# 2001 NBA draft

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. 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. 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 |
| ^ | 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 | 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 | 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 | San Antonio Spurs | Paris Basket Racing (France) |
| 1 | 29 | Forfeited pick | | | Minnesota Timberwolves (forfeited their first-round pick due to salary cap violations) | |
| 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$^#$ | 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$^#$ | C | United States | New York Knicks (from Seattle) | Kansas (Sr.) |
| 2 | 44 | Kyle Hill$^#$ | 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$^#$ | 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$^#$ | 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$^#$ | SG | United States | Sacramento Kings | Saint Louis (Sr.) |
| 2 | 56 | Robertas Javtokas$^#$ | 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$^#$ | SF | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Oregon (Sr.) |
* ↑ 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.
* Gilbert Arenas – G, Arizona (sophomore)
* Brandon Armstrong – G, Pepperdine (junior)
* Malcolm Battles – F, Point Mark (junior)
* Tavorris Bell – F, Rhode Island (junior)
* Preston Bennett – F, Grayson (freshman)
* Michael Bradley – F, Villanova (junior)
* Jamison Brewer – G, Auburn (sophomore)
* Kedrick Brown – F, Okaloosa-Walton CC (sophomore)
* SirValiant Brown – G, George Washington (sophomore)
* Nick Burwell – G, Orange Coast (sophomore)
* Jason Collins – C, Stanford (junior)
* Omar Cook – G, St. John's (freshman)
* Samuel Dalembert – C/F, Seton Hall (sophomore)
* Maurice Evans – G, Texas (junior)
* Benjamin Eze – F, Southern Idaho (freshman)
* Alton Ford – F, Houston (freshman)
* Joseph Forte – G, North Carolina (sophomore)
* Jerry Green – G, UC Irvine (junior)
* Eddie Griffin – F, Seton Hall (freshman)
* Rob Griffin – F, Kentucky Wesleyan (junior)
* Trenton Hassell – G, Austin Peay (junior)
* Kirk Haston – F, Indiana (junior)
* Draper Housley – G, Lee College (sophomore)
* Steven Hunter – C/F, DePaul (sophomore)
* Richard Jefferson – F, Arizona (junior)
* Joe Johnson – F/G, Arkansas (sophomore)
* D. A. Layne – G, Georgia (junior)
* Zach Marbury – G, Rhode Island (sophomore)
* Jamario Moon – F, Meridian (freshman)
* Troy Murphy – F, Notre Dame (junior)
* Zach Randolph – F, Michigan State (freshman)
* Jason Richardson – G, Michigan State (sophomore)
* Kenny Satterfield – G, Cincinnati (sophomore)
* Bobby Simmons – F, DePaul (junior)
* Will Solomon – G, Clemson (junior)
* Clifton Terry – F, Kennedy–King (sophomore)
* Gerald Wallace – F/G, Alabama (freshman)
* Rodney White – F, Charlotte (freshman)
* Michael Wright – F, Arizona (junior)

### 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.
* Kwame Brown – F, Glynn Academy (Brunswick, Georgia)
* Tyson Chandler – F/C, Dominguez High School (Compton, California)
* Ousmane Cisse – F, St. Jude Educational Institute (Montgomery, Alabama)
* Eddy Curry – C/F, Thornwood High School (South Holland, Illinois)
* DeSagana Diop – C, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
* Tony Key – C, Centennial High School (Compton, California)

### International players

The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
* Denis Ershov – C, Pulkovo Saint Petersburg (Russia)
* Antonis Fotsis – F, Panathinaikos (Greece)
* Pau Gasol – F, FC Barcelona (Spain)
* Raül López – G, Real Madrid (Spain)
* Tony Parker – G, Paris Basket Racing (France)
* Vladimir Radmanović – F, FMP (FR Yugoslavia)

### Other eligible players

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