# 1987 NBA draft

The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City.
This draft included two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, as well as fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Other notable selections include Kevin Johnson, Kenny Smith, Horace Grant, Reggie Lewis, Muggsy Bogues, Mark Jackson, and Šarūnas Marčiulionis. Also in this draft, former Florida Gators men's basketball head coach Billy Donovan (drafted 68th by the Utah Jazz), who led that program to NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championships in 2006 and in 2007.
David Robinson did not join the NBA until the 1989–90 season due to his service commitment with the United States Navy. This was the last NBA draft to go over three rounds, as it was reduced to three next year and later to two since 1989.

## 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 | Position | Nationality | Team | School/club team |
| 1 | 1 | David Robinson^ | C | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Navy (Sr.) |
| 1 | 2 | Armen Gilliam | PF | United States | Phoenix Suns | UNLV (Sr.) |
| 1 | 3 | Dennis Hopson | SF | United States | New Jersey Nets | Ohio State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 4 | Reggie Williams | SF | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Georgetown (Sr.) |
| 1 | 5 | Scottie Pippen^ | SF | United States | Seattle SuperSonics (from New York, traded to Chicago for Olden Polynice) | Central Arkansas (Sr.) |
| 1 | 6 | Kenny Smith | PG | United States | Sacramento Kings | North Carolina (Sr.) |
| 1 | 7 | Kevin Johnson* | PG | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | California (Sr.) |
| 1 | 8 | Olden Polynice | C | Haiti | Chicago Bulls (from Denver via New York, traded to Seattle for Scottie Pippen) | Hamby Rimini (Italy) |
| 1 | 9 | Derrick McKey | SF/PF | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Alabama (Jr.) |
| 1 | 10 | Horace Grant$^+$ | PF/C | United States | Chicago Bulls | Clemson (Sr.) |
| 1 | 11 | Reggie Miller^ | SG | United States | Indiana Pacers | UCLA (Sr.) |
| 1 | 12 | Muggsy Bogues | PG | United States | Washington Bullets | Wake Forest (Sr.) |
| 1 | 13 | Joe Wolf | C | United States | Los Angeles Clippers (from Houston) | North Carolina (Sr.) |
| 1 | 14 | Tellis Frank | PF | United States | Golden State Warriors | Western Kentucky (Sr.) |
| 1 | 15 | José Ortiz | PF | Puerto Rico | Utah Jazz | Oregon State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 16 | Christian Welp | C | West Germany | Philadelphia 76ers | Washington (Sr.) |
| 1 | 17 | Ronnie Murphy | SG | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Jacksonville (Sr.) |
| 1 | 18 | Mark Jackson$^+$ | PG | United States | New York Knicks (from Milwaukee via Seattle) | St. John's (Sr.) |
| 1 | 19 | Ken Norman | SF | United States | Los Angeles Clippers (from Detroit) | Illinois (Sr.) |
| 1 | 20 | Jim Farmer | SG | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Alabama (Sr.) |
| 1 | 21 | Dallas Comegys | C | United States | Atlanta Hawks | DePaul (Sr.) |
| 1 | 22 | Reggie Lewis$^+$ | SG | United States | Boston Celtics | Northeastern (Sr.) |
| 1 | 23 | Greg "Cadillac" Anderson | PF | United States | San Antonio Spurs (from L.A. Lakers) | Houston (Sr.) |
| 2 | 24 | Freddie Banks$^#$ | SG | United States | Detroit Pistons | UNLV (Sr.) |
| 2 | 25 | Ron Moore | C | United States | New York Knicks | West Virginia State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 26 | Steve Alford | SG | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Indiana (Sr.) |
| 2 | 27 | Nate Blackwell | PG | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Temple (Sr.) |
| 2 | 28 | Rickie Winslow | SF | United States | Chicago Bulls | Houston (Sr.) |
| 2 | 29 | Lester Fonville$^#$ | C | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Jackson State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 30 | Nikita Wilson | SF | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | LSU (Sr.) |
| 2 | 31 | Andre Moore | PF | United States | Denver Nuggets | Loyola (IL) (Jr.) |
