2001 NBA draft

Basketball player selection June 2026 August 2023 2001 NBA draft 2001 NBA draft logo.png Basketball June 27, 2001 The Theater at Madison Square Garden (New York City, New York) TNT NBA 57 2 Kwame Brown (Washington Wizards) 2 PF Pau Gasol PG Tony Parker 2000 2002 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.Biggest Bust of the 00s http://www.aolnews.com/2008/08/11/2-biggest-bust-of-the-00s-kwame-brown/ AOL News 2012-05-05 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120510035742/http://www.aolnews.com/2008/08/11/2-biggest-bust-of-the-00s-kwame-brown/ 2012-05-10 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.NBA Restores Timberwolves' 2005 Draft Pick http://www.nba.com/news/twolves_draft_pick_011228.html NBA.com January 28, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20120901224939/http://www.nba.com/news/twolves_draft_pick_011228.html September 1, 2012 dead 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. The final remaining active player from this draft was Joe Johnson, who retired from the NBA following the 2022 season. Thus, no active players remain from this class. Draft selections G Guard PG Point guard SG Shooting guard F Forward SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center y y y y y right|thumb|150px|Kwame Brown was selected 1st overall by the Washington Wizards. right|thumb|150px|Tyson Chandler was selected 2nd overall by the Los Angeles Clippers (traded to the Chicago Bulls). right|thumb|150px|Pau Gasol was selected 3rd overall by the Atlanta Hawks (traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies). right|thumb|150px|Joe Johnson was selected 10th overall by the Boston Celtics. right|thumb|150px|Zach Randolph was selected 19th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. right|thumb|150px|Gerald Wallace was selected 25th overall by the Sacramento Kings. right|thumb|150px|Tony Parker was selected 28th overall by the San Antonio Spurs. right|thumb|150px|Gilbert Arenas was selected 31st overall by the Golden State Warriors. right|thumb|150px|Brian Scalabrine was selected 35th overall by the New Jersey Nets. right|thumb|150px|Mehmet Okur was selected 38th overall by the Detroit Pistons. Round Pick Player Position Nationalityn 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. Team School/club team 1 1Kwame Brown PF 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 Eddie Griffin (basketball) PF United States New Jersey Nets (traded to Houston) Seton Hall (Fr.) 1 8 DeSagana Diop C 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 Joe Johnson (basketball)* 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 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 Michael Bradley (basketball) 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 basketball SG United States Houston Rockets (from Dallas via Orlando, traded to New Jersey) Pepperdine (Jr.) 1 24 Raül López Raül López (basketball) PG Spain Utah Jazz Real Madrid (Spain) 1 25 Gerald Wallace+ SF United States Sacramento Kings Alabama (Fr.) 1 26 Samuel Dalembert C CanadaDalembert was born in but grew up and spent his childhood in Canada, where he later became a citizen in 2007. 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 FranceParker was born in Belgium but represents France in international competitions. San Antonio Spurs Paris Basket Racing (France) 1 29 Forfeited pick Minnesota Timberwolves (forfeited their first-round pick due to salary cap violations)NBA Restores Timberwolves' 2005 Draft Pick http://www.nba.com/news/twolves_draft_pick_011228.html NBA.com January 28, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20120901224939/http://www.nba.com/news/twolves_draft_pick_011228.html September 1, 2012 dead 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 Terence Morris PF United States Atlanta Hawks Maryland (Sr.) 2 35 Brian Scalabrine SF United States New Jersey NetsUSC (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 Detroit Pistons Efes Pilsen (Turkey) 2 39 Michael Wright Michael Wright (basketball) https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/1030/michael-wright Michael Wright Stats ESPN 2012-08-11# 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 43Eric Chenowithhttps://www.espn.com/nba/player/bio/_/id/985/eric-chenowith Eric Chenowith Stats ESPN 2012-08-11# C United States New York Knicks (from Seattle) Kansas (Sr.) 2 44 Kyle Hillhttps://www.espn.com/nba/player/news/_/id/1001/kyle-hill Kyle Hill Stats ESPN 1979-04-07 2012-08-11# 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 47Ousmane Cissehttps://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/986/ousmane-cisse Ousmane Cisse Stats ESPN 1982-10-20 2020-06-14# PF