The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the

NBA draft lottery The NBA draft lottery is an annual event held by the National Basketball Association (NBA), in which the teams who had missed the playoffs the previous year participate in a lottery process to determine the draft order in the NBA draft. The NBA d ...

, but since they were an expansion team along with the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

they were not allowed to select first in this draft. Although the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

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 lost David Robinson and

Sean Elliott Sean Michael Elliott (born February 2, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who starred as a small forward in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career a ...

to injury early in the season, finished with the third-worst record, and subsequently won the lottery. Leading up to the draft, there was no doubt that

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

would be selected at No. 1 by the Spurs as he was considered to be far and away the best prospect. After Duncan, the rest of the draft was regarded with some skepticism.Peter May. May 21, 2007. "Luck of draw went Spurs' way in '97 with Duncan - The Boston Globe". ''Boston Globe''
/ref> The Celtics had the third and sixth picks, selecting Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, both of whom were traded in the next two years. Duncan became the Spurs' franchise player and in a 19-year career spent entirely in San Antonio, he led the Spurs to five NBA championships, winning

NBA Finals MVP The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of eleven medi ...

in three of those campaigns. In addition, Duncan was a two-time NBA MVP, 15-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA and 15-time All-Defensive team selection. Billups went on to earn five All-Star selections and won Finals MVP honors in with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. The ninth pick, Tracy McGrady, captured two NBA scoring titles and was named to seven All-Star and All-NBA teams. The

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

forfeited their 1997 first-round pick in connection with the signing of Juwan Howard. (Washington would have had the 17th pick.) Thus, the draft only had 28 first-round selections and 57 selections overall.

Draft selections

Notable undrafted players

These players eligible for the 1997 NBA Draft were not selected but played in the NBA. Burke Pat

Early entrants

College underclassmen

This year saw a continued rise of collegiate underclassmen and other players of similar nature declaring entry into the NBA draft. This year initially saw a total of 47 eligible players enter the draft at first, but seven of these players (including

Cory Carr Cory Jermaine Carr (; born December 5, 1975) is an American-born Israeli retired basketball player, former NBA and Israeli Basketball Premier League player, and head coach of Israeli women's basketball team Israel Girls Basketball Academy. Carr ...

from

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

, former

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

player Ronnie Fields from the St. Paul Slam! in the International Basketball Association, the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

born Dimitrios Papanikolaou of the Olympiacos Piraeus B.C. in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, Larell Redic from

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

, Dawood Thomas from the California University of Pennsylvania, the Turkish-

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

n born Mirsad Türkcan of the Efes Pilsen in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and the Argentinian- Spanish born Lucas Victoriano of the Olimpia Venado Tuerto in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

) would later decline their entry for this year's draft. Including the likes of high school phenom Tracy McGrady from Mount Zion Christian Academy, the

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n born Marko Milič of the Smelt Olimpija in

, and former

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut's oldest publi ...

player Keith Closs of the Norwich Neptunes from the Atlantic Basketball Association minor league, the number of qualified underclassmen would increase from 37 only in college to 40 total players. Regardless, the following

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

players successfully applied for early draft entrance. * Gracen Averil – G, Texas Tech (junior) * Tony Battie – F/C, Texas Tech (junior) * Chauncey Billups – G,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

(sophomore) * Carl Blanton – F, Sinclair CC (junior) * Mark Blount – C/F,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

(sophomore) * C. J. Bruton – G, Indian Hills CC (sophomore) * Dan Buie – F, Washburn (junior) * James Cotton – G, Long Beach State (junior) * Tony Doyle – F, Columbia (junior) * Ian Folmar – F, Slippery Rock (junior) * Danny Fortson – F,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

(junior) *

Adonal Foyle Adonal David Foyle (born March 9, 1975) is a Vincentian-American former professional basketball center. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the eighth overall selection of the 1997 NBA draft. Foyle played ten seasons with the War ...

– C/F, Colgate (junior) * Darryl Hardy – F, Winston–Salem State (junior) * Antjonne Holmes – F, Central Baptist (freshman) * Troy Hudson – G,

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

(junior) * Marc Jackson – F/C,

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

* Stephen Jackson – F/G, Butler CC (freshman) * Ed Jenkins – F, Ohio State (junior) * Marcus Johnson – F, Long Beach State (junior) * Damon Jones – G,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

(junior) * Nate Langley – G,

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

(junior) * Keith Love – G,

Rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

(junior) * Gordon Malone – F,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

(junior) * Amere May – F, Shaw (junior) * Elgie McCoy – F, Kutztown (junior) * Ron Mercer – G/F,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

(sophomore) * Victor Page – G, Georgetown (sophomore) * Shawn Ritzie – G, Norwalk CC (sophomore) * Paul Rogers – F/C, Gonzaga (junior) * Bryon Ruffner – F, BYU (junior) * Olivier Saint-Jean – San Jose State (junior) * Mark Sanford – F, Washington (junior) * God Shammgod – G, Providence (sophomore) *

Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played power forward and center positions. Originally from Detroit, Taylor played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and was ...

– F,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

(junior) * Tim Thomas – F, Villanova (freshman) * Mark Young – F, Kansas State (junior)

High school players

This would be the third year in a row where high school players were allowed entry into the NBA draft after previously only doing it back in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. However, only one player would go directly from high school to enter the NBA this year. The following high school player successfully applied for early draft entrance. * Tracy McGrady – G/F, Mount Zion Christian Academy (

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

)

International players

This year, only one international born player would officially enter the NBA draft after seeing three other international players initially declare their interest in entering this year's draft. The following international player successfully applied for early draft entrance. * Marko Milič – G/F, Smelt Olimpija (

)

Other eligible players

This year marked the third time in NBA history (the first two times being in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

and

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

) that an eligible underclassman player of sorts would declare entry for an NBA draft by playing minor league basketball within the U.S.A. first (as well as have it be the first time that it wouldn't involve the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

or its previous name in the Eastern Basketball Association). It would also be the fourth time that a player would declare entry while also playing in another American basketball league, with the second case of this occurring in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

with David Brent being allowed entry into the NBA draft despite him already playing for the

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

of the rivaling

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

at the time.

References

External links

*
1997 NBA Draft
at Basketball-reference {{NBA on TNT

Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

NBA draft

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

Basketball in North Carolina Events in Charlotte, North Carolina Basketball in Charlotte, North Carolina