1978–79 rookie class

1978 NBA Draft

Every selection in order, with the drafting team, player affiliation and a direct path into each available Athlore career profile.

202selections

10rounds

22teams selecting

First off the board

Top five picks

Pick #1

Portland Trail Blazers

Mychal Thompson

Minnesota

Pick #2

Kansas City Kings

Phil Ford

North Carolina

Pick #3

Indiana Pacers

Rick Robey

Kentucky

Pick #4

New York Knicks

Micheal Ray Richardson

Montana

Pick #5

Golden State Warriors

Purvis Short

Jackson State

Complete draft board

Every pick

Round one is open. Expand any later round to continue through the class.

Round 122 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
1	Mychal Thompson	Portland Trail Blazers	Minnesota	1
2	Phil Ford	Kansas City Kings	North Carolina	2
3	Rick Robey	Indiana Pacers	Kentucky	3
4	Micheal Ray Richardson	New York Knicks	Montana	4
5	Purvis Short	Golden State Warriors	Jackson State	5
6	Larry Bird	Boston Celtics	Indiana State	6
7	Ron Brewer	Portland Trail Blazers	Arkansas	7
8	Freeman Williams	Boston Celtics	Portland State	8
9	Reggie Theus	Chicago Bulls	Nevada-Las Vegas	9
10	Butch Lee	Atlanta Hawks	Marquette	10
11	James Hardy	New Orleans Jazz	San Francisco	11
12	George Johnson	Milwaukee Bucks	St. John's (NY)	12
13	Winford Boynes	New Jersey Nets	San Francisco	13
14	Roger Phegley	Washington Bullets	Bradley	14
15	Mike Mitchell	Cleveland Cavaliers	Auburn	15
16	Jack Givens	Atlanta Hawks	Kentucky	16
17	Rod Griffin	Denver Nuggets	Wake Forest	17
18	Dave Corzine	Washington Bullets	DePaul	18
19	Marty Byrnes	Phoenix Suns	Syracuse	19
20	Frankie Sanders	San Antonio Spurs	Southern University	20
21	Mike Evans	Denver Nuggets	Kansas State	21
22	Raymond Townsend	Golden State Warriors	California-Los Angeles	22

Round 222 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
23	Terry Tyler	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Mercy	1
24	Keith Herron	Portland Trail Blazers	Villanova	2
25	Rick Wilson	Atlanta Hawks	Louisville	3
26	Ron Carter	Los Angeles Lakers	Virginia Military Institute	4
27	Wayne Radford	Indiana Pacers	Indiana	5
28	Buster Matheney	Houston Rockets	Utah	6
29	John Long	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Mercy	7
30	Jeff Judkins	Boston Celtics	Utah	8
31	Marvin Johnson	Chicago Bulls	New Mexico	9
32	John Rudd	New York Knicks	McNeese State	10
33	Harry Davis	Cleveland Cavaliers	Florida State	11
34	Greg Bunch	New York Knicks	Cal State-Fullerton	12
35	Tommy Green	New Orleans Jazz	Southern University	13
36	Maurice Cheeks	Philadelphia 76ers	West Texas A&M	14
37	Terry Sykes	Washington Bullets	Grambling	15
38	Lew Massey	Los Angeles Lakers	North Carolina-Charlotte	16
39	James Lee	Seattle SuperSonics	Kentucky	17
40	Wayne Cooper	Golden State Warriors	New Orleans	18
41	Jerome Whitehead	San Diego Clippers	Marquette	19
42	Kevin McDonald	Seattle SuperSonics	Pennsylvania	20
43	Glenn Hagan	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Bonaventure	21
44	Clemon Johnson	Portland Trail Blazers	Florida A&M	22

Round 322 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
45	Mike Phillips	New Jersey Nets	Kentucky	1
46	Hollis Copeland	Denver Nuggets	Rutgers	2
47	Billyray Bates	Houston Rockets	Kentucky State	3
48	Mike Santos	San Diego Clippers	Utah State	4
49	Jeff Cook	Kansas City Kings	Idaho State	5
50	Dana Skinner	Boston Celtics	Merrimack	6
51	Ricky Gallon	San Diego Clippers	Louisville	7
52	Mike Russell	Kansas City Kings	Texas Tech	8
53	Randy Ayers	Chicago Bulls	Miami (OH)	9
54	Steve Grant	Atlanta Hawks	Manhattan	10
55	Marc Iavaroni	New York Knicks	Virginia	11
56	Steve Neff	Golden State Warriors	Southern Nazarene	12
57	Ken Higgs	Cleveland Cavaliers	Louisiana State	13
58	Rick Apke	Washington Bullets	Creighton	14
59	Pat Cummings	Milwaukee Bucks	Cincinnati	15
60	Michael Cooper	Los Angeles Lakers	New Mexico	16
61	Dave Baxter	Seattle SuperSonics	Michigan	17
62	Dave Batton	New Jersey Nets	Notre Dame	18
63	Joel Kramer	Phoenix Suns	San Diego State	19
64	Gerald Henderson	San Antonio Spurs	Virginia Commonwealth	20
65	Marvin Dalph	San Diego Clippers	Arkansas	21
66	Sterling Edmunds	Portland Trail Blazers	Dartmouth	22

