (traded to the Toronto Raptors).]]

File:Dirk Nowitzki 2.jpg was selected 9th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks (traded to the Dallas Mavericks).]]

File:Paul pierce 1.jpg was selected 10th overall by the Boston Celtics.]]

File:Rashard Lewis.jpg was selected 32nd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics.]]

}}

class=wikitable
PGPoint guard

| SG

Shooting guard

| SF

Small forward

| PF

Power forward

| C

Center

{{NBA Draft legend|1=y|2=y|3=y|5=y|6=y}}

class="wikitable sortable sortable"

! width="1%"| Round

! width="1%"| Pick

! width="19%"| Player

! width="1%" | Position

! width="20%"| Nationality{{refn|group=n|Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.}}

! width="35%"| NBA team

! width="25%"| School/Club team

align=center|1

| align=center|1

| {{sortname|Michael|Olowokandi}}

| C

| {{flagu|Nigeria}}

| Los Angeles Clippers

| Pacific (Sr.)

align=center|1

| align=center|2

| {{sortname|Mike|Bibby}}

| PG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Vancouver Grizzlies

| Arizona (So.)

align=center|1

| align=center|3

| {{sortname|Raef|LaFrentz}}

| C/F

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Denver Nuggets

| Kansas (Sr.)

align=center|1

| align=center|4

| bgcolor="#FFCC00"| {{sortname|Antawn|Jamison}}+

| F

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Toronto Raptors (traded to Golden State)

| North Carolina (Jr.)

align=center|1

| align=center|5

| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Vince|Carter}}^~

|SF/SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Golden State Warriors (traded to Toronto)

| North Carolina (Jr.)

align=center|1

| align=center|6

|{{sortname|Robert|Traylor}}

| F/C

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Dallas Mavericks (traded to Milwaukee)

| Michigan (Jr.)

align=center|1

| align=center|7

| {{sortname|Jason|Williams|dab=basketball, born 1975}}

| PG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Sacramento Kings

| Florida (Jr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 8

| {{sortname|Larry|Hughes}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Philadelphia 76ers

| Saint Louis (Fr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 9

| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Dirk|Nowitzki}}^

| PF

| {{flagu|Germany}}

| Milwaukee Bucks (traded to Dallas)

| DJK Würzburg (Germany, 2nd division)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 10

| bgcolor="#FFFF99" | {{sortname|Paul|Pierce}}^

| SF/SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Boston Celtics

| Kansas (Jr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 11

| {{sortname|Bonzi|Wells}}

| G/F

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Detroit Pistons

| Ball State (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 12

| {{sortname|Michael|Doleac}}

| C

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Orlando Magic

| Utah (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 13

| {{sortname|Keon|Clark}}

| F/C

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Orlando Magic (from Washington via Golden State)

| UNLV (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 14

| {{sortname|Michael|Dickerson}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Houston Rockets

| Arizona (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 15

| {{sortname|Matt|Harpring}}

| F/G

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Orlando Magic (from New Jersey)

| Georgia Tech (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 16

| {{sortname|Bryce|Drew}}

| PG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Houston Rockets (from New York via Portland and Toronto)

| Valparaiso (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 17

| {{sortname|Radoslav|Nesterovič|Rasho Nesterovič}}

| C

| {{SVN}}

| Minnesota Timberwolves

| Kinder Bologna (Italy)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 18

| {{sortname|Mirsad|Türkcan}}

| PF

| {{TUR}}

| Houston Rockets (from Portland via Toronto)

| Efes Pilsen (Turkey)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 19

| {{sortname|Pat|Garrity}}

| PF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Milwaukee Bucks (from Cleveland, traded to Phoenix)

| Notre Dame (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 20

| {{sortname|Roshown|McLeod}}

| SF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Atlanta Hawks

| Duke (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 21

| {{sortname|Ricky|Davis}}

| G/F

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Charlotte Hornets

| Iowa (Fr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 22

| {{sortname|Brian|Skinner}}

| F/C

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Los Angeles Clippers (from Miami)

| Baylor (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 23

| {{sortname|Tyronn|Lue}}

| PG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Denver Nuggets (from Phoenix traded to L.A. Lakers)

| Nebraska (Jr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 24

| {{sortname|Felipe|López|dab=basketball}}

| SG

| {{DOM}}

| San Antonio Spurs (traded to Vancouver)

| St. John's (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 25

| {{sortname|Al|Harrington}}

| F

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Indiana Pacers

| St. Patrick's High School (Elizabeth, New Jersey)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 26

| {{sortname|Sam|Jacobson}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Los Angeles Lakers

| Minnesota (Sr.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 27

| {{sortname|Vladimir|Stepania}}

| C

| {{flagicon|GEO|1990}} Georgia

| Seattle SuperSonics

| Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 28

| {{sortname|Corey|Benjamin}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Chicago Bulls

| Oregon State (So.)

