1988 NBA draft
The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their inaugural season.
Draft
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for All-Star Game and All-NBA Team |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for All-Star Game |
| x | Denotes player who has been selected for All-NBA Team |
| # | Denotes player who has never played in the NBA |
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School/club team |
| 1 | 1 | + | PF | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Kansas |
| 1 | 2 | + | C | Netherlands | Indiana Pacers | Marist |
| 1 | 3 | PF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Pittsburgh | |
| 1 | 4 | SF | United States | New Jersey Nets | Auburn | |
| 1 | 5 | ^ | SG | United States | Golden State Warriors | Kansas State |
| 1 | 6 | + | SG | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Bradley |
| 1 | 7 | F | United States | Phoenix Suns | Temple | |
| 1 | 8 | SG | United States | Charlotte Hornets | Kentucky | |
| 1 | 9 | C | United States | Miami Heat | Syracuse | |
| 1 | 10 | SG | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Georgia | |
| 1 | 11 | C | United States | Chicago Bulls | Vanderbilt | |
| 1 | 12 | SF | United States | Washington Bullets | Oklahoma | |
| 1 | 13 | SG/SF | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Iowa State | |
| 1 | 14 | + | SF | United States | Phoenix Suns | Central Michigan |
| 1 | 15 | PG | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Michigan | |
| 1 | 16 | SG | United States | Houston Rockets | Missouri | |
| 1 | 17 | C | United States | Utah Jazz | Wyoming | |
| 1 | 18 | SG | United States | Sacramento Kings | San Jose State | |
| 1 | 19 | x | PG | United States | New York Knicks | DePaul |
| 1 | 20 | SG | United States | Miami Heat | DePaul | |
| 1 | 21 | PF | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Seton Hall | |
| 1 | 22 | SF | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Southern Miss | |
| 1 | 23 | PF | United States | Denver Nuggets | Pittsburgh | |
| 1 | 24 | SG | United States | Boston Celtics | UC Santa Barbara | |
| 1 | 25 | PG | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | Notre Dame | |
| 2 | 26 | C | Brazil | Portland Trail Blazers | Houston | |
| 2 | 27 | F | United States | San Antonio Spurs | St. John's | |
| 2 | 28 | C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Arkansas | |
| 2 | 29 | SG | United States | Sacramento Kings | NC State | |
| 2 | 30 | PF | United States | Detroit Pistons | Wyoming | |
| 2 | 31 | G | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Purdue | |
| 2 | 32 | F/C | United States | New Jersey Nets | NC State | |
| 2 | 33 | F | United States | Miami Heat | Eastern Michigan | |
| 2 | 34 | F/C | United States | Charlotte Hornets | Arizona | |
| 2 | 35 | F | United States | Miami Heat | Memphis State | |
| 2 | 36 | G/F | United States | Washington Bullets | New Orleans | |
| 2 | 37 | C | United States | New York Knicks | Stanford | |
| 2 | 38 | C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Indiana | |
| 2 | 39 | C | Milwaukee Bucks | Miami | ||
| 2 | 40 | F | United States | Miami Heat | Auburn-Montgomery | |
| 2 | 41 | G | United States | Golden State Warriors | Indiana | |
| 2 | 42 | # | SG | United States | Utah Jazz | Iowa |
| 2 | 43 | F | United States | Denver Nuggets | Purdue | |
| 2 | 44 | G | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Oregon | |
| 2 | 45 | G | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Rhode Island | |
| 2 | 46 | G | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Long Beach State | |
| 2 | 47 | SG | United States | Denver Nuggets | Florida | |
| 2 | 48 | G | United States | Detroit Pistons | Baylor | |
| 2 | 49 | # | C/PF | Dallas Mavericks | LSU | |
| 2 | 50 | PG | United States | Phoenix Suns | Arizona | |
| 3 | 51 | F | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Kentucky | |
| 3 | 52 | # | SF | United States | New Jersey Nets | Southern Miss |
| 3 | 53 | * | SF/PF | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Tennessee State |
| 3 | 54 | # | C | Atlanta Hawks | Sport Club de Cañada de Gómez 1966 | |
| 3 | 55 | # | PG | United States | Phoenix Suns | Grand Canyon |
| 3 | 56 | F/C | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Austin Peay | |
| 3 | 57 | # | PF/C | Philadelphia 76ers | LSU | |
| 3 | 58 | # | PF | United States | Charlotte Hornets | Auburn |
| 3 | 59 | F | United States | Miami Heat | Tampa | |
| 3 | 60 | # | PG | United States | Washington Bullets | Kentucky |
| 3 | 61 | # | SF/SG | United States | Indiana Pacers | Louisville |
| 3 | 62 | # | PF | United States | Chicago Bulls | Maryland |
| 3 | 63 | # | PF | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Auburn |
| 3 | 64 | F | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Kentucky | |
| 3 | 65 | G | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Loyola Marymount | |
| 3 | 66 | # | SG | United States | Denver Nuggets | Memphis State |
| 3 | 67 | G | Australia | Utah Jazz | Oklahoma | |
| 3 | 68 | # | PF | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Baylor |
| 3 | 69 | # | PF | United States | New York Knicks | VCU |
| 3 | 70 | # | PG | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Florida Southern |
| 3 | 71 | G | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Georgia Tech | |
| 3 | 72 | # | PF | United States | Detroit Pistons | Norfolk State |
| 3 | 73 | G | United States | Indiana Pacers | Drexel | |
| 3 | 74 | F/G | United States | Boston Celtics | UNLV | |
| 3 | 75 | # | SF | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Kansas |
Notable undrafted players
This section is for players who were eligible for the 1988 NBA draft, did not get selected, but still later appeared in at least one NBA regular season or postseason game..
| Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
| PF | United States | UC Irvine | |
| SF | United States | Georgia Tech | |
| C | United States | Georgetown | |
| PF/SF | United States | St. Mary's | |
| PG | United States | Southern | |
| PF | United States | Iowa | |
| SG | United States | La Salle | |
| SG | United States | SMU | |
| SG/SF | United States | Tulsa | |
| PG | United States | Cal State Fullerton | |
| SF | KK Partizan | ||
| C | Temple | ||
| + | SG | United States | Oklahoma State |
| SG/SF | United States | Averett |