1979–80 rookie class

1979 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

Los Angeles Lakers

Magic Johnson

Michigan State

Pick #2

Chicago Bulls

David Greenwood

California-Los Angeles

Pick #3

New York Knicks

Bill Cartwright

San Francisco

Pick #4

Detroit Pistons

Greg Kelser

Michigan State

Pick #5

Milwaukee Bucks

Sidney Moncrief

Arkansas

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	Magic Johnson	Los Angeles Lakers	Michigan State	1
2	David Greenwood	Chicago Bulls	California-Los Angeles	2
3	Bill Cartwright	New York Knicks	San Francisco	3
4	Greg Kelser	Detroit Pistons	Michigan State	4
5	Sidney Moncrief	Milwaukee Bucks	Arkansas	5
6	James Bailey	Seattle SuperSonics	Rutgers	6
7	Vinnie Johnson	Seattle SuperSonics	Baylor	7
8	Calvin Natt	New Jersey Nets	Louisiana-Monroe	8
9	Larry Demic	New York Knicks	Arizona	9
10	Roylee Hamilton	Detroit Pistons	California-Los Angeles	10
11	Cliff T. Robinson	New Jersey Nets	Southern California	11
12	Jim Paxson	Portland Trail Blazers	Dayton	12
13	Dudley Bradley	Indiana Pacers	North Carolina	13
14	Brad Holland	Los Angeles Lakers	California-Los Angeles	14
15	Phil Hubbard	Detroit Pistons	Michigan	15
16	Jim Spanarkel	Philadelphia 76ers	Duke	16
17	Lee Johnson	Houston Rockets	Texas A&M-Commerce	17
18	Reggie King	Kansas City Kings	Alabama	18
19	Wiley Peck	San Antonio Spurs	Mississippi State	19
20	Larry Knight	Utah Jazz	Loyola-Chicago	20
21	Sly Williams	New York Knicks	Rhode Island	21
22	Kyle Macy	Phoenix Suns	Kentucky	22

Round 222 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
23	Tico Brown	Utah Jazz	Georgia Tech	1
24	Johnny High	Phoenix Suns	Nevada-Reno	2
25	Ollie Mack	Los Angeles Lakers	East Carolina	3
26	Bruce Flowers	Cleveland Cavaliers	Notre Dame	4
27	Reggie Carter	New York Knicks	St. John's (NY)	5
28	Danny Salisbury	Golden State Warriors	Texas-Pan American	6
29	Tony Price	Detroit Pistons	Pennsylvania	7
30	Gary Garland	Denver Nuggets	DePaul	8
31	Edgar Jones	Milwaukee Bucks	Nevada-Reno	9
32	Tony Zeno	Indiana Pacers	Arizona State	10
33	Lawrence Butler	Chicago Bulls	Idaho State	11
34	Kim Goetz	New York Knicks	San Diego State	12
35	James Bradley	Atlanta Hawks	Memphis	13
36	Clint Richardson	Philadelphia 76ers	Seattle	14
37	Bernard Toone	Philadelphia 76ers	Marquette	15
38	Larry Wilson	Atlanta Hawks	Nicholls State	16
39	Victor King	Los Angeles Lakers	Louisiana Tech	17
40	Andrew Fields	Portland Trail Blazers	Cheyney	18
41	Mark Young	Los Angeles Lakers	Fairfield	19
42	Paul Mokeski	Houston Rockets	Kansas	20
43	Johnny Moore	Seattle SuperSonics	Texas	21
44	Joe DeSantis	Washington Bullets	Fairfield	22

Round 322 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
45	Arvid Kramer	Utah Jazz	Augustana (SD)	1
46	Andrew Parker	Washington Bullets	Iowa State	2
47	Calvin Garrett	Chicago Bulls	Oral Roberts	3
48	Terry Duerod	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Mercy	4
49	Cedrick Hordges	Chicago Bulls	South Carolina	5
50	Geoff Huston	New York Knicks	Texas Tech	6
51	John Gerdy	New Jersey Nets	Davidson	7
52	Larry Gibson	Milwaukee Bucks	Maryland	8
53	Wayne Kreklow	Boston Celtics	Drake	9
54	Lynbert Johnson	Golden State Warriors	Wichita State	10
55	Tom Channel	San Diego Clippers	Boston University	11
56	Mickey Fox	Portland Trail Blazers	Saint Mary's (CAN)	12
57	Don March	Atlanta Hawks	Franklin & Marshall	13
58	Earl Cureton	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Mercy	14
59	Ricardo Brown	Houston Rockets	Pepperdine	15
60	Walter Daniels	Los Angeles Lakers	Georgia	16
61	Ernesto Malcolm	Boston Celtics	Briar Cliff	17
62	Terry Crosby	Kansas City Kings	Tennessee	18
63	Sylvester Norris	San Antonio Spurs	Jackson State	19
64	Al Green	Phoenix Suns	Louisiana State	20
65	Bill Laimbeer	Cleveland Cavaliers	Notre Dame	21
66	Charles Floyd	Washington Bullets	High Point	22

