# 1985 NBA draft

The 1985 NBA draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the previous few years lasting up to 10 rounds total. A total of 162 players were selected over seven rounds by the league's 23 teams.
The New York Knicks were awarded the first overall pick by winning the first-ever NBA draft lottery, which was held in May of that year. The Knicks used it on Georgetown's Patrick Ewing. In addition to Ewing, this draft also resulted in several Hall of Famers, including Karl Malone taken by the Utah Jazz at pick 13.

## Draft selections

| PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | 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 |
| $^x$ | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-NBA Team |
| $^#$ | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game |
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team | School/club team |
| 1 | 1 | Patrick Ewing^ | C | United States | New York Knicks | Georgetown (Sr.) |
| 1 | 2 | Wayman Tisdale | PF | United States | Indiana Pacers | Oklahoma (Jr.) |
| 1 | 3 | Benoit Benjamin | C | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Creighton (Jr.) |
| 1 | 4 | Xavier McDaniel$^+$ | PF | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Wichita State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 5 | Jon Koncak | C | United States | Atlanta Hawks | SMU (Sr.) |
| 1 | 6 | Joe Kleine | C | United States | Sacramento Kings | Arkansas (Sr.) |
| 1 | 7 | Chris Mullin^ | SF | United States | Golden State Warriors | St. John's (Sr.) |
| 1 | 8 | Detlef Schrempf* | SF/PF | West Germany | Dallas Mavericks (from Cleveland) | Washington (Sr.) |
| 1 | 9 | Charles Oakley$^+$ | PF | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers * | Virginia Union (Sr.) |
| 1 | 10 | Ed Pinckney | PF | United States | Phoenix Suns | Villanova (Sr.) |
| 1 | 11 | Keith Lee | C | United States | Chicago Bulls | Memphis State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 12 | Kenny Green | F | United States | Washington Bullets | Wake Forest (Jr.) |
| 1 | 13 | Karl Malone^ | PF | United States | Utah Jazz | Louisiana Tech (Jr.) |
| 1 | 14 | Alfredrick Hughes | SG | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Loyola (IL) (Sr.) |
| 1 | 15 | Blair Rasmussen | C | United States | Denver Nuggets (from Portland) | Oregon (Sr.) |
| 1 | 16 | Bill Wennington | C | Canada | Dallas Mavericks (from New Jersey) | St. John's (Sr.) |
| 1 | 17 | Uwe Blab | C | West Germany | Dallas Mavericks | Indiana (Sr.) |
| 1 | 18 | Joe Dumars^ | SG | United States | Detroit Pistons | McNeese State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 19 | Steve Harris | SG | United States | Houston Rockets | Tulsa (Sr.) |
| 1 | 20 | Sam Vincent | SG | United States | Boston Celtics (from Denver via Dallas) | Michigan State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 21 | Terry Catledge | PF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | South Alabama (Sr.) |
| 1 | 22 | Jerry Reynolds | G/F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | LSU (Jr.) |
| 1 | 23 | A.C. Green$^+$ | SF/PF | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | Oregon State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 24 | Terry Porter$^+$ | PG | United States | Portland Trail Blazers (from Boston via Dallas) | Wisconsin–Stevens Point (Sr.) |
| 2 | 25 | Mike Smrek | C | Canada | Portland Trail Blazers | Canisius (Sr.) |
| 2 | 26 | Bill Martin | F | United States | Indiana Pacers | Georgetown (Sr.) |
| 2 | 27 | Dwayne McClain | SG | United States | Indiana Pacers | Villanova (Sr.) |
| 2 | 28 | Ken Johnson | F | United States | Chicago Bulls | Michigan State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 29 | Mike Brittain | C | United States | San Antonio Spurs | South Carolina (Sr.) |
| 2 | 30 | Calvin Duncan$^#$ | G | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | VCU (Sr.) |
| 2 | 31 | Manute Bol | C | Sudan | Washington Bullets | Bridgeport (Fr.) |