Round 422 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
67	Jackie Robinson	Houston Rockets	Nevada-Las Vegas	1
68	Jim Boylan	San Diego Clippers	Marquette	2
69	Joel Thompson	Houston Rockets	Michigan	3
70	Jeffrey Crompton	Kansas City Kings	North Carolina	4
71	Ricky Lee	Indiana Pacers	Oregon State	5
72	Dave Nelson	Boston Celtics	Bloomfield	6
73	Larry Harris	San Diego Clippers	Pittsburgh	7
74	Mel Davis	New Orleans Jazz	North Texas	8
75	Jeff Covington	New Orleans Jazz	Youngstown State	9
76	Leroy McDonald	San Diego Clippers	Wake Forest	10
77	Derrick Jackson	Golden State Warriors	Georgetown	11
78	Stan Rome	Cleveland Cavaliers	Clemson	12
79	Erving Giddings	New York Knicks	Dayton	13
80	Otis Howard	Milwaukee Bucks	Austin Peay	14
81	Lawrence Boston	Washington Bullets	Maryland	15
82	Harold Robertson	Los Angeles Lakers	Lincoln (MO)	16
83	Billy Lewis	Seattle SuperSonics	Illinois State	17
84	Walter Jordan	New Jersey Nets	Purdue	18
85	Bob Miller	Phoenix Suns	Cincinnati	19
86	Rich Adams	San Antonio Spurs	Illinois	20
87	Brett Vroman	Philadelphia 76ers	Nevada-Las Vegas	21
88	Wayne Smith	Phoenix Suns	California-Irvine	22

Round 522 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
89	Cecile Rose	New Jersey Nets	Houston	1
90	David Thompson	San Diego Clippers	Florida State	2
91	Gary Goodner	Houston Rockets	Texas	3
92	James Sparrow	Indiana Pacers	North Carolina A&T	4
93	Derick Clairborne	Kansas City Kings	Massachusetts	5
94	Greg Tynes	Boston Celtics	Seton Hall	6
95	Dave Caligaris	Detroit Pistons	Northeastern	7
96	Don Williams	New Orleans Jazz	Notre Dame	8
97	Ron Anthony	Chicago Bulls	Jacksonville	9
98	Chris Potter	Atlanta Hawks	Holy Cross	10
99	Ken Koenigs	Cleveland Cavaliers	Kansas	11
100	Greg Green	New York Knicks	Southern University	12
101	Thomas Wilson	Golden State Warriors	Western Carolina	13
102	Roger Dickens	Washington Bullets	Towson	14
103	Russ Coleman	Milwaukee Bucks	Pacific	15
104	Carlos Terry	Los Angeles Lakers	Winston-Salem State	16
105	Ralph Drollinger	Seattle SuperSonics	California-Los Angeles	17
106	Michael Edwards	Denver Nuggets	Texas-Pan American	18
107	Andre Wakefield	Phoenix Suns	Loyola-Chicago	19
108	Eugene Parker	San Antonio Spurs	Purdue	20
109	Mark Haymore	Philadelphia 76ers	Massachusetts	21
110	Clay Johnson	Portland Trail Blazers	Missouri	22

Round 621 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
111	Golie Augustus	New Jersey Nets	South Carolina	1
112	Bob Miscevicious	San Diego Clippers	Providence	2
113	Eddie Joe Chavez	Houston Rockets	Santa Clara	3
114	Jim Krivacs	Kansas City Kings	Texas	4
115	Sherman Dillard	Indiana Pacers	James Madison	5
116	Dave Winey	Boston Celtics	Minnesota	6
117	Audie Matthews	Detroit Pistons	Illinois	7
118	John Douglas	New Orleans Jazz	Kansas	8
119	John Shoemaker	Chicago Bulls	Miami (OH)	9
120	Gerald Glover	Atlanta Hawks	Howard	10
121	Ed Warren	New York Knicks	Briar Cliff	11
122	Buzz Hartnett	Golden State Warriors	San Diego	12
123	Ron Bell	Cleveland Cavaliers	Virginia Tech	13
124	Dave Kyle	Milwaukee Bucks	Cleveland State	14
125	Archie Aldridge	Washington Bullets	Miami (OH)	15
126	Kim Stewart	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington	16
127	Robert Heard	Denver Nuggets	Columbus State	17
128	Charles Thompson	Phoenix Suns	Houston	18
129	Harry Morgan	San Antonio Spurs	Indiana State	19
130	Osborne Lockhart	Philadelphia 76ers	Minnesota	20
131	Tim Evans	Portland Trail Blazers	Puget Sound	21