align=center| 1

| align=center| 29

| {{sortname|Nazr|Mohammed}}

| C/F

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Utah Jazz (traded to Philadelphia)

| Kentucky (Jr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 30

| {{sortname|Ansu|Sesay}}

| SF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Dallas Mavericks (from Toronto)

| Mississippi (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 31

| {{sortname|Ruben|Patterson}}

| SF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Los Angeles Lakers (from Vancouver)

| Cincinnati (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 32

| bgcolor="#FFCC00"| {{sortname|Rashard|Lewis}}+

| PF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Seattle SuperSonics (from Denver)

| Alief Elsik HS (Houston, Texas)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 33

| {{sortname|Jelani|McCoy}}

| F/C

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Seattle SuperSonics (from L.A. Clippers)

| UCLA (Jr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 34

| {{sortname|Shammond|Williams}}

| PG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Chicago Bulls (from Golden State)

| North Carolina (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 35

| {{sortname|Bruno|Šundov}}

| C

| {{CRO}}

| Dallas Mavericks

| Split (Croatia)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 36

| {{sortname|Jerome|James}}

| C

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Sacramento Kings

| Florida A&M (Jr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 37

| {{sortname|Casey|Shaw}}

| C

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Philadelphia 76ers

| Toledo (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 38

| {{sortname|DeMarco|Johnson}}

| PF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| New York Knicks (from Boston)

| Charlotte (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 39

| {{sortname|Rafer|Alston}}

| PG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Milwaukee Bucks

| Fresno State (Jr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 40

| {{sortname|Korleone|Young}}

| SF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Detroit Pistons

| Hargrave Military Academy

align=center| 2

| align=center| 41

| {{sortname|Cuttino|Mobley}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Houston Rockets

| Rhode Island (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 42

| {{sortname|Miles|Simon}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Orlando Magic

| Arizona (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 43

| {{sortname|Jahidi|White}}

| F/C

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Washington Wizards

| Georgetown (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 44

| {{sortname|Sean|Marks}}

| PF

| {{flagu|New Zealand}}

| New York Knicks

| California (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 45

| {{sortname|Toby|Bailey}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Los Angeles Lakers (from New Jersey)

| UCLA (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 46

| {{sortname|Andrae|Patterson}}

| SF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Minnesota Timberwolves

| Indiana (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 47

| {{sortname|Tyson|Wheeler}}

| PG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Toronto Raptors

| Rhode Island (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 48

| {{sortname|Ryan|Stack}}

| C

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Cleveland Cavaliers

| South Carolina (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 49

| {{sortname|Cory|Carr}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Atlanta Hawks

| Texas Tech (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 50

| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"| {{sortname|Andrew|Betts}}#

| C

| {{GBR}}

| Charlotte Hornets

| Long Beach State (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 51

| bgcolor="C0C0C0"| {{sortname|Corey|Brewer|dab=basketball, born 1975}}#

| PG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Miami Heat

| Oklahoma (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 52

| {{sortname|Derrick|Dial}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| San Antonio Spurs

| Eastern Michigan (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 53

| {{sortname|Greg|Buckner}}

| SG

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Dallas Mavericks (from Phoenix)

| Clemson (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 54

| {{sortname|Tremaine|Fowlkes}}

| SF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Denver Nuggets (from Indiana)

| Fresno State (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 55

| {{sortname|Ryan|Bowen}}

| SF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Denver Nuggets (from Seattle)

| Iowa (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 56

| {{sortname|J. R.|Henderson|J. R. Sakuragi}}

| SF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Vancouver Grizzlies (from L.A. Lakers)

| UCLA (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 57

| {{sortname|Torraye|Braggs}}

| PF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Utah Jazz

| Xavier (Sr.)

align=center| 2

| align=center| 58

| {{sortname|Maceo|Baston}}

| PF

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Chicago Bulls

| Michigan (Sr.)

{{reflist|group=n}}

Notable undrafted players

File:Earl_Boykins_Bucks.jpg, a notable undrafted player, is known for being the second shortest player in NBA history.]]

File:Brad Miller.jpg was not drafted but had a successful 14-year career in the NBA that included two All-Star selections.]]

File:Sharas118.JPG was not drafted but later played in the NBA and is regarded as one of Europe's all-time greatest basketball players.]]