| 2 | 32 | Nick Vanos | C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Santa Clara (Sr.) |
| 2 | 33 | Greg Stokes | F/C | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Iowa (Sr.) |
| 2 | 34 | Aubrey Sherrod$^#$ | SG | United States | Chicago Bulls | Wichita State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 35 | Tyrone Corbin | SF/PF | United States | San Antonio Spurs | DePaul (Sr.) |
| 2 | 36 | Yvon Joseph | C | Haiti | New Jersey Nets | Georgia Tech (Sr.) |
| 2 | 37 | Carey Scurry | F | United States | Utah Jazz | LIU Brooklyn (Sr.) |
| 2 | 38 | Fernando Martín | PF | Spain | New Jersey Nets | Real Madrid (Spain) |
| 2 | 39 | George Montgomery$^#$ | F | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Illinois (Sr.) |
| 2 | 40 | Mark Acres | F/C | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Oral Roberts (Sr.) |
| 2 | 41 | Lorenzo Charles | PF | United States | Atlanta Hawks | NC State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 42 | Bobby Lee Hurt$^#$ | C/F | United States | Golden State Warriors | Alabama (Sr.) |
| 2 | 43 | Barry Stevens | G/F | United States | Denver Nuggets | Iowa State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 44 | Voise Winters | SG | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Bradley (Sr.) |
| 2 | 45 | John "Hot Rod" Williams | PF | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Tulane (Sr.) |
| 2 | 46 | Adrian Branch | SF | United States | Chicago Bulls (from L.A. Lakers) | Maryland (Sr.) |
| 2 | 47 | Gerald Wilkins | SG | United States | New York Knicks (from Boston) | Chattanooga (Sr.) |
| 3 | 48 | Kenny Patterson$^#$ | G | United States | Indiana Pacers | DePaul (Sr.) |
| 3 | 49 | Brad Wright | PF | United States | Golden State Warriors | UCLA (Sr.) |
| 3 | 50 | Leonard Allen$^#$ | C | United States | Dallas Mavericks | San Diego State (Sr.) |
| 3 | 51 | Charlie Bradley$^#$ | G | United States | Sacramento Kings | South Florida (Sr.) |
| 3 | 52 | Anicet Lavodrama$^#$ | C | Central African Republic | Los Angeles Clippers | Houston Baptist (Sr.) |
| 3 | 53 | Rolando Lamb$^#$ | G | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | VCU (Sr.) |
| 3 | 54 | Sam Mitchell | SF/PF | United States | Houston Rockets (from San Antonio via Atlanta)**** | Mercer (Sr.) |
| 3 | 55 | Herb Johnson$^#$ | F | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Tulsa (Sr.) |
| 3 | 56 | Jerry Everett$^#$ | C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Lamar (Sr.) |
| 3 | 57 | Michael Payne$^#$ | F | United States | Houston Rockets | Iowa (Sr.) |
| 3 | 58 | Vernon Moore$^#$ | G | United States | Washington Bullets | Creighton (Sr.) |
| 3 | 59 | Sedric Toney | PG | United States | Atlanta Hawks** | Dayton (Sr.) |
| 3 | 60 | Andre Goode$^#$ | F | United States | Detroit Pistons | Northwestern (Sr.) |
| 3 | 61 | Perry Young | SG | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Virginia Tech (Sr.) |
| 3 | 62 | Nigel Miguel$^#$ | G | Belize United States | New Jersey Nets | UCLA (Sr.) |
| 3 | 63 | Harold Keeling | SG | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Santa Clara (Sr.) |
| 3 | 64 | Richie Johnson$^#$ | F | United States | Detroit Pistons | Evansville (Sr.) |
| 3 | 65 | Kenny Perry$^#$ | C | United States | Washington Bullets | Southern Illinois (Sr.) |
| 3 | 66 | Michael Adams$^+$ | PG | United States | Sacramento Kings (from Denver) | Boston College (Sr.) |
| 3 | 67 | Steve Black$^#$ | G | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | La Salle (Sr.) |
| 3 | 68 | Eugene McDowell$^#$ | C | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Florida (Sr.) |
| 3 | 69 | Mike Brown | C | United States | Chicago Bulls*** | George Washington (Sr.) |
| 3 | 70 | Andre Battle$^#$ | G | United States | Boston Celtics | Loyola Chicago (Sr.) |
| 4 | 71 | Luster Goodwin$^#$ | G | United States | Golden State Warriors | UTEP (Sr.) |
| 4 | 72 | Vince Hamilton$^#$ | G | United States | Indiana Pacers | Clemson (Sr.) |