Round 721 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
132	Doug Jemison	New Jersey Nets	San Francisco	1
133	Stan Pietkiewicz	San Diego Clippers	Auburn	2
134	Stan Stewart	Houston Rockets	Loyola-Marymount	3
135	Ollie Matson	Indiana Pacers	Pepperdine	4
136	Charles McMilliam	Kansas City Kings	North Texas	5
137	Steve Balkun	Boston Celtics	Fairfield	6
138	Herb Entzminger	Detroit Pistons	Johnson C. Smith	7
139	Willie Howard	New Orleans Jazz	New Mexico	8
140	Jarvis Reynolds	Chicago Bulls	West Georgia	9
141	Jim DeWeese	Atlanta Hawks	Gonzaga	10
142	Rick Bernard	Golden State Warriors	St. Mary's (CA)	11
143	Tony Smith	Cleveland Cavaliers	Nevada-Las Vegas	12
144	Gary Pember	New York Knicks	Nasson	13
145	Ed Hopkins	Washington Bullets	Georgetown	14
146	Kim Anderson	Milwaukee Bucks	Missouri	15
147	Larry Paige	Los Angeles Lakers	Colorado State	16
148	Jack Gilloon	Denver Nuggets	South Carolina	17
149	Steve Malovic	Phoenix Suns	San Diego State	18
150	Hector Olivencia	San Antonio Spurs	Sacred Heart	19
151	Anthony Murray	Philadelphia 76ers	Alabama	20
152	Walter Reason	Portland Trail Blazers	Pacific	21

Round 818 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
153	Bruce Campbell	New Jersey Nets	Providence	1
154	Felton Young	San Diego Clippers	Jacksonville	2
155	Ron Hammye	Kansas City Kings	Bowling Green	3
156	Kim Fisher	Boston Celtics	Fairfield	4
157	Earl Evans	Detroit Pistons	Nevada-Las Vegas	5
158	Carl Kilpatrick	New Orleans Jazz	Louisiana-Monroe	6
159	John Cox	Chicago Bulls	San Francisco	7
160	Ed Murphy	Atlanta Hawks	Merrimack	8
161	Roland Martin	Cleveland Cavaliers	Missouri Southern State	9
162	Greg Sanders	New York Knicks	St. Bonaventure	10
163	Tony Searcy	Golden State Warriors	Appalachian State	11
164	Tom Zaligaris	Milwaukee Bucks	North Carolina	12
165	Nestor Cora	Washington Bullets	St. Francis Brooklyn	13
166	Larry Vaculik	Denver Nuggets	Colorado	14
167	George Fowler	Phoenix Suns	Pacific	15
168	Henry Taylor	San Antonio Spurs	Texas-Pan American	16
169	Alan Cunningham	Philadelphia 76ers	Colorado State	17
170	Mark Wickman	Portland Trail Blazers	Linfield	18

Round 916 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
171	Frank Sowinski	New Jersey Nets	Princeton	1
172	Bobby White	San Diego Clippers	Centenary (LA)	2
173	Les Anderson	Boston Celtics	George Washington	3
174	Ulice Payne	Detroit Pistons	Marquette	4
175	Chad Nelson	New Orleans Jazz	Drake	5
176	Joe Ponsetto	Chicago Bulls	DePaul	6
177	Maurice Robinson	Atlanta Hawks	West Virginia	7
178	Danny Fields	New York Knicks	North Carolina-Wilmington	8
179	Bobby Humbles	Golden State Warriors	Bradley	9
180	Steve Bayless	Cleveland Cavaliers	Central State (OH)	10
181	Tim Claxton	Washington Bullets	Temple	11
182	Gary Rosenberger	Milwaukee Bucks	Marquette	12
183	Tom Schneeburger	Denver Nuggets	Air Force	13
184	Nate Stokes	Phoenix Suns	Grand Canyon	14
185	Rick Taylor	San Antonio Spurs	Arizona State	15
186	Paul Cozens	Portland Trail Blazers	Holy Cross	16

Round 1016 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
187	Michael Vicens	New Jersey Nets	Holy Cross	1
188	Walter Harrigan	Boston Celtics	Brandeis	2
189	Dave Grauzer	Detroit Pistons	Central Michigan	3
190	Rickey Williams	New Orleans Jazz	Long Beach State	4
191	Mark Tucker	Chicago Bulls	Oklahoma	5
192	Marshall Lester	Atlanta Hawks	Florida Southern	6
193	Mike Muff	Golden State Warriors	Murray State	7
194	Gary Winston	Cleveland Cavaliers	Army	8
195	Ernest Simons	New York Knicks	Pace	9
196	Tom Anderson	Milwaukee Bucks	Wisconsin-Green Bay	10
197	Steve Connor	Washington Bullets	Boise State	11
198	Phil Taylor	Denver Nuggets	Arizona	12
199	Lewis Cohen	Phoenix Suns	Cal Poly	13
200	Larry Brewster	San Antonio Spurs	Florida	14
201	Dennis James	Philadelphia 76ers	Widener	15
202	Tim Workington	Portland Trail Blazers	Biola	16

Source: NBA.com Draft History. Draft-night trades can cause the team attached to a selection to differ from the player’s eventual rookie team.