Denver Nuggets (from Toronto) St. Jude HS (Montgomery, Alabama) 2 48 Antonis Fotsis SF Vancouver Grizzlies (from New York) Panathinaikos (Greece) 1981 2 49 Ken Johnson Ken Johnson (basketball, born 1978) C United States Miami Heat Ohio State (Sr.) 2 50 Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje C Portland Trail Blazers Georgetown (Sr.) 2 51 Alton Ford PF United States Phoenix Suns Houston (Fr.) 2 52 Andre Hutson https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/1003/andre-hutson Andre Hutson Stats ESPN 2020-06-14# 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 55Maurice Jeffershttps://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/1005/maurice-jeffers Maurice Jeffers Stats ESPN 2020-06-14# SG United States Sacramento Kings Saint Louis (Sr.) 2 56 Robertas Javtokashttp://www.nba.com/historical/search/index.jsp?kw=Robertas%20Javtokas#resultsSeptember 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes # C LTU 1988 San Antonio Spurs (from L.A. Lakers) Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (Lithuania) 2 57 Alvin Jones basketball C Philadelphia 76ers Georgia Tech (Sr.) 2 58 Bryan Braceyhttps://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/978/bryan-bracey Bryan Bracey Stats ESPN 2020-06-14# SF United States San Antonio Spurs Oregon (Sr.) n Notable undrafted players List of undrafted NBA players These players were not selected in the draft but have played at least one game in the NBA. Player Position Nationality School/club teamCarlos ArroyoPGFIU (Sr.)Charlie Bell Charlie Bell (basketball)GMichigan State (Sr.)Tierre BrownGUnited StatesMcNeese State (Sr.)Joe CrispinPGUnited StatesPenn State (Sr.)Maurice Evans Maurice Evans (basketball)SG/SFUnited StatesTexas (Jr.)Tang HamiltonSFUnited StatesMississippi State (Sr.)Walter HerrmannSFAtenas de Córdoba (Argentina)Horace JenkinsPGUnited StatesWilliam Paterson (Sr.)Jamario MoonSFUnited StatesMeridian CC (Fr.)Andrés NocioniPF/SFArgentinaTAU Cerámica (Spain)Dean Oliver Dean Oliver (basketball)PGUnited StatesIowa (Sr.)Norman Richardson Norman Richardson (basketball)GUnited StatesHofstra (Sr.)Paul ShirleyPFUnited StatesIowa State (Sr.)Cezary TrybańskiCZnicz Pruszków (Poland)Ratko VardaCPartizan (Serbia)Mike Wilks Mike Wilks (basketball)PGUnited StatesRice (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.2001 Underclassmen https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3048:2001-underclassmen&catid=136&Itemid=384 The Draft Review August 4, 2007 December 22, 2022 USA Gilbert Arenas – G, Arizona (sophomore) USA Brandon Armstrong – G, Pepperdine (junior) USA Malcolm Battles – F, Point Mark (junior) USA Tavorris Bell – F, Rhode Island (junior) USA Preston Bennett – F, Grayson (freshman) USA Michael Bradley – F, Villanova (junior) USA Jamison Brewer – G, Auburn (sophomore) USA Kedrick Brown – F, Okaloosa-Walton CC (sophomore) USA SirValiant Brown – G, George Washington (sophomore) USA Nick Burwell – G, Orange Coast (sophomore) USA Jason Collins – C, Stanford (junior) USA Omar Cook – G, St. John's (freshman) HAI Samuel Dalembert – C/F, Seton Hall (sophomore) USA Maurice Evans – G, Texas (junior) NGR Benjamin Eze – F, Southern Idaho (freshman) USA Alton Ford – F, Houston (freshman) USA Joseph Forte – G, North Carolina (sophomore) USA Jerry Green – G, UC Irvine (junior) USA Eddie Griffin – F, Seton Hall (freshman) USA Rob Griffin – F, Kentucky Wesleyan (junior) USA Trenton Hassell – G, Austin Peay (junior) USA Kirk Haston – F, Indiana (junior) USA Draper Housley – G, Lee College (sophomore) USA Steven Hunter – C/F, DePaul (sophomore) USA Richard Jefferson – F, Arizona (junior) USA Joe Johnson – F/G, Arkansas (sophomore) USA D. A. Layne – G, Georgia (junior) USA Zach Marbury – G, Rhode Island (sophomore) USA Jamario Moon – F, Meridian (freshman) USA Troy Murphy – F, Notre Dame (junior) USA Zach Randolph – F, Michigan State (freshman) USA Jason Richardson – G, Michigan State (sophomore) USA Kenny Satterfield – G, Cincinnati (sophomore) USA Bobby Simmons – F, DePaul (junior) USA Will Solomon – G, Clemson (junior) USA Clifton Terry – F, Kennedy–King (sophomore) USA Gerald Wallace – F/G, Alabama (freshman) USA Rodney White – F, Charlotte (freshman) USA 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. USA Kwame Brown – F, Glynn Academy (Brunswick, Georgia) USA Tyson Chandler – F/C, Dominguez High School (Compton, California) MLI Ousmane Cisse – F, St. Jude Educational Institute (Montgomery, Alabama) USA Eddy Curry – C/F, Thornwood High School (South Holland, Illinois) SEN DeSagana Diop – C, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) USA Tony Key – C, Centennial High School (Compton, California) International players