| 2 | 32 | Bob McCann | SF | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Morehead State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 33 | Tony White | PG | United States | Chicago Bulls | Tennessee (Sr.) |
| 2 | 34 | Brian Rowsom | PF | United States | Indiana Pacers | UNC Wilmington (Sr.) |
| 2 | 35 | Doug Lee | SG | United States | Houston Rockets | Purdue (Sr.) |
| 2 | 36 | Duane Washington | SG | United States | Washington Bullets | Middle Tennessee (Sr.) |
| 2 | 37 | Derrick Dowell$^#$ | SF | United States | Washington Bullets | USC (Sr.) |
| 2 | 38 | Norris Coleman | SF | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Kansas State (So.) |
| 2 | 39 | Vincent Askew | SG/SF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Memphis State (Jr.) |
| 2 | 40 | Winston Garland | PG | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Southwest Missouri State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 41 | Kannard Johnson | SF | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Western Kentucky (Sr.) |
| 2 | 42 | Terrance Bailey$^#$ | SG | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Wagner (Sr.) |
| 2 | 43 | Andrew Kennedy$^#$ | F | Jamaica | Philadelphia 76ers | Virginia (Sr.) |
| 2 | 44 | Terry Coner$^#$ | PG | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Alabama (Sr.) |
| 2 | 45 | Brad Lohaus | PF/C | United States | Boston Celtics | Iowa (Sr.) |
| 2 | 46 | Bruce Dalrymple$^#$ | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Georgia Tech (Sr.) |
| 3 | 47 | Tim McCalister$^#$ | G | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Oklahoma (Sr.) |
| 3 | 48 | Jamie Waller | SG | United States | New Jersey Nets | Virginia Union (Sr.) |
| 3 | 49 | Jerome Batiste$^#$ | F | United States | New York Knicks | McNeese State (Sr.) |
| 3 | 50 | Phil Zevenbergen | C | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Washington (Sr.) |
| 3 | 51 | Sven Meyer$^#$ | C | Germany | Sacramento Kings | Oregon (Sr.) |
| 3 | 52 | Donald Royal | SF | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Notre Dame (Sr.) |
| 3 | 53 | Winston Crite | SF | United States | Phoenix Suns | Texas A&M (Sr.) |
| 3 | 54 | Tom Schafer$^#$ | F | United States | Denver Nuggets | Iowa State (Sr.) |
| 3 | 55 | Tommy Amaker$^#$ | G | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Duke (Sr.) |
| 3 | 56 | John Fox$^#$ | F | United States | Chicago Bulls | Millersville (Sr.) |
| 3 | 57 | Hansi Gnad$^#$ | F | Germany | Philadelphia 76ers | Alaska Anchorage (Sr.) |
| 3 | 58 | Darryl Johnson | PG | United States | Golden State Warriors | Michigan State (Sr.) |
| 3 | 59 | Danny Pearson$^#$ | F | United States | Washington Bullets | Jacksonville (Sr.) |
| 3 | 60 | Sean Couch$^#$ | F | United States | Indiana Pacers | Columbia (Sr.) |
| 3 | 61 | Clarence Martin$^#$ | C | United States | Utah Jazz | Western Kentucky (Sr.) |
| 3 | 62 | Tim McCalister$^#$ | F | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Rutgers (Sr.) |
| 3 | 63 | Kevin Gamble | SG | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Iowa (Sr.) |
| 3 | 64 | J. J. Weber$^#$ | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Wisconsin (Sr.) |
| 3 | 65 | Eric White | PF | United States | Detroit Pistons | Pepperdine (Sr.) |
| 3 | 66 | Mike Richmond$^#$ | C | United States | Dallas Mavericks | UTEP (Sr.) |
| 3 | 67 | Song Tao$^#$ | F | China | Atlanta Hawks | Shandong (China) |
| 3 | 68 | Billy Donovan | PG | United States | Utah Jazz | Providence (Sr.) |
| 3 | 69 | Willie Glass$^#$ | F | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | St. John's (Sr.) |
| 4 | 70 | Tom Sheehey$^#$ | C | United States | Boston Celtics | Virginia (Sr.) |
| 4 | 71 | Mike Morgan$^#$ | C | United States | New York Knicks | Drake (Sr.) |
| 4 | 72 | Andrew Moten$^#$ | G | United States | New Jersey Nets | Florida (Sr.) |
| 4 | 73 | Todd May$^#$ | F | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Pikeville (Sr.) |
| 4 | 74 | Joe Arlauckas | SF | United States | Sacramento Kings | Niagara (Sr.) |
| 4 | 75 | Chris Dudley | C | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Yale (Sr.) |
