# 1989 NBA draft

The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn Kemp, Glen Rice, Sean Elliott, Nick Anderson, Dana Barros, Tim Hardaway, Vlade Divac, Clifford Robinson, B. J. Armstrong and Mookie Blaylock.
The draft was reduced from three rounds in the previous year to the two-round format that is still in use to the present day. As a result, NBA drafts from this season until 1995 produced the lowest number of total draft picks selected at 54 overall selections.
This was the first draft for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic, prior to their inaugural season. This was also the first draft televised prime time on U.S. national television.

## 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 | NBA team | School/Club team |
| 1 | 1 | Pervis Ellison | PF | United States | Sacramento Kings | Louisville (Sr.) |
| 1 | 2 | Danny Ferry | PF | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Duke (Sr.) |
| 1 | 3 | Sean Elliott$^+$ | SF/SG | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Arizona (Sr.) |
| 1 | 4 | Glen Rice$^*$ | SF | United States | Miami Heat | Michigan (Sr.) |
| 1 | 5 | J. R. Reid | PF/C | United States | Charlotte Hornets | North Carolina (Jr.) |
| 1 | 6 | Stacey King | C | United States | Chicago Bulls (from New Jersey) | Oklahoma (Sr.) |
| 1 | 7 | George McCloud | SG/SF | United States | Indiana Pacers | Florida State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 8 | Randy White | PF | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Louisiana Tech (Sr.) |
| 1 | 9 | Tom Hammonds | PF/C | United States | Washington Bullets | Georgia Tech (Sr.) |
| 1 | 10 | Pooh Richardson | PG | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | UCLA (Sr.) |
| 1 | 11 | Nick Anderson | SF/SG | United States | Orlando Magic | Illinois (Jr.) |
| 1 | 12 | Mookie Blaylock$^+$ | PG | United States | New Jersey Nets (from Portland) | Oklahoma (Sr.) |
| 1 | 13 | Michael Smith | PF | United States | Boston Celtics | BYU (Sr.) |
| 1 | 14 | Tim Hardaway^ | PG | United States | Golden State Warriors | UTEP (Sr.) |
| 1 | 15 | Todd Lichti | SG | United States | Denver Nuggets | Stanford (Sr.) |
| 1 | 16 | Dana Barros$^+$ | PG | United States | Seattle SuperSonics (from Houston via Golden State) | Boston College (Sr.) |
| 1 | 17 | Shawn Kemp$^*$ | PF/C | United States | Seattle SuperSonics (from Philadelphia) | Concord (Elkhart, Indiana) |
| 1 | 18 | B. J. Armstrong$^+$ | PG | United States | Chicago Bulls | Iowa (Sr.) |
| 1 | 19 | Kenny Payne | PF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers (from Seattle) | Louisville (Sr.) |
| 1 | 20 | Jeff Sanders | PF/C | United States | Chicago Bulls (from Milwaukee via Seattle) | Georgia Southern (Sr.) |
| 1 | 21 | Blue Edwards | SF/SG | United States | Utah Jazz | East Carolina (Sr.) |
| 1 | 22 | Byron Irvin | SG | United States | Portland Trail Blazers (from New York) | Missouri (Sr.) |
| 1 | 23 | Roy Marble | SG/SF | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Iowa (Sr.) |
| 1 | 24 | Anthony Cook | PF/C | United States | Phoenix Suns (traded to Detroit) | Arizona (Sr.) |
| 1 | 25 | John Morton | PG | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | Seton Hall (Sr.) |
| 1 | 26 | Vlade Divac^ | C | Yugoslavia | Los Angeles Lakers | KK Partizan (Yugoslavia) |
| 1 | 27 | Kenny Battle | PF | United States | Detroit Pistons (traded to Phoenix) | Illinois (Sr.) |
| 2 | 28 | Sherman Douglas | G | United States | Miami Heat | Syracuse (Sr.) |
| 2 | 29 | Dyron Nix | F | United States | Charlotte Hornets | Tennessee (Sr.) |
| 2 | 30 | Frank Kornet | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Vanderbilt (Sr.) |
| 2 | 31 | Jeff Martin | G | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Murray State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 32 | Stanley Brundy | F | United States | New Jersey Nets | DePaul (Sr.) |
| 2 | 33 | Jay Edwards | G | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | Indiana (So.) |
| 2 | 34 | Gary Leonard | C | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | Missouri (Sr.) |
| 2 | 35 | Pat Durham | F | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Colorado State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 36 | Clifford Robinson$^+$ | PF/C | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Connecticut (Sr.) |
| 2 | 37 | Michael Ansley | F | United States | Orlando Magic | Alabama (Sr.) |
| 2 | 38 | Doug West | G/F | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | Villanova (Sr.) |
| 2 | 39 | Ed Horton | PF/C | United States | Washington Bullets | Iowa (Sr.) |
| 2 | 40 | Dino Rađa^ | PF | Yugoslavia | Boston Celtics | KK Split (Yugoslavia) |
| 2 | 41 | Doug Roth | C | United States | Washington Bullets | Tennessee (Sr.) |
| 2 | 42 | Michael Cutright$^#$ | SG | United States | Denver Nuggets | McNeese State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 43 | Chucky Brown | PF | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers | NC State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 44 | Reggie Cross$^#$ | PF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Hawaii (Sr.) |
| 2 | 45 | Scott Haffner | G | United States | Miami Heat | Evansville (Sr.) |
| 2 | 46 | Ricky Blanton | F | United States | Phoenix Suns | LSU (Sr.) |
| 2 | 47 | Reggie Turner$^#$ | SF | United States | Denver Nuggets | UAB (Sr.) |
| 2 | 48 | Junie Lewis$^#$ | PG | United States | Utah Jazz | South Alabama (Sr.) |
| 2 | 49 | Haywoode Workman | G | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Oral Roberts (Sr.) |
| 2 | 50 | Brian Quinnett | F | United States | New York Knicks | Washington State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 51 | Mike Morrison | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Loyola (MD) (Sr.) |
| 2 | 52 | Greg Grant | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Trenton State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 53 | Jeff Hodge$^#$ | SG | United States | Dallas Mavericks | South Alabama (Sr.) |
| 2 | 54 | Toney Mack$^#$ | SG | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Georgia (Jr.) |

## Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1989 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
| Raymond Brown | PF | United States | Idaho (Sr.) |
| Torgeir Bryn | PF/C | Norway | Texas State (Sr.) |
| Steve Bucknall | SG/SF | England | North Carolina (Sr.) |
| Adrian Caldwell | PF | United States | Lamar (Sr.) |
| Chris Childs | SG | United States | Boise State (Sr.) |
| Lanard Copeland | SG | United States Australia | Georgia State (Sr.) |
| Terry Davis | PF/C | United States | Virginia Union (Sr.) |
| Tony Dawson | SF | United States | Florida State (Sr.) |
| Byron Dinkins | PG | United States | Charlotte (Sr.) |
| Aleksandar Đorđević | SG | Yugoslavia | Partizan Belgrade (Yugoslavia) |
| Terry Dozier | SF | United States | South Carolina (Sr.) |
| Andrew Gaze | F | Australia | Seton Hall (Fr.) |
| Paul Graham | SG/SF | United States | Ohio (Sr.) |
| Alvin Heggs | SF | United States | Texas (Sr.) |
| Mike Higgins | PF | United States Spain | Northern Colorado (Sr.) |
| Tom Hovasse | SF | United States | Penn State (Sr.) |
| Jaren Jackson | SG | United States | Georgetown (Sr.) |
| Eric Johnson | PG | United States Spain | Nebraska (Sr.) |
| Thomas Jordan | PF | United States | Oklahoma State (So.) |
| Stan Kimbrough | PG | United States | Xavier (Sr.) |
| Jeff Lebo | SG | United States | North Carolina (Sr.) |
| Clifford Lett | PG | United States | Florida (Sr.) |
| Mel McCants | SF/PF | United States | Purdue (Sr.) |
| Charles Smith | PG/SG | United States | Georgetown (Sr.) |
| Jay Taylor | SG/SF | United States | Eastern Illinois (Sr.) |
| Leonard Taylor | PF | United States | California (Sr.) |
| Gundars Vētra | SG/SF | Soviet Union | VEF Rīga (Soviet Union) |
| Kennard Winchester | SF/SG | United States | Averett (Sr.) |
| Howard Wright | SF/PF | United States | Stanford (Sr.) |

## Early entrants
### College underclassmen

For the seventh year in a row and the eleventh time in twelve years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. Not only that, but this would be the fourth year in a row where a player that qualified for the status of a "college underclassman" would be playing professional basketball overseas, with the French-born Rudy Bourgarel playing for the Boulogne-Levallois in France after leaving Marist College. In addition to that, this would also be the first year where an international player would be considered a direct underclassman to participate in an NBA draft, with Vlade Divac from the KK Partizan Belgrade of the Eastern Bloc nation known as SFR Yugoslavia (now since separated, with Divac representing Serbia) being the first ever international underclassman to be taken directly from an overseas team without previously going to an American college or playing for any prior American institution. Including those two players and Andrew Gaze, who had previously played in Australia for multiple years before playing only one season at Seton Hall University while being over the age of 22 by that time, the number of underclassmen would officially be considered a grand total of fourteen players instead of eleven (or twelve including Gaze). Regardless, the following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
* Nick Anderson – G, Illinois (junior)
* Martin Den Hengst – C, Sheridan (freshman)
* Jay Edwards – G, Indiana (sophomore)
* Andrew Gaze – Seton Hall (freshman)
* Benny Green – G, Tennessee–Chattanooga (junior)
* Shawn Kemp – F, Trinity Valley CC (freshman)
* Toney Mack – G, Georgia (junior)
* J. R. Reid – F, North Carolina (junior)
* Maurice Selvin – G, Puget Sound (sophomore)
* Alex Soyebo – C, Northland Pioneer (freshman)
* Johnny Steptoe – F, Southern (sophomore)
* Richard Whitmore – G, Brown (junior)

### International players

This would be the first time in NBA history where an international born and raised player would be considered an underclassman in an NBA draft. The following international player successfully applied for early draft entrance.
* Vlade Divac – C, Partizan (Yugoslavia)

### Other eligible players

This would be the fourth year in a row with at least one player that previously played in college entering the NBA draft as an underclassman. It was also the second year in a row where a player would qualify as an eligible underclassman for the NBA draft while previously playing for a French-based team in order to do so.
| Player | Team | Note | Ref. |
| Rudy Bourgarel | Boulogne-Levallois (France) | Left Marist in 1988; playing professionally since the 1988–89 season | |