{{further|List of undrafted NBA players}}

These players eligible for the 1998 NBA Draft were not selected but played at least one game in the NBA.

class="wikitable sortable sortable"

! width="19%"| Player

! width="1%" | Position

! width="20%"| Nationality

! width="25%"| School/Club team

{{sortname|Earl|Boykins}}

|PG

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Eastern Michigan (Sr.)

{{sortname|Gerald|Brown|Gerald Brown (basketball)}}

|SG

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Pepperdine (Sr.)

{{sortname|Anthony|Carter|Anthony Carter (basketball)}}

|PG

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Hawaii (Sr.)

{{sortname|Sean|Colson}}

|PG

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Charlotte (Sr.)

{{sortname|Steve|Goodrich}}

|PF/C

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Princeton (Sr.)

{{sortname|Zendon|Hamilton}}

|C

|{{flagu|United States}}

|St. John's (Sr.)

{{sortname|Randell|Jackson}}

|PF

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Florida State (Jr.)

{{sortname|Mike|James|dab=basketball, born 1975}}

|PG

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Duquesne (Sr.)

{{sortname|Šarūnas|Jasikevičius}}

|PG

|{{flagcountry|LTU|1988}}

|Maryland (Sr.)

{{sortname|Charles|Jones|Charles Jones (basketball, born 1975)}}

|SG

|{{flagu|United States}}

|LIU Brooklyn (Sr.)

{{sortname|Mark|Jones|dab=basketball, born 1975}}

|SF

|{{flagu|United States}}

|UCF (Sr.)

{{sortname|Kelly|McCarty}}

|SG

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Southern Miss (Sr.)

{{sortname|Slava|Medvedenko}}

|PF

|{{UKR}}

|Budivelnyk Kyiv (Ukraine)

bgcolor="#FFCC00"| {{sortname|Brad|Miller|Brad Miller (basketball)}}+

|C

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Purdue (Sr.)

{{sortname|Makhtar|N'Diaye|dab=basketball}}

|PF

|{{SEN}}

|North Carolina (Sr.)

{{sortname|Tyrone|Nesby}}

|SF

|{{flagu|United States}}

|UNLV (Sr.)

{{sortname|Daniel|Santiago}}

|C

|{{PRI}}

|Saint Vincent (Sr.)

{{sortname|Jeff|Sheppard}}

|G

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Kentucky (Sr.)

{{sortname|Billy|Thomas|dab=basketball}}

|SG

|{{flagu|United States}}

|Kansas (Sr.)

{{sortname|Óscar|Torres|dab=basketball}}

|SF/SG

|{{VEN}}

|Marinos (Venezuela)

Early entrants

=College underclassmen=

Much like last year, this year initially saw 40 total players classified as underclassmen entering the NBA draft. However, seven players from this year's draft would later withdraw their names from entry, with Bud Eley from Southeast Missouri State University, Rico Harris from Los Angeles City College, the Yugoslavian-Greek born Marko Jarić from the Peristeri B.C. of Greece, the Bosnian-Greek born Saša Marković-Theodorakis from the Panionios B.C. in Athens, Greece, Lee Nailon from Texas Christian University, Lamar Odom from the University of Rhode Island, and the Greek born Dimitrios Papanikolaou from the Olympiacos Piraeus B.C. in Greece all withdrawing their entries into this year's draft. Including four different players that came directly from high school into the NBA draft (three of which actually became drafted) and three overseas players that successfully stayed into the NBA draft, the number of underclassmen would jump up from 26 total college players to 33 overall. Regardless, the following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.{{cite web |title=1998 Underclassmen |url=https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3045:1998-underclassmen&catid=136&Itemid=384 |website=The Draft Review | date=August 4, 2007 |access-date=December 17, 2022}}

{{div col}}

{{div col end}}

=High school players=

Had Lamar Odom declared entry into this year's draft like he planned on doing, he would not have represented St. Thomas Aquinas High School in New Britain, Connecticut due to him already declaring entry into college this year, but having academic troubles to qualify for collegiate play. That being said, this would be the fourth year in a row where at least one high school player would declare entry into the NBA draft after previously only doing it back in 1975. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.

{{div col}}

{{div col end}}

=International players=

In addition to the players below, three more players from Greece initially declared entry for this year's draft, but ultimately withdrew their names for one reason or another. The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.

{{div col}}

{{div col end}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/draft98/ |title=Official website |website=NBA.com |access-date=2011-06-15 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010214234002/http://www.nba.com/draft98/ |archive-date=2001-02-14 }}
  • [https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1998.html 1998 NBA Draft] at Basketball-Reference.com

{{NBA Drafts}}

{{NBA Draft history by team}}

{{1998 NBA draft}}

{{1998–99 NBA season by team}}

{{NBA on TNT}}

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