| 4 | 76 | Steve Beck$^#$ | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Arizona State (Sr.) |
| 4 | 77 | David Boone$^#$ | F | United States | Denver Nuggets | Marquette (Sr.) |
| 4 | 78 | Todd Linder$^#$ | F | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Tampa (Sr.) |
| 4 | 79 | Jack Haley | C | United States | Chicago Bulls | UCLA (Sr.) |
| 4 | 80 | Carven Holcombe$^#$ | G | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | TCU (Sr.) |
| 4 | 81 | Scott Thompson$^#$ | C | United States | Washington Bullets | San Diego (Sr.) |
| 4 | 82 | Joe Niego$^#$ | F | United States | Houston Rockets | Lewis (Sr.) |
| 4 | 83 | Bennie Bolton$^#$ | F | United States | Golden State Warriors | NC State (Sr.) |
| 4 | 84 | Reuben Holmes$^#$ | C | United States | Utah Jazz | Alabama State (Sr.) |
| 4 | 85 | Brian Rahilly$^#$ | F | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Tulsa (Sr.) |
| 4 | 86 | Norwood Barber$^#$ | G | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Florida State (Sr.) |
| 4 | 87 | Darryl Bedford$^#$ | C | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Austin Peay (Sr.) |
| 4 | 88 | Dave Popson | PF | United States | Detroit Pistons | North Carolina (Sr.) |
| 4 | 89 | David Johnson$^#$ | F | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Oklahoma (Sr.) |
| 4 | 90 | Theofanis Christodoulou$^#$ | C | Greece | Atlanta Hawks | Panionios (Greece) |
| 4 | 91 | Darryl Kennedy$^#$ | F | United States | Boston Celtics | Oklahoma (Sr.) |
| 4 | 92 | Ralph Tally$^#$ | G | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | Norfolk State (Sr.) |
| 5 | 93 | Chad Kessler$^#$ | F | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Georgia (Sr.) |
| 4 | 94 | James Blackmon Sr.$^#$ | G | United States | New Jersey Nets | Kentucky (Sr.) |
| 5 | 95 | Glen Clem$^#$ | F | United States | New York Knicks | Vanderbilt (Sr.) |
| 5 | 96 | Dennis Williams$^#$ | G | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Georgia (Sr.) |
| 5 | 97 | Vernon Carr$^#$ | G | United States | Sacramento Kings | Michigan State (Sr.) |
| 5 | 98 | Carl Lott$^#$ | G | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | TCU (Sr.) |
| 5 | 99 | Brent Counts$^#$ | C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Pacific (Sr.) |
| 5 | 100 | Ronnie Grandison | SF | United States | Denver Nuggets | New Orleans (Sr.) |
| 5 | 101 | Michael Tait$^#$ | G | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Clemson (Sr.) |
| 5 | 102 | Anthony Wilson$^#$ | G | United States | Chicago Bulls | LSU (Sr.) |
| 5 | 103 | Mike Milling$^#$ | F | United States | Indiana Pacers | Charlotte (Sr.) |
| 5 | 104 | Andre LaFleur$^#$ | G | United States | Houston Rockets | Northeastern (Sr.) |
| 5 | 105 | Terry Williams$^#$ | C | United States | Golden State Warriors | SMU (Sr.) |
| 5 | 106 | Patrick Fairs$^#$ | G | United States | Washington Bullets | Texas (Sr.) |
| 5 | 107 | Bart Kofoed | SG | United States | Utah Jazz | Nebraska–Kearney (Sr.) |
| 5 | 108 | Frank Ross$^#$ | G | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | American (Sr.) |
| 5 | 109 | David Moss$^#$ | F | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Tulsa (Sr.) |
| 5 | 110 | Brian Vaughns$^#$ | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | UC Santa Barbara (Sr.) |
| 5 | 111 | Gerry Wright$^#$ | C | United States | Detroit Pistons | Iowa (Sr.) |
| 5 | 112 | Sam Hill$^#$ | C | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Iowa State (Sr.) |
| 5 | 113 | José Antonio Montero$^#$ | G | Spain | Atlanta Hawks | Joventut Badalona (Spain) |
| 5 | 114 | Dave Butler$^#$ | F | United States | Boston Celtics | California (Sr.) |
| 6 | 115 | Kenny Travis$^#$ | G | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | New Mexico State (Sr.) |
| 6 | 116 | Martin Nessley | C | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Duke (Sr.) |
| 6 | 117 | Howard Triche$^#$ | G | United States | New York Knicks | Syracuse (Sr.) |
| 6 | 118 | Perry Bromwell$^#$ | G | United States | New Jersey Nets | Penn (Sr.) |
| 6 | 119 | Ricky Brown$^#$ | F | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Pensacola Tornados (CBA) |