| 4 | 73 | Fred Cofield | PG | United States | New York Knicks | Eastern Michigan (Sr.) |
| 4 | 74 | Jim Deines$^#$ | F | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Arizona State (Sr.) |
| 4 | 75 | Alex Stivrins | F | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Colorado (Sr.) |
| 4 | 76 | Willie Simmons$^#$ | C | United States | Sacramento Kings | Louisiana Tech (Sr.) |
| 4 | 77 | Arvydas Sabonis^ | C | Soviet Union | Atlanta Hawks (pick voided because Sabonis was not yet 21 at the time of the draft) | Žalgiris Kaunas (Soviet Union) |
| 4 | 78 | Granger Hall$^#$ | F | United States | Phoenix Suns | Temple (Sr.) |
| 4 | 79 | Mark Davis | SF | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Old Dominion (Sr.) |
| 4 | 80 | Craig Beard$^#$ | G | United States | Chicago Bulls | Samford (Sr.) |
| 4 | 81 | Richie Adams$^#$ | F | United States | Washington Bullets | UNLV (Sr.) |
| 4 | 82 | Scott Roth | SF | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Wisconsin (Sr.) |
| 4 | 83 | Delaney Rudd | G | United States | Utah Jazz | Wake Forest (Sr.) |
| 4 | 84 | John Battle | SG | United States | Atlanta Hawks (from New Jersey) | Rutgers (Sr.) |
| 4 | 85 | Joe Atkinson$^#$ | F | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Oklahoma State (Jr.) |
| 4 | 86 | Bubba Jennings$^#$ | G | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Texas Tech (Sr.) |
| 4 | 87 | Spud Webb | PG | United States | Detroit Pistons | NC State (Sr.) |
| 4 | 88 | Michael Brooks$^#$ | G | United States | Houston Rockets | Tennessee (Sr.) |
| 4 | 89 | Pete Williams | PF | United States | Denver Nuggets | Arizona (Sr.) |
| 4 | 90 | Derrick Gervin | PF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | UTSA (Jr.) |
| 4 | 91 | Cozell McQueen | PF | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | NC State (Sr.) |
| 4 | 92 | Dexter Shouse | PG | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | South Alabama (Sr.) |
| 4 | 93 | Cliff Webber$^#$ | F | United States | Boston Celtics | Liberty (Sr.) |
| 5 | 94 | Kelvin Johnson$^#$ | G | United States | Indiana Pacers | Richmond (Sr.) |
| 5 | 95 | Greg Cavener$^#$ | C | United States | Golden State Warriors | Missouri (Sr.) |
| 5 | 96 | Mike Schlegel$^#$ | F | United States | New York Knicks | VCU (Sr.) |
| 5 | 97 | Lou Stefanovic$^#$ | F | Yugoslavia | Seattle SuperSonics | Illinois State (Sr.) |
| 5 | 98 | Bob Lojewski$^#$ | F | United States | Sacramento Kings | Saint Joseph's (Sr.) |
| 5 | 99 | Wayne Carlander$^#$ | F | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | USC (Sr.) |
| 5 | 100 | Larry Hampton$^#$ | F | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Fairleigh Dickinson (Sr.) |
| 5 | 101 | Gunther Behnke$^#$ | C | Germany | Cleveland Cavaliers | Leverkusen (Germany) |
| 5 | 102 | Shawn Campbell$^#$ | C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Weber State (Sr.) |
| 5 | 103 | Reid Gettys$^#$ | F | United States | Chicago Bulls | Houston (Sr.) |
| 5 | 104 | Dean Shaffer$^#$ | G | United States | Washington Bullets | Florida State (Sr.) |
| 5 | 105 | Ray Hall$^#$ | G | United States | Utah Jazz | Canisius (Sr.) |
| 5 | 106 | Clayton Olivier$^#$ | C | United States | San Antonio Spurs | USC (Sr.) |
| 5 | 107 | James Anderson$^#$ | F | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | USC Upstate (Sr.) |
| 5 | 108 | Kelly Blaine$^#$ | C | United States | New Jersey Nets | South Alabama (Sr.) |
| 5 | 109 | Tommy Davis$^#$ | G | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Minnesota (Sr.) |
| 5 | 110 | Mike Lahm$^#$ | C | United States | Detroit Pistons | Murray State (Sr.) |
| 5 | 111 | Ivan Daniels$^#$ | C | United States | Indiana Pacers | UIC (Sr.) |
| 5 | 112 | Kenny Brown$^#$ | G | United States | Denver Nuggets | Texas A&M (Jr.) |
| 5 | 113 | Carl Wright$^#$ | G | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | SMU (Jr.) |
