1998 NBA draft
| 1998 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Date(s) | June 24, 1998 |
| Time | 7:30 pm (EDT) |
| Location | General Motors Place, Vancouver, British Columbia |
| First selection | Michael Olowokandi, Los Angeles Clippers |
|
← 1997 NBA draft1999 → | |
The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around three struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, and the Toronto Raptors.
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 1989–1990. 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.
The Kings, having been a perennial lottery bound franchise, skyrocketed in popularity with the addition of Chris Webber and 7th pick Jason Williams. The Kings went to the playoffs that year and took the defending Western Conference Champions to the final game of their 1st round Playoff series.
First overall pick Michael Olowokandi is regarded by Sports Illustrated as one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history.[1]
Five players from the 1998 draft class have played in the NBA All-Star Game at least once in their careers: Nowitzki, Carter, Jamison, Paul Pierce and Rashard Lewis. All of them have reached the 20,000 points plateau during their careers except for Lewis.
Carter and Nowitzki are both active players as of 2017, making them two of only seven players to play at least 20 seasons in the NBA. Nowitzki has remained with the Mavericks for his entire career, making him one of two players (along with Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers) to play 20 seasons with one team.
Seven members of the 1998 draft class are currently in Ice Cube's BIG3 Basketball League: #3 pick Mike Bibby and #21 pick Ricky Davis (Ghost Ballers), #11 pick Bonzi Wells (Tri State), #25 pick Al Harrington (Trilogy), #32 pick Rashard Lewis (3 Headed Monsters), #41 pick Cuttino Mobley (Power), and Mike James (Killer 3's), who went undrafted. Jason Williams played in the league's first season with the Ghost Ballers, but suffered an injury and would be out for the rest of the season.[2]
Draft selections
| PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-NBA Team |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| # | Denotes player who never played in the NBA regular season or playoffs |
| ~ | Denotes player who has been selected as Rookie of the Year |
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Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1998 NBA Draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Boykins | PG |  |
Eastern Michigan (Sr.) |
| Gerald Brown | SG | |
Pepperdine (Sr.) |
| Anthony Carter | PG | |
Hawaii (Sr.) |
| Steve Goodrich | PF/C | |
Princeton (Sr.) |
| Mike James | PG | |
Duquesne (Sr.) |
| Šarūnas Jasikevičius | PG |  |
Maryland (Sr.) |
| Charles Jones | SG | |
LIU Brooklyn (Sr.) |
| Mark Jones | SF | |
UCF (Sr.) |
| Kelly McCarty | SG | |
Southern Miss (Sr.) |
| Slava Medvedenko[3] | PF |  |
Budivelnyk Kiev (Ukraine) (born 1979) |
| Brad Miller+ | C | |
Purdue (Sr.) |
| Tyrone Nesby | SF | |
UNLV (Sr.) |
| Daniel Santiago | C |  |
Saint Vincent (Sr.) |
References
- ↑ Sports Illustrated photo gallery
- ↑ https://big3.com
- ↑ Early entry candidate, per 2013 NBA Draft Media Guide, p. 213.
External links
- "Official website". Archived from the original on 2001-02-14. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
- 1998 NBA Draft at Basketball-Reference.com