1991 NBA draft

• 1. Introduction

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  On the 26th of June, 1991, Madison Square Garden hosted the NBA draft for what would be the last time until 2001. Fourteen prospects sat in what the league called its green room, a staging area where anticipated picks waited with their families and agents for their names to be called. The NBA's team presidents and general managers had voted collectively on which players deserved an invitation, and they got the list almost exactly right. Almost. Two players who would go on to become All-Stars, Dale Davis and Chris Gatling, were left off entirely. What emerged that night was a class that would produce Hall of Famers, tragic figures, and one of the most lopsided trades in league history. The question worth asking is how a single draft could contain all of that at once.

• 2. Johnson and Mutombo

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  Larry Johnson arrived at Charlotte's franchise as the first overall pick, and within a year he had the 1992 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He would appear at two All-Star games, becoming the first player in Hornets history to represent the franchise at that showcase. Fourth overall went to Dikembe Mutombo, who had played at Georgetown before the Denver Nuggets selected him. What followed was one of the most decorated defensive careers in league history. Mutombo won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times. He appeared at eight All-Star games and played 18 seasons in the league. His career set a standard for rim protection that few players in any era have matched.

• 3. The Trade That Backfired

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  Billy Owens was the third overall pick, selected by the Sacramento Kings out of Syracuse. He refused to sign with Sacramento, which forced the Kings into a trade with the Golden State Warriors. In return, Golden State sent back Mitch Richmond, a shooting guard who had already won the 1989 NBA Rookie of the Year award. Owens played solidly in his career but never became a star. Richmond went on to make six All-Star appearances. The Kings had sent away one of the most prolific scorers they would never keep, in exchange for a player drafted above him, and the gap between the two careers told the story of a decision that aged poorly almost immediately.

• 4. Longley and the Australians

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  Luc Longley was taken out of New Mexico and would go on to win three NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls. He also held, for a time, the record for the most NBA games played by an Australian. Andrew Bogut broke that mark during the 2015-16 season. The draft also drew attention for Žan Tabak of KK POP 84, representing SFR Yugoslavia. Tabak became only the second international underclassman in NBA draft history to enter directly from an overseas team without attending an American college. The first had been fellow Yugoslavian Vlade Divac. For the ninth consecutive year, no American college underclassman withdrew their entry, and for the thirteenth time in fourteen years, none of them entered either.

• 5. Players Lost

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  Bobby Phills, who was selected in this draft, died in a car accident that also involved his teammate David Wesley. Bison Dele disappeared in the South Pacific in July 2002. French authorities concluded that Dele's brother had killed Dele and his girlfriend and thrown them from a catamaran. Dele's brother took his own life in September 2002. Dikembe Mutombo, whose career had spanned 18 seasons and brought four Defensive Player of the Year awards, died from brain cancer on the 30th of September, 2024. As of that year, three players from this draft class were gone. The loss of Mutombo, in particular, closed a chapter on one of the most physically dominant careers the sport had seen.

• 6. Overseas Routes In

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  Three players who had left their college programs arrived at the 1991 draft by way of professional leagues abroad. Richard Dumas had left Oklahoma State in 1990 and had been playing for Hapoel Holon in Israel since the 1990-91 season. Nadav Henefeld, who was born in Israel and had played at the University of Connecticut, had left UConn in 1990 to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Stanley Roberts had left Louisiana State University in 1990 and was playing for Real Madrid in Spain. Their presence made 1991 the first year in NBA history where multiple college-trained underclassmen who went overseas were playing professionally in the same nation, though for different clubs. That distinction, the two Israeli-league players in a single draft, had never happened before.