Arvid Kramer (born October 3, 1956) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, mostly known for being the first overall pick by the

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

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) in the 1988 expansion draft at the age of 31, and furthermore being the only player to be selected in two expansion drafts and never playing for the teams that drafted him. He is tall and and played at the center position during most of his basketball career.

Professional career

Anchorage Northern Knights (1979–1980)

Kramer was drafted by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

in the 3rd round (1st pick, 45th overall) of the

1979 NBA draft The 1979 NBA draft was the 33rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA), held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on Monday, June 25. In this draft, the 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players a ...

in his senior year. After the draft, the Jazz made a 2-for-1 trade involving

Bernard King Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warrior ...

, which left no room for Kramer on their roster, so they waived him. He played for the

Anchorage Northern Knights The Anchorage Northern Knights were a professional basketball team based in Anchorage, Alaska from 1977 to 1982. The team played in the Eastern Basketball Association (EBA) during the 1977–78 season. The next season, the league changed its name ...

of 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 ...

during the 1979–80 season.

Denver Nuggets (1980)

Kramer was signed to a 10-day contract by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

on February 28, 1980, and was later signed for the remainder of the season. He only played eight games with the Nuggets during the 1979–80 season.

Telekom Baskets Bonn (1995–1996)

The expansion

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

made Kramer the first overall pick in the 1988 expansion draft at the age of 31. The

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

wanted to make sure that their players Uwe Blab,

Steve Alford Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball, Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). ...

or Bill Wennington, who were left unprotected, would not be selected, so they offered the

the rights to Arvid Kramer and their first choice (No. 20) in the college draft (which later would turn out to become Kevin Edwards). He never played for the Heat. Kramer later played for

Telekom Baskets Bonn Telekom Baskets Bonn is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, which is German basketball league system, the highest level pro basketball league in Germany. The club's s ...

during the 1995–96 season. He retired as a player in 1996 and worked as a general manager for the Baskets in

Bonn, Germany Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

from 1996 to 2004.

Personal life

Kramer's son Dennis Kramer was also a basketball player. He was killed in a road traffic incident on 27 August 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Arvid 1956 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Anchorage Northern Knights players Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings men's basketball players Basketball players from Minnesota Bayer Giants Leverkusen players Centers (basketball) Dallas Mavericks expansion draft picks Denver Nuggets players Mens Sana Basket players Miami Heat expansion draft picks People from Fulda, Minnesota Telekom Baskets Bonn players Utah Jazz draft picks