The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance. RUS Denis Ershov – C, Pulkovo Saint Petersburg (Russia) GRE Antonis Fotsis – F, Panathinaikos (Greece) SPA Pau Gasol – F, FC Barcelona (Spain) SPA Raül López – G, Real Madrid (Spain) FRA Tony Parker – G, Paris Basket Racing (France) BIH Vladimir Radmanović – F, FMP (FR Yugoslavia) Other eligible players Player Team Most recent team played for before the draft Note Ref.LIT Robertas Javtokas Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) Left Arizona in 2000; playing professionally since the 2000–01 season Freeman Rick Magruder Jack NCAA Tournament Notebook https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2000/03/16/ncaa-tournament-notebook/3af6935a-382f-4e12-bb39-398ed5a32b56/ The Washington Post December 22, 2022 March 16, 2000 Invited attendees The 2001 NBA draft is considered to be the 23rd NBA draft to have utilized what is properly considered the "green room" experience for NBA prospects. The NBA's green room is a staging area where anticipated draftees often sit with their families and representatives, waiting for their names to be called on draft night. Often being positioned either in front of or to the side of the podium (in this case, being positioned somewhere within The Theater at Madison Square Garden2001 Green Room Invites - the Draft Review April 30, 2026 https://www.thedraftreview.com/historical-draft-events/green-room/2001-green-room-invites ), once a player heard his name, he would walk to the podium to shake hands and take promotional photos with the NBA commissioner. From there, the players often conducted interviews with various media outlets while backstage. From there, the players often conducted interviews with various media outlets while backstage. However, once the NBA draft started to air nationally on TV starting with the 1980 NBA draft, the green room evolved from players waiting to hear their name called and then shaking hands with these select players who were often called to the hotel to take promotional pictures with the NBA commissioner a day or two after the draft concluded to having players in real-time waiting to hear their names called up and then shaking hands with David Stern, the NBA's commissioner at the time.Maurer Matthew 2024-02-18 Draft Broadcasts - The Draft Review https://www.thedraftreview.com/sundry/sundry-articles/draft-broadcasts 2026-04-25 The Draft Review en-us The NBA compiled its list of green room invites through collective voting by the NBA's team presidents and general managers alike, which in this year's case belonged to only what they believed were the top 14 prospects at the time.Green Room - The Draft Review https://www.thedraftreview.com/historical-draft-events/green-room 2026-04-14 The Draft Review en-us Despite the lower amount of invites for this year's draft when compared to the previous couple of drafts, there would still be a notable amount of discrepancies involved, such as an invitation being given out to Brendan Haywood instead of the actual 13th pick of the draft, Richard Jefferson, alongside multiple All-Stars and All-NBA talents like Zach Randolph, Gerald Wallace, Hall of Famer Tony Parker, Gilbert Arenas, and Mehmet Okur. Not only that, but it would also showcase the most high school players that would be invited into the Green Room by this point in time with four players being invited and later selected into the Top 10, including three players in the Top 4 and both Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler being considered the top two picks of the draft at the time. With that in mind, the following players were invited to attend this year's draft festivities live and in person. USA Shane Battier – SF, Duke USA Kedrick Brown – SF, Okaloosa-Walton Community College USA Kwame Brown – PF, Glynn Academy (Brunswick, Georgia) USA Tyson Chandler – C, Dominguez High School (Compton, California) USA Eddy Curry – SG, Thornwood High School (South Holland, Illinois) SEN DeSagana Diop – C, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) ESP Pau Gasol – C, FC Barcelona Bàsquet (Spain) USA Eddie Griffin – PF, Seton Hall USA Brendan Haywood – C, North Carolina USA Joe Johnson – SG, Arkansas USA Troy Murphy – PF, Notre Dame FR Yugoslavia/SRB/BIH Vladimir Radmanović – PF, KK FMP (Yugoslavia) USA Jason Richardson – SG, Michigan State USA Rodney White – SF/PF, Charlotte See also List of first overall NBA draft picks References External links NBA.com: 2001 NBA Draft Basketball Reference: 2001 NBA Draft Sports Draft Category:NBA draft NBA draft NBA draft Category:2000s in Manhattan Category:Basketball in New York City Category:Sporting events in New York City Category:Sports in Manhattan