| 5 | 114 | Ray Knight$^#$ | C | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Providence (Sr.) |
| 5 | 115 | Timo Saarelainen$^#$ | F | Finland | Los Angeles Lakers | BYU (Sr.) |
| 5 | 116 | Albert Butts$^#$ | C | United States | Boston Celtics | La Salle (Sr.) |
| 6 | 117 | Gerald Crosby$^#$ | G | United States | Golden State Warriors | Georgia (Sr.) |
| 6 | 118 | Stu Primus$^#$ | G | United States | Indiana Pacers | Boston College (Sr.) |
| 6 | 119 | Kent Lockhart$^#$ | G | United States | New York Knicks | UTEP (Sr.) |
| 6 | 120 | Charles Balentine$^#$ | F | United States | Sacramento Kings | Arkansas (Sr.) |
| 6 | 121 | Malcolm Thomas$^#$ | F | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Missouri (Sr.) |
| 6 | 122 | Earl Walker$^#$ | F | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Mercer (Sr.) |
| 6 | 123 | Tony Duckett$^#$ | G | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Lafayette (Sr.) |
| 6 | 124 | Charles Rayne$^#$ | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Temple (Sr.) |
| 6 | 125 | Rickie Johnson$^#$ | F | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Illinois State (Sr.) |
| 6 | 126 | Danny Meagher$^#$ | F | Canada | Chicago Bulls | Duke (Sr.) |
| 6 | 127 | Matt England$^#$ | G | United States | Washington Bullets | Houston Baptist (Sr.) |
| 6 | 128 | Chris Harper$^#$ | G | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Oregon (Sr.) |
| 6 | 129 | Jim Miller$^#$ | F | United States | Utah Jazz | Virginia (Sr.) |
| 6 | 130 | George Almones$^#$ | G | United States | New Jersey Nets | Southwestern Louisiana (Jr.) |
| 6 | 131 | Curtis Moore$^#$ | G | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Nebraska (Sr.) |
| 6 | 132 | Carlton Cooper$^#$ | F | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Texas (Sr.) |
| 6 | 133 | Vincent Giles$^#$ | F | United States | Detroit Pistons | Eastern Michigan (Sr.) |
| 6 | 134 | Sam Potter$^#$ | G | United States | Houston Rockets | Oral Roberts (Sr.) |
| 6 | 135 | Joe Carrabino$^#$ | F | United States | Denver Nuggets | Harvard (Sr.) |
| 6 | 136 | Daryl Lloyd$^#$ | F | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Drake (Sr.) |
| 6 | 137 | Quentin Anderson$^#$ | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Texas Tech (Sr.) |
| 6 | 138 | Tony Neal$^#$ | F | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | Cal State Fullerton (Sr.) |
| 6 | 139 | Ralph Lewis | SG | United States | Boston Celtics | La Salle (Sr.) |
| 7 | 140 | Jeff Acres$^#$ | F | United States | Indiana Pacers | Oral Roberts (Sr.) |
| 7 | 141 | Eric Boyd$^#$ | G | United States | Golden State Warriors | North Carolina A&T (Sr.) |
| 7 | 142 | Ken Bantum$^#$ | C | United States | New York Knicks | Cornell (Sr.) |
| 7 | 143 | Gary Maloncon$^#$ | F | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | UCLA (Sr.) |
| 7 | 144 | Mike Phelps | SG | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Alcorn State (Sr.) |
| 7 | 145 | Alton Lee Gipson$^#$ | C | United States | Sacramento Kings | Florida State (Sr.) |
| 7 | 146 | Bob Ferry Jr.$^#$ | G | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Harvard (Sr.) |
| 7 | 147 | Buzz Peterson$^#$ | G | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | North Carolina (Sr.) |
| 7 | 148 | Georgi Glouchkov | PF | Bulgaria | Phoenix Suns | Akademik Varna (Bulgaria) |
| 7 | 149 | Jeff Adkins$^#$ | G | United States | Chicago Bulls | Maryland (Sr.) |
| 7 | 150 | Keith Gray$^#$ | G | United States | Washington Bullets | Detroit Mercy (Sr.) |
| 7 | 151 | Mike Wacker$^#$ | F | United States | Utah Jazz | Texas (Sr.) |
| 7 | 152 | Al Young$^#$ | G | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Virginia Tech (Sr.) |
| 7 | 153 | Mark Owen$^#$ | G | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | College of Idaho (Sr.) |
| 7 | 154 | Gary McLain$^#$ | G | United States | New Jersey Nets | Villanova (Sr.) |
| 7 | 155 | Ed Catchings$^#$ | F | United States | Dallas Mavericks | UNLV (Sr.) |
