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(Redirected from 2002 NBA Draft)
Basketball player selection
The 2002NBA draft was held on June 26, 2002, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting 57 amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from non-North American leagues. This was the last draft that was broadcast on TNT, as ESPN obtained the rights for the 2024 draft via its incoming deal (which it retains to this day). The NBA announced that about 42 college and high school players, and five international players, had filed as early-entry candidates for the draft. The Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors each had a 22.5% chance of acquiring the first pick, but the Houston Rockets, with just an 8.9% probability, won the NBA draft lottery on May 19. The Bulls and Warriors were second and third, respectively. As punishment for salary-cap violations during the 2021–22 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round draft pick.
The 2023 draft set a record of 17 international selections, with six of them coming in the first round.
Two months after the conclusion of his rookie season, number-two pick Jay Williams nearly lost his life in a motorcycle crash that shattered his pelvis, severed a main nerve in his leg and tore three ligaments in his left knee, including his ACL. Despite intense rehabilitation, Williams never played a game in the NBA again. When it became clear Williams could not return to the Bulls because of his injuries, the team waived him. The Bulls could have voided Williams' contract because it prohibited riding a motorcycle. However, the franchise bought out his contract for $3 million in 2004 instead of having him walk away with nothing.
The draft class was relatively weak outside of the top prospects. Several players selected early had promising careers that ended prematurely due to injury, including Yao Ming, Williams and Dajuan Wagner. Nevertheless, Yao was named a Hall of Famer—a selection predicated as much on his role in popularizing basketball in China as it was for his on-court play. Three players selected in this draft - including Yao, second-round pick Carlos Boozer and Rookie of the YearAmar'e Stoudemire - would be named to the All-NBA Team during their careers. Caron Butler was the only other player to become an All-Star. First-round pick Tayshaun Prince was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Team four times.
As of the end of the 2022–23 NBA season, Udonis Haslem was the last remaining active draft-eligible player from the 2002 class, though he went undrafted (he made his NBA debut the following season). He stopped playing after the 2022–23 season.
Nine of the players selected in this draft never played in an NBA game throughout their professional basketball careers. Three of those players were the sole selection of the draft from their respective teams: Peter Fehse (Seattle's only pick), Marcus Taylor (Minnesota's only pick) and Mladen Šekularac (Dallas' only pick).
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.
Notable undrafted players
These eligible players were not selected in this draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
This year would mark a bit of a step down in terms of the number of underclassmen entering the NBA draft when compared to last year. While it would be the second time the number of underclassmen would exceed the number of draft picks available in the NBA, this year only saw a total of 72 underclassmen from college and overseas declare their initial entry into the NBA draft. However, it would exceed the amount of withdrawn players with 24 players doing exactly that, leaving a total of 48 eligible underclassmen available for the draft this year. The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
This would be the eighth 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. It would also mark the first time a player directly out of high school would win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award with Amar'e Stoudemire earning the honor one year before LeBron James would enter the NBA. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
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China
Netherlands
Australia
Spain
Lee Benson – F, Brown Mackie (freshman)
Muhammed Lasege – C, Louisville (sophomore)
Giedrius Rinkevicius – C, Bridgton Academy (Bridgton, Maine)
Peter Fehse – F, Halle (Germany)
Nenê Hilario – F, Vasco de Gama (Brazil)
Nenad Krstic – Partizan (FR Yugoslavia)
Mladen Šekularac – F, FMP (FR Yugoslavia)
Nikoloz Tskitishvili – F, Benetton Treviso (Italy)