June 22, 2017
THE FLATS – Dating all the way back to 1947, the first year that the National Basketball Association conducted a draft, Georgia Tech basketball has enjoyed a rich history with the NBA Draft. A total of 44 Tech players have been selected in the annual draft, all but 13 of those since the Yellow Jackets became a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1979.
The first Tech player ever selected in the NBA Draft was none other than Frank Broyles, who was selected by the Toronto Huskies in the 1947 draft. That year, there was one round (10 picks) and the remaining 70 players were selected at-large. Broyles, a football and basketball letterwinner at Tech, never played in the NBA but went on to earn much higher acclaim during a long career as a college football coach and athletics administrator.
Jim Caldwell, who graduated in 1965 as Tech’s all-time leading rebounder and held that record for 28 years, was the first Tech alumnus to be drafted and then actually play in the league. Caldwell was taken in the third round by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1965 draft, but never played for that team, instead playing parts of two seasons for the New York Knicks and then the New Jersey Americans and Kentucky Colonels of the old American Basketball Association.
Brook Steppe, Tech’s first All-ACC player and a first-round choice by the Kansas City Kings in 1982, was the first Yellow Jacket to enjoy a lengthy career in the league, playing with the Kings, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, the Kings again after they moved to Sacramento, and the Portland Trail Blazers before retiring in 1989.
Then along came many of the best-known players in Tech’s ACC history, beginning with Mark Price and John Salley, who were both drafted in 1986, Salley by Detroit, Price by Dallas, and enjoyed standout NBA careers. Salley was a part of four NBA title teams, and Price had his jersey number 25 retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kenny Anderson, who helped lead Tech to an ACC title and its first Final Four in 1990, remains the highest draft pick in Yellow Jacket history, the No. 2 overall pick by the New Jersey Nets in 1991, and went onto play 14 years in the NBA.
Following is a quick history of Georgia Tech in the NBA Draft …
First-round picks – Georgia Tech has had 18 players taken in the first round overall, more than any ACC school except Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Syracuse. Sixteen of those have come since 1989. Two Georgia Tech players been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in the same year once – Thaddeus Young (12th overall) and Javaris Crittenton (19th) in 2007.
Lottery picks – Eight Tech players have been “lottery picks” since the lottery was implemented in 1985. They are: John Salley (11th overall to Detroit, 1985), Tom Hammonds (9th overall to Washington in 1989), Dennis Scott (4th to Orlando in 1990), Kenny Anderson (2nd to New Jersey in 1991), Stephon Marbury (4th to Milwaukee in 1996), Chris Bosh (4th to Toronto in 2003), Thaddeus Young (12th overall to Philadelphia in 2007) and Derrick Favors (3rd overall to New Jersey in 2010).
Highest draft pick – Kenny Anderson (No. 2 overall to New Jersey in 1991)
Next highest picks – Derrick Favors (No. 3 overall to New Jersey), Stephon Marbury (No. 4 overall to Milwaukee in 1996, traded to Minnesota); Dennis Scott (No. 4 overall to Orlando in 1990); Chris Bosh (No. 4 overall to Toronto in 2003)
Early NBA entries – Iman Shumpert was the 11th Tech player and most recent one to make an early entry into the NBA draft in 2011. The other early entries were Dennis Scott (1990), Kenny Anderson (1991), Stephon Marbury (1996), Dion Glover (1998), Chris Bosh (2003), Jarrett Jack (2005), Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton (2007), Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors(2010).
Draft choices by team – The hometown NBA team, the Atlanta Hawks, has drafted three Georgia Tech players in its history – guard Phil Wagner in 1968 (6th round), guard George Thomas in 1983 (8th round) and guard Dion Glover in 1999 (1st round), while New Jersey, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Seattle (now Oklahoma City) also have selected three Tech players each. Franchises which have never selected a Tech player in the draft – Charlotte, Cleveland, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis, New Orleans and San Antonio.
Complete Georgia Tech Draft History
2013Glen Rice, Jr. - 2nd/35th pick, Philadelphia 76ers (traded to Washington Wizards)
2011 Iman Shumpert – 1st/17th pick, New York Knicks
2010 Derrick Favors – 1st/3rd pick, New Jersey Nets Gani Lawal – 2nd/46th overall, Phoenix Suns
2007 Thaddeus Young – 1st/12th pick*, Philadelphia 76ers Javaris Crittenton – 1st/19th, Los Angeles Lakers
2005 Jarrett Jack – 1st/22nd pick, Denver Nuggets (traded to Portland Trail Blazers)
2003 Chris Bosh – 1st/4th pick*, Toronto Raptors
2001 Alvin Jones – 2nd/57th pick, Philadelphia 76ers
2000 Jason Collier – 1st/15th pick, Milwaukee Bucks (traded to Houston Rockets)
1999 Dion Glover – 1st/20th pick, Atlanta Hawks
1998 Matt Harpring – 1st/15th pick, Orlando Magic
1997 Eddie Elisma – 2nd/41st pick, Seattle Supersonics
1996 Stephon Marbury – 1st/4th pick*, Milwaukee Bucks (traded to Minnesota Timberwolves) Drew Barry – 2nd/57th, Seattle Supersonics
1995 Travis Best – 1st/22nd pick, Indiana Pacers
1993 Malcolm Mackey – 1st/27th pick, Phoenix Suns
1992 Jon Barry – 1st/21st pick, Boston Celtics Matt Geiger – 2nd/42nd, Miami Heat
1991 Kenny Anderson – 1st/2nd pick*, New Jersey Nets
1990 Dennis Scott – 1st/4th pick*, Orlando Magic Brian Oliver – 2nd/32nd, Philadelphia 76ers
1989 Tom Hammonds – 1st/9th pick*, Washington Bullets
1988 Craig Neal – 3rd/71st pick, Portland Trailblazers
1987 Bruce Dalrymple – 2nd/46th pick, Phoenix Suns
1986 John Salley – 1st/11th pick*, Detroit Pistons Mark Price – 2nd/25th pick, Dallas Mavericks (traded to Cleveland Cavaliers)
1985 Yvon Joseph – 2nd/36th pick, New Jersey Nets
1983 George Thomas – 8th/173rd pick, Atlanta Hawks
1982 Brook Steppe – 1st/17th pick, Kansas City Kings
1980 Lenny Horton – 5th/112th pick, Seattle Supersonics
1979 Tico Brown – 2nd/23rd pick, Utah Jazz Sammy Drummer – 4th/76th, Houston Rockets
1971 Rich Yunkus – 3rd/38th pick, Cincinnati Royals
1970 Bob Seemer – 10th/169th pick, Milwaukee Bucks
1968 Phil Wagner – 6th/75th pick, Atlanta Hawks
1965 Jim Caldwell – 3rd/28th pick, Los Angeles Lakers Ronald Scharf – 15th/107th, Cincinnati Royals
1961 Roger Kaiser – 4th/41st pick, Chicago Bulls
1960 Dave Denton – 6th/43rd pick, New York Knicks
1953 Pete Silas – 82nd overall pick, Minneapolis Lakers
1950 Colin Anderson – 10th/112nd pick, Indianapolis Kautskys
1949 Jim Nolan – 2nd/18th pick, Philadelphia Warriors
1947 Frank Broyles – 69th overall pick, Toronto Huskies
*denotes lottery pick