| 6 | 120 | Daryl Thomas$^#$ | F | United States | Sacramento Kings | Indiana (Sr.) |
| 6 | 121 | Harold Jensen$^#$ | G | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Villanova (Sr.) |
| 6 | 122 | Marcel Boyce$^#$ | F | United States | Phoenix Suns | Akron (Sr.) |
| 6 | 123 | Kelvin Scarborough$^#$ | G | United States | Denver Nuggets | New Mexico (Sr.) |
| 6 | 124 | Tom Gneiting$^#$ | C | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | BYU (Sr.) |
| 6 | 125 | Doug Altenberger$^#$ | G | United States | Chicago Bulls | Illinois (Sr.) |
| 6 | 126 | Gary Graham$^#$ | G | United States | Indiana Pacers | UNLV (Sr.) |
| 6 | 127 | Šarūnas Marčiulionis^ | SG | Soviet Union | Golden State Warriors | Statyba Vilnius (Soviet Union) |
| 6 | 128 | Dwayne Scholten$^#$ | C | United States | Washington Bullets | Washington State (Sr.) |
| 6 | 129 | Fred Jenkins$^#$ | G | United States | Houston Rockets | Tennessee (Sr.) |
| 6 | 130 | Art Sabb$^#$ | G | United States | Utah Jazz | Bloomfield (Sr.) |
| 6 | 131 | Tracy Foster$^#$ | G | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | UAB (Sr.) |
| 6 | 132 | Bernard Jackson$^#$ | G | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Loyola Chicago (Sr.) |
| 6 | 133 | Gay Elmore$^#$ | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | VMI (Sr.) |
| 6 | 134 | Antoine Joubert$^#$ | F | United States | Detroit Pistons | Michigan (Sr.) |
| 6 | 135 | Quintan Gates$^#$ | F | United States | Dallas Mavericks | UTEP (Sr.) |
| 6 | 136 | Riccardo Morandotti$^#$ | F | Italy | Atlanta Hawks | Berloni Torino (Italy) |
| 6 | 137 | Tim Naegeli$^#$ | F | United States | Boston Celtics | Wisconsin–Stevens Point (Sr.) |
| 6 | 138 | Frank Ford$^#$ | G | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | Auburn (Sr.) |
| 7 | 139 | Henry Carr$^#$ | C | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Wichita State (Sr.) |
| 7 | 140 | Frank Booker$^#$ | G | United States | New Jersey Nets | Bowling Green (Sr.) |
| 7 | 141 | Wayne Williams$^#$ | G | United States | New York Knicks | Saint Joseph's (Sr.) |
| 7 | 142 | Raynard Davis$^#$ | F | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Texas (Sr.) |
| 7 | 143 | Scott Adubato$^#$ | G | United States | Sacramento Kings | Upsala (Sr.) |
| 7 | 144 | Michael Foster$^#$ | G | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | South Carolina (Sr.) |
| 7 | 145 | Roy Singleton$^#$ | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Grand Canyon (Sr.) |
| 7 | 146 | Rowan Gomes$^#$ | F | Antigua and Barbuda | Denver Nuggets | Hampton (Sr.) |
| 7 | 147 | Mike Giomi$^#$ | F | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | NC State (Sr.) |
| 7 | 148 | Ervin Leavy$^#$ | G | United States | Chicago Bulls | Central Michigan (Sr.) |
| 7 | 149 | Montel Hatcher$^#$ | G | United States | Indiana Pacers | UCLA (Sr.) |
| 7 | 150 | Jamie Dixon$^#$ | G | United States | Washington Bullets | TCU (Sr.) |
| 7 | 151 | Clarence Grier$^#$ | F | United States | Houston Rockets | Campbell (Sr.) |
| 7 | 152 | Ronnie Leggette$^#$ | G | United States | Golden State Warriors | West Virginia State (Sr.) |
| 7 | 153 | Keith Webster$^#$ | G | United States | Utah Jazz | Harvard (Sr.) |
| 7 | 154 | Eric Semisch$^#$ | F | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | West Virginia (Sr.) |
| 7 | 155 | Kenny Stone$^#$ | F | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | George Fox (Sr.) |
| 7 | 156 | Curtis Hunter$^#$ | F | United States | Denver Nuggets | North Carolina (Sr.) |
| 7 | 157 | Mark Gottfried$^#$ | G | United States | Detroit Pistons | Alabama (Sr.) |
| 7 | 158 | Gerald White$^#$ | G | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Auburn (Sr.) |
| 7 | 159 | Franjo Arapović$^#$ | C | Yugoslavia | Atlanta Hawks | Cibona (Yugoslavia) |
| 7 | 160 | Gerry Corcoran$^#$ | C | United States | Boston Celtics | Northeastern (Sr.) |
| 7 | 161 | Ron vanderSchaaf$^#$ | F | Netherlands | Los Angeles Lakers | Central Washington (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 still appeared in at least one regular or postseason NBA game.
