1996 NBA draft

Basketball player selection August 2023 1996 NBA draft Basketball June 26, 1996 Continental Airlines Arena (East Rutherford, New Jersey) TNT NBA 58 2 Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers) 5 SG Allen Iverson SG Ray Allen SG Kobe Bryant PG Steve Nash C Ben Wallace 1995 1997 The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996, at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools and non-North American leagues. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto Raptors, they were not allowed to select first in this draft.Year-by-Year Lottery Probabilities http://www.nba.com/history/lottery_probabilities.html Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network NBA April 15, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20080724134422/http://www.nba.com/history/lottery_probabilities.html July 24, 2008 dead The team with the second-highest probability, the Philadelphia 76ers, won the lottery and obtained the first selection. The Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies were second and third, respectively. The Raptors won the first overall pick in 1996, but they had to give that up due to the expansion agreement with the league.2006-05-26 Raptors To Pick First After Winning Lottery http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/pr_0600523.html 2008-06-03 NBA.com It is widely considered to be one of the deepest and most talented NBA drafts in history, with one-third of the first-round picks later becoming NBA All-Stars. The draft class produced three players who won a combined four NBA MVP awards (Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash), seven other drafted players who became All-Stars (Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ray Allen, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, Stephon Marbury, Jermaine O'Neal, Peja Stojaković, Antoine Walker), and one undrafted All-Star (Ben Wallace), for a grand total of 11 All-Stars. Moreover, eight players from this draft class have been named to at least one All-NBA Team, the most among any draft. The draft class also produced three players who have been named to the NBA's all-defensive first team: Bryant, Marcus Camby, and Wallace. Camby won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2007, while Wallace earned the same award in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. Five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher was also selected in the draft. The 76ers selected two future Major League Baseball players, Mark Hendrickson and Ryan Minor, with their second-round picks. Most experts rate it along with the 1984 NBA draft and the 2003 NBA draft as one of the best drafts in history. Sports Illustrated named it the second-best, behind the 1984 draft, which included a draft class of Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Alvin Robertson, and John Stockton.NBA's Best Draft Classes http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0903/nba.best.draft.classes/content.2.html Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network April 15, 2011 May 28, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110528111149/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0903/nba.best.draft.classes/content.2.html dead Key PGPoint guard SGShooting guard SFSmall forward PFPower forward CCenter y y y y y y Draft selections thumb|upright|Allen Iverson was selected 1st overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. thumb|upright|Marcus Camby was selected 2nd overall by the Toronto Raptors. thumb|upright|Shareef Abdur-Rahim was selected 3rd overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies. thumb|upright|Stephon Marbury was selected 4th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks (traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves). thumb|upright|Ray Allen was selected 5th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to the Milwaukee Bucks). thumb|upright|Antoine Walker was selected 6th overall by the Boston Celtics. right|thumb|upright|Kobe Bryant was selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets (traded to the Los Angeles Lakers). thumb|upright|Peja Stojaković was selected 14th overall by the Sacramento Kings. thumb|upright|Steve Nash was selected 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns. thumb|upright|Jermaine O'Neal was selected 17th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. thumb|upright|Žydrūnas Ilgauskas was selected 20th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Round Pick Player Pos. 