1989 NBA draft
The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City, New York, USA. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft did produce many talented players such as Shawn Kemp, Glen Rice, Sean Elliott, Nick Anderson, Dana Barros, Tim Hardaway, Vlade Divac, Clifford Robinson, B. J. Armstrong and Mookie Blaylock, The draft was reduced from three rounds in the previous year to the two-round format that is still in use to the present day. As a result, NBA drafts from this season until 1995 produced the lowest number of total draft picks selected at 54 overall selections.
This was the first draft for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic, prior to their inaugural season. This was also the first draft televised prime time on national television.Draft selections
PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Nationality | NBA team | School/Club team |
1 | 1 | | PF | United States | Sacramento Kings | Louisville |
1 | 2 | | PF | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Duke |
1 | 3 | + | SF/SG | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Arizona |
1 | 4 | * | SF | United States | Miami Heat | Michigan |
1 | 5 | | PF/C | United States | Charlotte Hornets | North Carolina |
1 | 6 | | C | United States | Chicago Bulls | Oklahoma |
1 | 7 | | SG/SF | United States | Indiana Pacers | Florida State |
1 | 8 | | PF | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Louisiana Tech |
1 | 9 | | PF/C | United States | Washington Bullets | Georgia Tech |
1 | 10 | | PG | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | UCLA |
1 | 11 | | SF/SG | United States | Orlando Magic | Illinois |
1 | 12 | + | PG | United States | New Jersey Nets | Oklahoma |
1 | 13 | | PF | United States | Boston Celtics | BYU |
1 | 14 | * | PG | United States | Golden State Warriors | UTEP |
1 | 15 | | SG | United States | Denver Nuggets | Stanford |
1 | 16 | + | PG | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Boston College |
1 | 17 | * | PF/C | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Concord |
1 | 18 | + | PG | United States | Chicago Bulls | Iowa |
1 | 19 | | PF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Louisville |
1 | 20 | | PF/C | United States | Chicago Bulls | Georgia Southern |
1 | 21 | | SF/SG | United States | Utah Jazz | East Carolina |
1 | 22 | | SG | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Missouri |
1 | 23 | | SG/SF | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Iowa |
1 | 24 | | PF/C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Arizona |
1 | 25 | | PG | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Seton Hall |
1 | 26 | ^ | C | | Los Angeles Lakers | KK Partizan |
1 | 27 | | PF | United States | Detroit Pistons | Illinois |
2 | 28 | | G | United States | Miami Heat | Syracuse |
2 | 29 | | F | United States | Charlotte Hornets | Tennessee |
2 | 30 | | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Vanderbilt |
2 | 31 | | G | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Murray State |
2 | 32 | | F | United States | New Jersey Nets | DePaul |
2 | 33 | | G | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Indiana |
2 | 34 | | C | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | Missouri |
2 | 35 | | F | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Colorado State |
2 | 36 | + | PF/C | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Connecticut |
2 | 37 | | F | United States | Orlando Magic | Alabama |
2 | 38 | | G/F | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | Villanova |
2 | 39 | | PF/C | United States | Washington Bullets | Iowa |
2 | 40 | ^ | PF | | Boston Celtics | KK Split |
2 | 41 | | C | United States | Washington Bullets | Tennessee |
2 | 42 | # | SG | United States | Denver Nuggets | McNeese State |
2 | 43 | | PF | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | NC State |
2 | 44 | # | PF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Hawaii |
2 | 45 | | G | United States | Miami Heat | Evansville |
2 | 46 | | F | United States | Phoenix Suns | LSU |
2 | 47 | # | SF | United States | Denver Nuggets | UAB |
2 | 48 | # | PG | United States | Utah Jazz | South Alabama |
2 | 49 | | G | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Oral Roberts |
2 | 50 | | F | United States | New York Knicks | Washington State |
2 | 51 | | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Loyola |
2 | 52 | | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Trenton State |
2 | 53 | # | SG | United States | Dallas Mavericks | South Alabama |
2 | 54 | # | SG | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Georgia |
Notable undrafted players
Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
| PF | United States | Idaho |
| PF/C | | Texas State |
| SG/SF | | North Carolina |
| PF | United States | Lamar |
| SG | United States | Boise State |
| SG | United States | Georgia State |
| PF/C | United States | Virginia Union |
| SF | United States | Florida State |
| PG | United States | Charlotte |
| SG | | Partizan Belgrade |
| SF | United States | South Carolina |
| SG | | Seton Hall |
| SG/SF | United States | Ohio |
| SF | United States | Texas |
| PF | United States | Northern Colorado |
| SF | United States | Penn State |
| SG | United States | Georgetown |
| PG | United States | Nebraska |
| PF | United States | Oklahoma State |
| PG | United States | Xavier |
| SG | United States | North Carolina |
| PG | United States | Florida |
| SF/PF | United States | Purdue |
| PG/SG | United States | Georgetown |
| SG/SF | United States | Eastern Illinois |
| PF | United States | California |
| SG/SF | | VEF Rīga |
| SF/PF | United States | Stanford |