2001 NBA draft

2001 NBA draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)June 27, 2001
LocationThe Theater at Madison Square Garden (New York City, New York)
Network(s)TNT
Overview
57 total selections in 2 rounds
LeagueNBA
First selectionKwame Brown (Washington Wizards)
← 2000
2002 →

The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001, in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizards, over players that have gone on to have more successful NBA careers, has been a source of great criticism by numerous media outlets.[1] Several international players from this draft, Pau Gasol (Spain), Tony Parker (France) and Mehmet Okur (Turkey), became NBA All-Stars.

The Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round pick due to salary cap violations.[2] It would be the first of two first rounders that would have to forfeit their picks during the early 2000s.

Eight of the players selected in this draft would never play in an NBA game in their professional basketball careers. Both of the players drafted by the New York Knicks (Michael Wright and Eric Chenowith) were among this group.

Draft selections

G Guard PG Point guard SG Shooting guard F Forward SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center
Kwame Brown was selected 1st overall by the Washington Wizards.
Tyson Chandler was selected 2nd overall by the Los Angeles Clippers (traded to the Chicago Bulls).
Pau Gasol was selected 3rd overall by the Atlanta Hawks (traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies).
Joe Johnson was selected 10th overall by the Boston Celtics.
Zach Randolph was selected 19th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Gerald Wallace was selected 25th overall by the Sacramento Kings.
Tony Parker was selected 28th overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
Gilbert Arenas was selected 31st overall by the Golden State Warriors.
Mehmet Okur was selected 38th overall by the Detroit Pistons.
^ Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
* 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 has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game
~ Denotes player who has been selected as Rookie of the Year
Round Pick Player Position Nationality[n 1] Team School/club team
1 1 Kwame Brown PF  United States Washington Wizards Glynn Academy (Brunswick, Georgia)
1 2 Tyson Chandler* C  United States Los Angeles Clippers (traded to Chicago) Dominguez HS (Compton, California)
1 3 Pau Gasol^~ PF/C  Spain Atlanta Hawks (traded to Vancouver) FC Barcelona (Spain)
1 4 Eddy Curry C  United States Chicago Bulls Thornwood HS (South Holland, Illinois)
1 5 Jason Richardson SG  United States Golden State Warriors Michigan State (So.)
1 6 Shane Battier SF  United States Vancouver Grizzlies Duke (Sr.)
1 7 Eddie Griffin PF  United States New Jersey Nets (traded to Houston) Seton Hall (Fr.)
1 8 DeSagana Diop C  Senegal Cleveland Cavaliers Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) HS
1 9 Rodney White SF/PF  United States Detroit Pistons Charlotte (Fr.)
1 10 Joe Johnson* SG  United States Boston Celtics Arkansas (So.)
1 11 Kedrick Brown SF  United States Boston Celtics (from Denver) Okaloosa-Walton CC (So.)
1 12 Vladimir Radmanović PF  Yugoslavia Seattle SuperSonics FMP (Yugoslavia)
1 13 Richard Jefferson SF  United States Houston Rockets (traded to New Jersey) Arizona (Jr.)
1 14 Troy Murphy PF  United States Golden State Warriors (from Indiana) Notre Dame (Jr.)
1 15 Steven Hunter C  United States Orlando Magic DePaul (Fr.)
1 16 Kirk Haston PF  United States Charlotte Hornets Indiana (Jr.)
1 17 Michael Bradley PF  United States Toronto Raptors Villanova (Jr.)
1 18 Jason Collins C  United States Houston Rockets (from New York via Phoenix and Orlando, traded to New Jersey) Stanford (Sr.)
1 19 Zach Randolph* PF  United States Portland Trail Blazers Michigan State (Fr.)
1 20 Brendan Haywood C  United States Cleveland Cavaliers (from Miami, traded to Orlando) North Carolina (Sr.)
1 21 Joseph Forte SG  United States Boston Celtics (from Phoenix via Denver and Utah) North Carolina (So.)
1 22 Jeryl Sasser SG  United States Orlando Magic (from Milwaukee via Houston) SMU (Sr.)
1 23 Brandon Armstrong SG  United States Houston Rockets (from Dallas via Orlando, traded to New Jersey) Pepperdine (Jr.)
1 24 Raül López PG  Spain Utah Jazz Real Madrid (Spain)
1 25 Gerald Wallace+ SF  United States Sacramento Kings Alabama (Fr.)
1 26 Samuel Dalembert C  Canada[3] Philadelphia 76ers Seton Hall (So.)
1 27 Jamaal Tinsley PG  United States Vancouver Grizzlies (from L.A. Lakers via New York, traded to Indiana via Atlanta) Iowa State (Sr.)
1 28 Tony Parker^ PG  France[4] San Antonio Spurs Paris Basket Racing (France)
1 29 Forfeited pick Minnesota Timberwolves (forfeited their first-round pick due to salary cap violations)[5]
2 30 Trenton Hassell SG  United States Chicago Bulls Austin Peay (Sr.)
2 31 Gilbert Arenas* PG  United States Golden State Warriors Arizona (So.)
2 32 Omar Cook PG  United States Orlando Magic (from Washington, traded to Denver) St. John's (Fr.)
2 33 Will Solomon PG  United States Vancouver Grizzlies Clemson (Sr.)
2 34 Brian Scalabrine SF  United States New Jersey Nets USC (Sr)
2 35 Terence Morris PF  United States Atlanta Hawks Maryland (Sr.)
2 36 Jeff Trepagnier SG  United States Cleveland Cavaliers USC (Sr.)
2 37 Damone Brown SF  United States Philadelphia 76ers (from L.A. Clippers) Syracuse (Sr.)
2 38 Mehmet Okur+ C  Turkey Detroit Pistons Efes Pilsen (Turkey)
2 39 Michael Wright[6]# PF  United States New York Knicks (from Boston via Seattle) Arizona (Jr.)
2 40 Earl Watson PG  United States Seattle SuperSonics UCLA (Sr.)
2 41 Jamison Brewer PG  United States Indiana Pacers Auburn (So.)
2 42 Bobby Simmons F/G  United States Seattle SuperSonics DePaul (Jr.)
2 43 Eric Chenowith[7]# C  United States New York Knicks (from Seattle) Kansas (Sr.)
2 44 Kyle Hill[8]# PG  United States Dallas Mavericks (from Houston) Eastern Illinois (Sr.)
2 45 Sean Lampley SF  United States Chicago Bulls (from Charlotte) California (Sr.)
2 46 Loren Woods C  United States Minnesota Timberwolves Arizona (Sr.)
2 47 Ousmane Cisse[9]# PF  Mali Denver Nuggets (from Toronto) St. Jude HS (Montgomery, Alabama)
2 48 Antonis Fotsis SF  Greece Vancouver Grizzlies (from New York) Panathinaikos (Greece) 1981
2 49 Ken Johnson C  United States Miami Heat Ohio State (Sr.)
2 50 Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje C  Cameroon Portland Trail Blazers Georgetown (Sr.)
2 51 Alton Ford PF  United States Phoenix Suns Houston (Fr.)
2 52 Andre Hutson[10]# PF  United States Milwaukee Bucks Michigan State (Sr.)
2 53 Jarron Collins F/C  United States Utah Jazz Stanford (Sr.)
2 54 Kenny Satterfield PG  United States Dallas Mavericks Cincinnati (So.)
2 55 Maurice Jeffers[11]# SG  United States Sacramento Kings Saint Louis (Sr.)
2 56 Robertas Javtokas[12]# C  Lithuania San Antonio Spurs (from L.A. Lakers) Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (Lithuania)
2 57 Alvin Jones C  Luxembourg Philadelphia 76ers Georgia Tech (Sr.)
2 58 Bryan Bracey[13]# SF  United States San Antonio Spurs Oregon (Sr.)
  1. ^ Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.