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. NBA team School/Club team 1 1 Allen Iverson^~ SG/PG United States United States Philadelphia 76ers Georgetown (So.) 1 2Marcus Camby C United States Toronto Raptors Massachusetts (Jr.) 1 3Shareef Abdur-Rahim+ F United States Vancouver Grizzlies California (Fr.) 1 4 Stephon Marbury* G United States Milwaukee Bucks (traded to Minnesota)The Bucks traded the draft rights of Stephon Marbury to the Timberwolves for Ray Allen and a future first-round pick on June 26, 1996.Ian O'Connor Marbury Learns Like A Pro New York Daily News 88 June 27, 1996 Georgia Tech (Fr.) 1 5 Ray Allen^ SG United States Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to Milwaukee) Connecticut (Jr.) 1 6 Antoine Walker+ F United States Boston Celtics (from Dallas)The Mavericks traded the No. 6 pick and a future pick (#6 pick in 1997 NBA draft) to the Celtics for Eric Montross and a No. 9 pick on June 21, 1996.Peter May Montross shipped to Dallas for the No. 6 pick The Boston Globe 67 June 22, 1996Kentucky (So.) 1 7 Lorenzen Wright C United States Los Angeles Clippers Memphis (So.) 1 8 Kerry Kittles SG United States New Jersey Nets Villanova (Sr.) 1 9 Samaki Walker F United States Dallas Mavericks (from Boston) Louisville (So.) 1 10 Erick Dampier C United States Indiana Pacers (from Denver)The Pacers traded No. 23 pick along with Mark Jackson and Ricky Pierce to the Nuggets for No. 10 pick along with Jalen Rose and Reggie Williams on June 13, 1996.Greg Boeck Nuggets begin overhaul, make two trades USA Today 12C June 14, 1996 Mississippi State (Jr.) 1 11 Todd Fuller C United States Golden State Warriors (from Golden State via OrlandoThe Magic traded No. 11 pick and Scott Skiles to the Bullets for No. 42 pick on July 29, 1994. Bart Hubbuch Bullets make point, get Skiles The Washington Times C1 July 30, 1994 and Washington)The Bullets traded No. 11 pick along with Tom Gugliotta, No. 13 pick in the 1998 NBA draft, and No. 7 pick in the 2000 NBA draft to the Warriors for Chris Webber on November 17, 1994.https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E3DE1031F93BA25752C1A962958260&scp=1&sq=+Sign+Him%2C+Trade+Him%3A+Webber+Becomes+Bullet+&st=nyt Clifton Brown Sign Him, Trade Him: Webber Becomes Bullet The New York Times November 18, 1994 February 25, 2008 NC State (Sr.) 1 12 Vitaly Potapenko C Ukraine Cleveland Cavaliers (from Washington)The Cavaliers traded Mark Price to the Wizards(then Bullets) for No. 12 pick on September 27, 1995.Frank Hughes Bullets on the Mark with Price; Club trades No. 1 pick to Cavs; Wallace signs The Washington Times B1 September 28, 1995 Wright State (Jr.) 1 13 Kobe Bryant^ SG United States Charlotte Hornets (traded to L.A. Lakers)The Hornets traded the draft rights of Kobe Bryant to the Lakers for center Vlade Divac on July 1, 1996.Joe Macenka Divac Agrees to Charlotte Trade Associated Press July 1, 1996 Lower Merion HS (Lower Merion, Pennsylvania) 1 14 Peja Stojaković* F FR Yugoslavia Sacramento Kings P.A.O.K. (Greece) 1 15 Steve Nash^ PG Canada Canada Phoenix Suns Santa Clara (Sr.) 1 16 Tony Delk G United States Charlotte Hornets (from Miami)The Heat traded No. 16 pick along with Glen Rice, Khalid Reeves, and Matt Geiger for Alonzo Mourning, Pete Myers and LeRon Ellis on November 3, 1995.David Nielsen Heat get Mourning from the Hornets The Washington Times D1 November 4, 1995 Kentucky (Sr.) 1 17 Jermaine O'Neal* F/C United States Portland Trail Blazers Eau Claire High School (Columbia, South Carolina) 1 18 John Wallace basketball F United States New York Knicks (from DetroitThe Pistons traded the No. 18 pick along