| Player | Position | Nationality | School/club team |
| Randy Allen | F | United States | Florida State (Sr.) |
| Sergei Bazarevich | SG | Soviet Union | CSKA Moscow (Soviet Union) |
| Scott Brooks | PG | United States | UC Irvine (Sr.) |
| Mike Champion | PF | United States | Gonzaga (Sr.) |
| Tom Copa | C | United States | Marquette (Sr.) |
| Radisav Ćurčić | C | Yugoslavia | Union Olimpija (Yugoslavia) |
| Andrew Gaze | F | Australia | Melbourne Tigers (Australia) |
| Cedric Hunter | PG | United States | Kansas (Sr.) |
| Mark Wade | PG | United States | UNLV (Sr.) |
| David Wood | F | United States | Nevada (Sr.) |
| A. J. Wynder | PG | United States | Fairfield (Sr.) |

## Early entrants
### College underclassmen

For the fifth year in a row and the ninth time in ten years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. However, it would be the second year in a row that a player that qualified for the status of a "college underclassman" would be playing professional basketball overseas, as the Haitian born Olden Polynice (who had previously played for the University of Virginia for a year before travelling to Italy to play for the Hamby Rimini) would qualify as an official entry there. Not only that, but it would also be the first time in NBA history (second time if you include the 1973 entry of David Brent from the Carolina Cougars in the rivaling ABA after previously playing for Jacksonville University) that an underclassman would declare entry by playing in another American basketball league (in this case, Ricky Brown previously going from the University of South Alabama to the Pensacola Tornados of the Continental Basketball Association minor league) first before entering an NBA draft. If those two players get included into the list properly, the number of "college underclassmen" that would qualify for this year's draft would increase from seven to nine total players. Regardless, these following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
* Vincent Askew – F, Memphis (junior)
* Norris Coleman – F, Kansas State (sophomore)
* Kenny Drummond – G, High Point (junior)
* Derrick McKey – F, Alabama (junior)
* Russell Pierre – F, Virginia Tech (junior)
* Reinhard Schmuck – F, Baruch (junior)
* Kevin Smith – F, Minnesota (junior)

### Other eligible players

This would be the second year in a row that a player that previously played in college would enter the NBA draft as an underclassman (coincidentally also playing for an Italian basketball team while doing so). Not only that, but this would also be the second year in NBA history (third if you include David Brent's 1973 NBA draft entry while he played for the Carolina Cougars in the rivaling American Basketball Association) that an underclassman would enter the NBA draft by playing in another American basketball league (in this case, the Continental Basketball Association minor league) first; the first case happened in 1971 with Joe Hammond from the Allentown Jets in what was formerly called the Eastern Basketball Association. It was also the first year where a foreign-born player would qualify as an underclassman while also playing for an international team.
| Player | Team | Note | Ref. |
| Ricky Brown | Pensacola Tornados (CBA) | Left South Alabama in 1986; playing professionally since the 1986–87 season | |
| Olden Polynice | Hamby Ramini (Italy) | Left Virginia in 1986; playing professionally since the 1986–87 season | |