Player Position Nationality School/club team
Carlos Arroyo PG  Puerto Rico FIU (Sr.)
Charlie Bell G  United States Michigan State (Sr.)
Tierre Brown G  United States McNeese State (Sr.)
Joe Crispin PG  United States Penn State (Sr.)
Maurice Evans SG/SF  United States Texas (Jr.)
Tang Hamilton SF  United States Mississippi State (Sr.)
Walter Herrmann SF  Argentina Atenas de Córdoba (Argentina)
Horace Jenkins PG  United States William Paterson (Sr.)
Jamario Moon SF  United States Meridian CC (Fr.)
Andrés Nocioni PF/SF  Argentina TAU Cerámica (Spain)
Dean Oliver PG  United States Iowa (Sr.)
Norman Richardson G  United States Hofstra (Sr.)
Paul Shirley PF  United States Iowa State (Sr.)
Cezary Trybański C  Poland Znicz Pruszków (Poland)
Ratko Varda C  Yugoslavia Partizan (Serbia)
Mike Wilks PG  United States Rice (Sr.)

Early entrants

College underclassmen

This year would officially mark the very first year where the number of underclassmen that declared their entry into the NBA draft would exceed the number of selections made with 75 players that fit the underclassmen criteria declaring their initial entry for the NBA draft. However, it would also mark the largest number of dropped players yet with 23 of those players either coming from college or overseas deciding to withdraw from the draft for one reason or another. The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[14]

High school players

This would be the seventh straight year in a row where at least one high school player would declare their entry into the NBA draft directly out of high school after previously only allowing it one time back in 1975. This year would also mark the year with the highest amount of players coming directly out of high school yet with six players deciding to make the jump into an opportunity at the NBA (though only five of them would get it). Not only that, but it marked the first time that a high schooler would be taken as the #1 pick of the NBA draft. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[14]

International players

The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[14]

Other eligible players

Player Team Note Ref.
Lithuania Robertas Javtokas Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) Left Arizona in 2000; playing professionally since the 2000–01 season [15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Biggest Bust of the 00s". AOL News. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  2. ^ "NBA Restores Timberwolves' 2005 Draft Pick". NBA.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  3. ^ Dalembert was born in  Haiti but grew up and spent his childhood in Canada, where he later became a citizen in 2007.
  4. ^ Parker was born in Belgium but represents France in international competitions.
  5. ^ "NBA Restores Timberwolves' 2005 Draft Pick". NBA.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  6. ^ "Michael Wright Stats". ESPN. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  7. ^ "Eric Chenowith Stats". ESPN. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  8. ^ "Kyle Hill Stats". ESPN. April 7, 1979. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  9. ^ "Ousmane Cisse Stats". ESPN. October 20, 1982. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  10. ^ "Andre Hutson Stats". ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  11. ^ "Maurice Jeffers Stats". ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  12. ^ http://www.nba.com/historical/search/index.jsp?kw=Robertas%20Javtokas#results[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Bryan Bracey Stats". ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c "2001 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. August 4, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  15. ^ Freeman, Rick; Magruder, Jack (March 16, 2000). "NCAA Tournament Notebook". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 22, 2022.