with Dennis Rodman to the Spurs for the No. 26 pick along with Sean Elliott and David Wood on October 1, 1993.Alan L. Adler Sports News Associated Press October 2, 1993 via San Antonio)The Spurs traded No. 18 pick along with J.R. Reid and Brad Lohaus to the Knicks for Charles Smith and Monty Williams on February 8, 1996.Graig Daniels Spurs put boots to deal Financial Post 43 February 9, 1996 Syracuse (Sr.) 1 19 Walter McCarty F United States New York Knicks (from AtlantaThe Hawks traded No. 19 pick along with Kevin Willis to the Heat for No. 45 pick along with Steve Smith and Grant Long on November 7, 1994.Atlanta trades Willis to Heat Financial Post 53 November 8, 1994 via Miami)The Heat sent No. 19 pick and $1 million to the Knicks for a right to pursue hiring Pat Riley on September 1, 1995.Knicks, Heat arrange deal in Riley case Toronto Star F8 September 2, 1995 Kentucky (Sr.) 1 20 Žydrūnas Ilgauskas Zydrunas Ilgauskas+ C LTU 1988 Cleveland Cavaliers Atletas Kaunas (Lithuania) 1 21 Dontae' Jones F United States New York Knicks Mississippi State (Jr.) 1 22 Roy Rogers basketball F United States Vancouver Grizzlies (from Houston)The Rockets traded No. 22 and No. 51 picks along with Pete Chilcutt, Tim Breaux and the No. 53 pick in the 1997 NBA draft to the Grizzlies for No. 30 and No. 42 picks along with No. 30 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft on June 19, 1996.Bill Harris Grizzlies Deal For Another First-round Pick The Toronto Sun 115 June 20, 1996 Alabama (Sr.) 1 23 Efthimios Rentzias C Greece Denver Nuggets (from Indiana) PAOK (Greece) 1 24 Derek Fisher G United States Los Angeles Lakers Arkansas-Little Rock (Sr.) 1 25 Martin Müürsepp F Estonia Utah Jazz (traded to Miami)The Jazz traded the draft rights of Martin Müürsepp to the Heat for a future draft pick (#23 in 2000 NBA draft) on June 26, 1996.Barry Jackson Riley Finds New Forward in Estonia The Miami Herald June 27, 1996 Kalev (Estonia) 1 26 Jerome Williams basketball F United States Detroit Pistons (from San Antonio) Georgetown (Sr.) 1 27 Brian Evans basketball F United States Orlando Magic Indiana (Sr.) 1 28 Priest Lauderdale C United States Atlanta Hawks (from Seattle)The Hawks traded No. 45 and No. 47 picks to the Supersonics for No. 28 pick on June 25, 1996.Hawks Regain First-Round Draft Pick in Sonics Trade Associated Press D1 June 25, 1996 Peristeri (Greece) 1 29 Travis Knight basketball C United States Chicago BullsThe Chicago Bulls renounced the draft rights to Travis Knight on July 12, 1996. Connecticut (Sr.) 2 30 Othella Harrington F/C United States Houston Rockets (from Vancouver) Georgetown (Sr.) 2 31 Mark Hendrickson G United States Philadelphia 76ers Washington State (Sr.) 2 32 Ryan Minor# G United States Philadelphia 76ers (from Toronto)The Raptors traded No. 32 pick along with No. 37 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, Tony Massenburg and Ed Pinckney to the 76ers for Sharone Wright on February 22, 1996.Raptors swing deal with Philly Financial Post 64 February 23, 1996 Oklahoma (Sr.) 2 33 Moochie Norris G United States Milwaukee Bucks West Florida (So.) 2 34 Shawn Harvey basketball# G United States Dallas Mavericks West Virginia State (Sr.) 2 35 Joseph Blair# C United States Seattle SuperSonics (from Minnesota)The Timberwolves traded No. 35 pick to the SuperSonics for Željko Rebrača on June 29, 1994.Jim Cour The Associated Press report Associated Press June 30, 1994 Arizona (Sr.) 2 36 Doron Sheffer# G Israel Israel Los Angeles Clippers Connecticut (Sr.) 2 37 Jeff McInnis G United States Denver Nuggets (from New JerseyThe Nets traded No. 37 pick along with No. 31 pick in the 1991 NBA draft to the Kings for Mike McGee on October 31, 1988.Nets Acquire Kings' McGee The New York Times D30 November 1, 1988 via Sacramento)The Kings traded No. 37 pick along with Šarūnas Marčiulionis to the Nuggets for Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf on June 13, 1996.Michael Farine Nuggets trade Abdul-Rauf to Kings The Washington Times B3 June 14, 1996 North Carolina (Jr.) 2 38 Steve Hamer C United States Boston Celtics Tennessee (Sr.) 2 39 Russ Millard# F United States Phoenix Suns (from Denver,The Nuggets traded No. 39 pick to the Clippers for Winston Garland on June 26, 1991.Clippers pull off two trades St. Petersburg Times 3C June 27, 1991 via L.A. ClippersThe Clippers traded No. 39 pick along with No. 41 pick in the 1997 NBA draft and Olden Polynice to the Pistons for William Bedford and draft rights to Don MacLean on June 24, 1992.Knicks get Blackman in top NBA trade The Washington Times D3 June 25, 1992 and Detroit)The Pistons traded No. 39 pick along with a No. 49 pick in the 1999 NBA draft to the Suns for Mark West on August 1, 1994.SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL The New York Times B8 August 2, 1994 Iowa (Sr.) 2 40 Marcus Mann basketball# F United States Golden State Warriors Mississippi Valley State (Sr.) 2 41 Jason Sasser F United States Sacramento Kings Texas Tech (Sr.) 2 42 Randy Livingston G United States Houston Rockets (from Vancouver via Washington and Orlando)The Magic traded No. 42 pick along with Kenny Gattison to the Grizzlies for Jeff Turner on February 22, 1996.Gattison, Turner Swapped Associated Press February 22, 1996 LSU (So.) 2 43 Ben Davis basketball F United States Phoenix Suns Arizona (Sr.) 2 44 Malik Rose F United States Charlotte Hornets Drexel (Sr.) 2 45 Joe Vogel basketball# C United StatesVogel represented Lebanon in international competitions later in his career. Seattle SuperSonics (from Miami via Atlanta) Colorado State (Sr.) 2 46 Marcus Brown G United States Portland Trail Blazers Murray State (Sr.) 2 47 Ron Riley basketball, born 1973# G/F United States Seattle SuperSonics (from Atlanta) Arizona State (Sr.) 2 48 Jamie Feick F United States Philadelphia 76ers (from Detroit)The Pistons traded No. 48 pick to the 76ers for Eric Leckner on July 25, 1994.TRANSACTIONS The New York Times B12 July 26, 1994 Michigan State (Sr.) 2 49 Amal McCaskill C United States Orlando Magic (from New York via Minnesota and Vancouver) Marquette (Sr.) 2 50 Terrell Bell# C United States Houston Rockets (from Cleveland)The Cavaliers traded No. 50 pick to the Rockets for Keith Hughes on June 26, 1991.PICKS BY TEAM The Washington Post B6 June 27, 1991 Georgia (Sr.) 2 51 Chris Robinson basketball G United States Vancouver Grizzlies (from Houston) Western Kentucky (Sr.) 2 52 Mark Pope F United States Indiana Pacers Kentucky (Sr.) 2 53 Jeff Nordgaard F United StatesNordgaard would later represent Poland in international competitions. Milwaukee Bucks (from L.A. LakersThe Lakers traded No. 53 pick along with No. 37 pick in the 1994 NBA draft and No. 50 pick in the 1995 NBA draft to the SuperSonics for Sedale Threatt on October 2, 1991.Lakers Get Threatt From Seattle The New York Times B10 October 3, 1991 via Seattle)The SuperSonics traded No. 53 pick along with Eurelijus Žukauskas to the Bucks for Eric Snow on June 28, 1995.Wednesday's Sports Transactions Associated Press June 29, 1995 Wisconsin–Green Bay (Sr.) 2 54 Shandon Anderson F United States Utah Jazz Georgia (Sr.) 2 55 Ronnie Henderson# G United States Washington Bullets (from San AntonioThe Hornets traded J.R. Reid to the Spurs for Sidney Green, a 1993 first-round pick (#20 overall), and a 1996 second-round pick (#55 overall) on December 9, 1992.http://www.nba.com/media/hornets/0708mediaguide_Team%20History.pdf 2007–08 Media Guide: All-time Transactions New Orleans Hornets NBA 129 April 11, 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081225104708/http://www.nba.com/media/hornets/0708mediaguide_Team%20History.pdf December 25, 2008 via Charlotte)The Hornets traded a 1996 second-round pick (#55 overall), and a 1997 second-round pick (#48 overall) to the Wizards for Michael Adams on August 2, 1994.https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/drobnpr01.html Predrag Drobnjak basketball-reference.com April 11, 2011 LSU (Jr.) 2 56 Reggie Geary G United States Cleveland Cavaliers (from Orlando)The Magic traded No. 56 pick to the Cavaliers for Steve Kerr on December 3, 1992.PEOPLE TRANSACTIONS The Gazette C4 December 4, 1992 Arizona (Sr.) 2 57 Drew Barry G