# 1992 NBA draft

The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were considered can't-miss prospects. All three are Hall of Famers (Naismith & FIBA); O'Neal and Mourning are (individual) player-inducted, whereas Laettner is team-inducted. Laettner made one All-Star game in his career and was an Olympic Gold Medalist on the 1992 Dream Team, but did not live up to the lofty expectations set for him. The trio would end up playing together on the 2005 Miami Heat. Two other players went on to become All-Stars (Tom Gugliotta once, Latrell Sprewell four times) and several others had solid careers (Jimmy Jackson, Robert Horry, Doug Christie, P.J. Brown, LaPhonso Ellis, Jon Barry, Walt Williams, Anthony Peeler, and Clarence Weatherspoon). Harold Miner, who was given the nickname "Baby Jordan" because of his similarities to Michael Jordan, slipped to number 12 and, other than winning two slam dunk contests, only had a brief, uneventful, and injury prone four-year career.
This was the first time the NBA draft was held outside of New York. It is the only draft where the first three picks were centers.

## 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 |
| $^x$ | 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 | Shaquille O'Neal^ | C | United States | Orlando Magic | LSU (Jr.) |
| 1 | 2 | Alonzo Mourning^ | C | United States | Charlotte Hornets | Georgetown (Sr.) |
| 1 | 3 | Christian Laettner$^+$ | PF | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | Duke (Sr.) |
| 1 | 4 | Jimmy Jackson | SG | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Ohio State (Jr.) |
| 1 | 5 | LaPhonso Ellis | PF | United States | Denver Nuggets | Notre Dame (Sr.) |
| 1 | 6 | Tom Gugliotta$^+$ | PF | United States | Washington Bullets | NC State (Sr.) |
| 1 | 7 | Walt Williams | SF | United States | Sacramento Kings | Maryland (Sr.) |
| 1 | 8 | Todd Day | SG | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Arkansas (Sr.) |
| 1 | 9 | Clarence Weatherspoon | PF | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Southern Miss (Sr.) |
| 1 | 10 | Adam Keefe | PF | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Stanford (Sr.) |
| 1 | 11 | Robert Horry | SF | United States | Houston Rockets | Alabama (Sr.) |
| 1 | 12 | Harold Miner | SG | United States | Miami Heat | USC (Jr.) |
| 1 | 13 | Bryant Stith | SG | United States | Denver Nuggets (from New Jersey) | Virginia (Sr.) |
| 1 | 14 | Malik Sealy | SF | United States | Indiana Pacers | St. John's (Sr.) |
| 1 | 15 | Anthony Peeler | SG | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | Missouri (Sr.) |
| 1 | 16 | Randy Woods | PG | United States | Los Angeles Clippers | La Salle (Sr.) |
| 1 | 17 | Doug Christie | SG | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Pepperdine (Sr.) |
| 1 | 18 | Tracy Murray | SF | United States | San Antonio Spurs | UCLA (Jr.) |
| 1 | 19 | Don MacLean | PF | United States | Detroit Pistons (traded to Washington via L.A. Clippers) | UCLA (Sr.) |
| 1 | 20 | Hubert Davis | SG | United States | New York Knicks | North Carolina (Sr.) |
| 1 | 21 | Jon Barry | SG | United States | Boston Celtics | Georgia Tech (Sr.) |
| 1 | 22 | Oliver Miller | C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Arkansas (Sr.) |
| 1 | 23 | Lee Mayberry | PG | United States | Milwaukee Bucks (from Utah) | Arkansas (Sr.) |
| 1 | 24 | Latrell Sprewell* | SG | United States | Golden State Warriors | Alabama (Sr.) |
| 1 | 25 | Elmore Spencer | C | United States | Los Angeles Clippers (from Cleveland) | UNLV (Sr.) |
| 1 | 26 | Dave Johnson | SF | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | Syracuse (Sr.) |
| 1 | 27 | Byron Houston | PF | United States | Chicago Bulls | Oklahoma State (Sr.) |
| 2 | 28 | Marlon Maxey | PF | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | UTEP |
| 2 | 29 | P. J. Brown | PF | United States | New Jersey Nets | Louisiana Tech |
| 2 | 30 | Sean Rooks | PF/C | United States | Dallas Mavericks | Arizona |
| 2 | 31 | Reggie Smith | C | United States | Portland Trail Blazers | TCU |
| 2 | 32 | Brent Price | G | United States | Washington Bullets | Oklahoma |
| 2 | 33 | Corey Williams | G | United States | Chicago Bulls | Oklahoma State |
| 2 | 34 | Chris Smith | G | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | Connecticut |
| 2 | 35 | Tony Bennett | G | United States | Charlotte Hornets | Wisconsin–Green Bay |
| 2 | 36 | Duane Cooper | G | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | USC |
| 2 | 37 | Isaiah Morris | F | United States | Miami Heat | Arkansas |
| 2 | 38 | Elmer Bennett | G | United States | Atlanta Hawks | Notre Dame |
| 2 | 39 | Litterial Green | G | United States | Chicago Bulls | Georgia |
| 2 | 40 | Steve Rogers$^#$ | SG/SF | United States | New Jersey Nets | Alabama State |
| 2 | 41 | Popeye Jones | F | United States | Houston Rockets | Murray State |
| 2 | 42 | Matt Geiger | C | United States | Miami Heat | Georgia Tech |
| 2 | 43 | Predrag Danilović | SG | Yugoslavia | Golden State Warriors | KK Partizan, Yugoslavia |
| 2 | 44 | Henry Williams$^#$ | G | United States | San Antonio Spurs | UNC-Charlotte |
| 2 | 45 | Chris King | F | United States | Seattle SuperSonics | Wake Forest |
| 2 | 46 | Robert Werdann | C | United States | Denver Nuggets | St. John's |
| 2 | 47 | Darren Morningstar | C | United States | Boston Celtics | Pittsburgh |
| 2 | 48 | Brian Davis | F/G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Duke |
| 2 | 49 | Ron Ellis$^#$ | PF | United States | Phoenix Suns | Louisiana Tech |
| 2 | 50 | Matt Fish | F | United States | Golden State Warriors | UNC-Wilmington |
| 2 | 51 | Tim Burroughs$^#$ | PF | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves | Jacksonville |
| 2 | 52 | Matt Steigenga | F | United States | Chicago Bulls | Michigan State |
| 2 | 53 | Curtis Blair$^#$ | PG | United States | Houston Rockets | Richmond |
| 2 | 54 | Brett Roberts$^#$ | SF | United States | Sacramento Kings | Morehead State |

## Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1992 NBA draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
| Gary Alexander | F | United States | South Florida (Sr.) |
| Eric Anderson | PF | United States | Indiana (Sr.) |
| Mark Baker | PG | United States | Ohio State (Sr.) |
| Alex Blackwell | SF | United States | Monmouth (Sr.) |
| Marques Bragg | PF | United States | Providence (Sr.) |
| Tim Breaux | SF | United States | Wyoming (Sr.) |
| Dexter Cambridge | PF | The Bahamas | Texas (Sr.) |
| Joe Courtney | PF | United States | Southern Miss (Sr.) |
| Rastko Cvetković | C | FR Yugoslavia Serbia | Crvena zvezda (Yugoslavia) |
| Dell Demps | PG/SG | United States | Pacific (Sr.) |
| Harold Ellis | SG | United States | Morehouse (Sr.) |
| Jo Jo English | SG | United States | South Carolina (Sr.) |
| Shane Heal | PG | Australia | Brisbane Bullets (Australia) |
| Stephen Howard | SF | United States | DePaul (Sr.) |
| Chris Jent | SG/SF | United States | Ohio State (Sr.) |
| Sam Mack | SF | United States | Houston (Sr.) |
| Gerald Madkins | PG | United States | UCLA (Sr.) |
| Bob Martin | C | United States | Minnesota (Sr.) |
| Darrick Martin | PG | United States | UCLA (Sr.) |
| Matt Othick | PG | United States | Arizona (Sr.) |
| Reggie Slater | PF | United States | Wyoming (Sr.) |
| Mark Strickland | SF/PF | United States | Temple (Sr.) |
| Keith Tower | C | United States | Notre Dame (Sr.) |
| Anthony Tucker | SF | United States | Wake Forest (Sr.) |
| Marcus Webb | PF | United States | Alabama (Jr.) |
| David Wesley | PG | United States | Baylor (Sr.) |

## Early entrants
### College underclassmen

For the tenth year in a row and the fourteenth time in fifteen years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. Not only that, but this would also be the first year since 1985 where no underclassmen playing overseas would enter the NBA draft and would be the first draft since 1986 with no foreign-born underclassmen as well. This year would see a total of sixteen college underclassmen entering the draft. The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
* Ameer Aziz – F, Saint Paul's (Virginia) (junior)
* John Beauford – C, Southern Poly (junior)
* Anthony Cade – F, Seminole JC (sophomore)
* Mark Chappell – G, Iowa State (junior)
* Dallas Lee Cothrum – G, Austin (junior)
* Jim Jackson – G, Ohio State (junior)
* Troy King – F, Beaver County CC (sophomore)
* Benny Maxwell – G, Western New Mexico (junior)
* Harold Miner – G, USC (junior)
* Tracy Murray – F, UCLA (junior)
* Shaquille O'Neal – C, LSU (junior)
* Melvin Robinson – C, Arizona State (junior)
* Tony Scott – F, Texas A&M (junior)
* Jeff Theiler – F, La Verne (junior)
* Mike Wawrzyniak – G, Cleveland State (junior)
* Marcus Webb – F, Alabama (junior)