| 7 | 156 | Frank James$^#$ | F | United States | Detroit Pistons | UNLV (Sr.) |
| 7 | 157 | Don Turney$^#$ | C | United States | Indiana Pacers | Marshall (Sr.) |
| 7 | 158 | Eddie Smith$^#$ | F | United States | Denver Nuggets | Arizona (Sr.) |
| 7 | 159 | Jaye Andrews$^#$ | F | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Bucknell (Sr.) |
| 7 | 160 | Mario Elie | SF/SG | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | American International (Sr.) |
| 7 | 161 | Keith Cieplicki$^#$ | G | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | William & Mary (Sr.) |
| 7 | 162 | Chris Remley$^#$ | F | United States | Boston Celtics | Rutgers (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.
* Further compensation for draft choices previously traded away by Ted Stepien. ** Compensation for the Utah Jazz signing Billy Paultz *** Compensation for the Los Angeles Lakers signing Larry Spriggs **** Compensation for the Atlanta Hawks signing Billy Paultz

## Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1985 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
| David Cooke | PF | United States | Saint Mary's (Sr.) |
| Dennis Nutt | PG | United States | TCU (Sr.) |
| João Vianna | PF | Brazil | C.A. Monte Líbano (Brazil) |

## Controversy

Some have argued that NBA Commissioner David Stern fixed the first overall pick to help his hometown team, the struggling New York Knicks. The lottery system used in 1985 involved a random drawing of seven envelopes from a hopper, with each of the then-seven non-playoff teams having an equal chance of obtaining the first pick. Inside each of the envelopes was the logo of a non-playoff team.
The team whose envelope was drawn first would get the first pick. The process was then repeated until the rest of the first seven lottery picks were determined. In the U.S., CBS had live coverage of Stern pulling the envelopes from the hopper (as opposed to NBA Draft lotteries today where the actual drawing is held behind closed doors before the results are revealed on TV).
There is speculation that the envelope containing the Knicks logo was frozen beforehand, enabling David Stern to recognize and select it.
According to another theory, some claim that when an accountant from Ernst & Whinney (the same firm used by Gulf + Western, then-owners of the Knicks) inserted the seven envelopes into the glass drum, some have claimed that he banged the fourth one against the side of the drum to create a creased corner, thereby making it easier for Stern to determine which envelope to choose: the envelope containing the Knicks logo. According to this theory, as the drum was being spun by NBA security director Jack Joyce, Stern was watching the envelopes closely. He then opened the drum, took a deep breath, reached in and selected the envelope with the bent corner and the Knicks logo. This has not been confirmed or corroborated by any official source, as most note that the spinning of the drum was far more forceful than any movement by Joyce, deliberate or otherwise.

## Early entrants
### College underclassmen

For the third year in a row and the seventh time in eight years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. This year, however, saw a total of twelve players qualify for entry as college underclassmen, including a Sudanese born freshman center named Manute Bol, who would be considered the tallest player in NBA history at the time. The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
* George Almones – G, Southwestern Louisiana (junior)
* Joe Atkinson – F, Oklahoma State (junior)
* Benoit Benjamin – C, Creighton (junior)
* Manute Bol – C, Bridgeport (freshman)
* Kenny Brown – G, Texas A&M (junior)
* Derrick Gervin – F, Texas–San Antonio (junior)
* Kenny Green – F, Wake Forest (junior)
* Karl Malone – F, Louisiana Tech (junior)
* Jerry Reynolds – F, LSU (junior)
* Reggie Roberts – G, Texas A&M (junior)
* Wayman Tisdale – F, Oklahoma (junior)
* Carl Wright – G, SMU (junior)