United States Seattle SuperSonics Georgia Tech (Sr.) 2 58 Darnell Robinson# F United States Dallas Mavericks (from Chicago)The Mavericks traded Rodney McCray in a 3-team trade with the Bulls and the Warriors for a No. 19 pick in the 1994 draft, No. 58 pick in the 1996 draft on September 18, 1992.https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/houstby01.html Byron Houston basketball-reference.com April 13, 2011 Arkansas (Jr.) n Notable undrafted players thumb|upright|Ben Wallace, not selected in the draft, had a successful career including 4 All-Star selections, and became the first undrafted NBA player of the modern era to be elected to the Hall of Fame. List of undrafted NBA players The following are undrafted players of the 1996 NBA Draft but later played in the NBA. Player Pos. Nationality School/Club team Chucky Atkins G United States South Florida (Sr.) Ira Bowman G United States Penn (Sr.) William Cunningham basketball C United States Temple (Sr.) Adrian Griffin F/G United States Seton Hall (Sr.) Darvin Ham F United States Texas Tech (Sr.) Ben Handlogten C United States Western Michigan (Sr.) Juaquin Hawkins F United States Long Beach State (Sr.) Rick Hughes F/C United States Thomas More (Sr.) İbrahim Kutluay G Fenerbahçe (Turkey) Rusty LaRue G United States Wake Forest (Sr.) Horacio Llamas C Grand Canyon (Sr.) Art Long F United States Cincinnati (Sr.) Joe Stephens basketball F United States Little Rock (Sr.) Erick Strickland G United States Nebraska (Sr.) Ben Wallace basketball^ C/F United States Virginia Union (Sr.) Brandon Williams basketball, born 1975 G/F United States Davidson (Sr.) Early entrants College underclassmen This year would officially see a steep climb up of the number of underclassmen declaring their entry into the NBA. While previous years starting in 1971 would see a relatively small amount of college underclassmen alongside overseas and even high school players not only officially declare their entry to the draft, but also sticking with it, this year saw an official total of 42 different players that qualified as underclassmen see an initial entry into the NBA draft. However, six of these players (those being the Nigerian born Sunday Adebayo from the University of Arkansas, Carlos Knox from IUPUI, Terquin Mott from Coppin State University, Mark Sanford from the University of Washington, Jess Settles from the University of Iowa, and Kebu Stewart from Cal State Bakersfield) would ultimately withdraw their initial entry into this year's NBA draft, leaving 29 players that declared for the NBA draft as proper college underclassmen, three high school players (including Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal) entering the NBA draft as high school seniors, three proper international players (including the first two teammates from the same team) entering directly from overseas play, and one player named Priest Lauderdale previously leaving Central State University to play for the Peristeri B.C. in Greece for a grand total of 36 players that would qualify as underclassmen. That being said, the following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.1996 Underclassmen https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3043:1996-underclassmen&catid=136&Itemid=384 The Draft Review August 4, 2007 December 15, 2022 USA Shareef Abdur-Rahim – F, California (freshman) USA Ray Allen – G, Connecticut (junior) USA Marcus Camby – C, Massachusetts (junior) USA Erick Dampier – C, Mississippi State (junior) USA Randy Edney – C, Mount St. Mary's (junior) USA Eric Gingold – C, Williams (junior) USA LeMarcus Golden – G, Memphis (junior) USA Ronnie Henderson – G, LSU (junior) USA Allen Iverson – G, Georgetown (sophomore) USA Willie Jackson – F, Lawson CC (freshman) USA Dontae' Jones – F, Mississippi State (junior) USA Chris Kingsbury – G, Iowa (junior) USA Idris Lee – G, Mount Senario (junior) USA Randy Livingston – G, LSU (sophomore) USA Michael Lloyd – G, Auburn Montgomery (junior) USA Stephon Marbury – G, Georgia Tech (freshman) CUB Richard Matienzo – F, Miami Dade (freshman) SUD Dut Mayar Madut – C, Frank Phillips (freshman) USA Jeff McInnis – G, North Carolina (junior) USA Chris Nurse – F, Delaware State (junior) USA Jason Osborne – F, Louisville (junior) USA Jessie Pate – G, Arkansas (junior) UKR Vitaly Potapenko – F/C, Wright State (junior) USA Darnell Robinson – F/C, Arkansas (junior) USA Greg Simpson – G, West Virginia (junior) USA Kevin Simpson – G, Dixie (sophomore) USA Antoine Walker – F, Kentucky (sophomore) USA Samaki Walker – F, Louisville (sophomore) USA Lorenzen Wright – F, Memphis (sophomore) High school players This year marked the second year in a row where high school players would be allowed entry into the NBA directly from high school after previously not allowing high schoolers to enter the NBA draft directly since 1975. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance. USA Kobe Bryant – G, Lower Merion HS (Lower Merion, Pennsylvania) USA Taj McDavid – G, Palmetto HS (Williamston, South Carolina) USA Jermaine O'Neal – F, Eau Claire HS (Columbia, South Carolina) International players This year marked the first time that international teammates would declare their entry into the NBA draft simultaneously. The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance. LIT Zydrunas Ilgauskas – C, Atletas Kaunas (Lithuania) GRE Efthimios Rentzias – F/C, P.A.O.K. B.C. (Greece) FRY Peja Stojaković – F, P.A.O.K. B.C. (Greece) Other eligible players Player Team Most recent team played for before the draft Note Ref.USA Priest Lauderdale Peristeri B.C. (Greece) Left Central State in 1995; playing professionally since the 1995–96 season Priest Lauderdale https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1936&Itemid=33 The Draft Review June 3, 2007 December 15, 2022 Invited attendees The 1996 NBA draft is considered to be the nineteenth NBA draft to have utilized what's 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 Continental Airlines Arena1996 Green Room Invites - the Draft Review December 29, 2025 https://www.thedraftreview.com/historical-draft-events/green-room/1996-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 2025-12-29 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 19 prospects at the time.Green Room - The Draft Review https://www.thedraftreview.com/historical-draft-events/green-room 2025-12-29 The Draft Review en-us Despite the high number of invites and successful draft prospects involved for this year's draft, there would still be some notable absences to not be invited for this year's draft in Shareef Abdur-Rahim from the University of California, Jermaine O'Neal from Eau Claire High School in South Carolina, and arguably Ben Wallace from Virginia Union University. With that in mind, the following players were invited to attend this year's draft festivities live and in person. USA Ray Allen – SG, Connecticut USA Kobe Bryant – SG, Lower Merion High School (Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania) USA Marcus Camby – C, Massachusetts USA Erick Dampier – C, Mississippi State USA Todd Fuller – C, North Carolina State LIT Žydrūnas Ilgauskas – C, Atletas Kaunas (Lithuania) USA Allen Iverson – PG, Georgetown USA Kerry Kittles – SG, Villanova USA Stephon Marbury – PG, Georgia Tech USA Walter McCarty – SF/PF, Kentucky CAN/RSA Steve Nash – PG, Santa Clara UKR Vitaly Potapenko – C, Wright State USA Roy Rogers – PF, Alabama FRY/CRO Predrag "Peja" Stojaković – SF, P.A.O.K. B.C. (Greece) USA Antoine Walker – SF/PF, Kentucky USA Samaki Walker – PF/C, Louisville USA John Wallace – SF, Syracuse USA Jerome Williams – PF, Georgetown USA Lorenzen Wright – C, Memphis See also List of first overall NBA draft picks References 30em External links http://www.nba.com/draft/ Official site NBA.com 2013-12-13 bot: unknown https://web.archive.org/web/19961026212833/http://www.nba.com/draft/ October 26, 1996 mdy 1996 NBA Draft at Basketball-reference.com Draft Category:NBA draft NBA draft NBA draft Category:20th century in East Rutherford, New Jersey Category:Basketball in New Jersey Category:Organized events in East Rutherford, New Jersey Category:Sports in East Rutherford, New Jersey