Round 422 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
67	Greg Deane	Utah Jazz	Utah	1
68	Nick Galis	Boston Celtics	Seton Hall	2
69	Eugene Robinson	Milwaukee Bucks	Louisiana-Monroe	3
70	Rick Swing	Cleveland Cavaliers	Citadel	4
71	Larry Rogers	New York Knicks	Southeast Missouri State	5
72	George Maynor	Chicago Bulls	East Carolina	6
73	James Donaldson	Seattle SuperSonics	Washington State	7
74	Don Newman	Indiana Pacers	Idaho	8
75	Ron Ripley	Golden State Warriors	Wisconsin-Green Bay	9
76	Sammy Drummer	Houston Rockets	Georgia Tech	10
77	Lionel Garrett	San Diego Clippers	Southern University	11
78	Daryll Robinson	Portland Trail Blazers	Appalachian State	12
79	Ray White	Los Angeles Lakers	Mississippi State	13
80	Lionel Green	Houston Rockets	Louisiana State	14
81	Ricky Reed	Los Angeles Lakers	Temple	15
82	Jerry Sichting	Golden State Warriors	Purdue	16
83	Mike Niles	Philadelphia 76ers	Cal State-Fullerton	17
84	Al Daniel	San Antonio Spurs	Furman	18
85	John McCullough	Kansas City Kings	Oklahoma	19
86	Malcolm Cesare	Phoenix Suns	Florida	20
87	Richie Allen	Seattle SuperSonics	Cal State Dominguez Hills	21
88	Lamont Reid	Washington Bullets	Oral Roberts	22

Round 520 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
89	Wolfe Perry	Utah Jazz	Stanford	1
90	Jimmy Allen	Boston Celtics	New Haven	2
91	Matt Simpkins	Cleveland Cavaliers	Georgia Southern	3
92	Flintie Ray Williams	Detroit Pistons	Nevada-Las Vegas	4
93	Larry Washington	Chicago Bulls	Drury	5
94	Johnny Green	New York Knicks	California-Riverside	6
95	Jim Abromaitis	New Jersey Nets	Connecticut	7
96	George Lett	Golden State Warriors	Centenary (LA)	8
97	Jim Tillman	Milwaukee Bucks	Eastern Kentucky	9
98	Billy Reid	Indiana Pacers	San Francisco	10
99	Greg Joyner	San Diego Clippers	Middle Tennessee State	11
100	Matt White	Portland Trail Blazers	Pennsylvania	12
101	Tiny Pinder	Atlanta Hawks	North Carolina State	13
102	Larry Williams	Denver Nuggets	Louisville	14
103	Carl McPipe	Philadelphia 76ers	Nebraska	15
104	Allen Leavell	Houston Rockets	Oklahoma City	16
105	Curtis Watkins	Kansas City Kings	DePaul	17
106	Steve Schall	San Antonio Spurs	Arkansas	18
107	Mark Eaton	Phoenix Suns	California-Los Angeles	19
108	Marshall Ashford	Washington Bullets	Virginia Tech	20

Round 620 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
109	Ernie Cobb	Utah Jazz	Boston University	1
110	Marvin Delph	Boston Celtics	Arkansas	2
111	Truman Claytor	Detroit Pistons	Kentucky	3
112	Joe Manning	Cleveland Cavaliers	North Texas	4
113	Phil Abney	New York Knicks	New Mexico	5
114	Steve Smith	Chicago Bulls	Southern California	6
115	Tony Smith	New Jersey Nets	Nevada-Las Vegas	7
116	Derrick Mayes	Milwaukee Bucks	Illinois State	8
117	Greg Guye	Indiana Pacers	Stetson	9
118	Jim Mitchem	Golden State Warriors	DePaul	10
119	Bob Bender	San Diego Clippers	Duke	11
120	Ray Ellis	Portland Trail Blazers	Pepperdine	12
121	Dwight Williams	Atlanta Hawks	Gardner-Webb	13
122	Odell Ball	Denver Nuggets	Marquette	14
123	Dan Hartshorne	Philadelphia 76ers	Oregon	15
124	Collie Davis	Houston Rockets	Southern University	16
125	Terry Knight	San Antonio Spurs	Pittsburgh	17
126	Bob Roma	Kansas City Kings	Princeton	18
127	Dale Shackelford	Phoenix Suns	Syracuse	19
128	Garcia Hopkins	Washington Bullets	Morgan State	20

Round 719 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
129	Paul Poe	Utah Jazz	Louisiana College	1
130	Steve Castellan	Boston Celtics	Virginia	2
131	Steve Skaggs	Cleveland Cavaliers	Ohio	3
132	Ken Jones	Detroit Pistons	St. Mary's (CA)	4
133	Mike Eversley	Chicago Bulls	Chicago State	5
134	Marc Coleman	New York Knicks	Seton Hall	6
135	Jim Strickland	New Jersey Nets	South Carolina	7
136	Dirk Ewing	Indiana Pacers	Stetson	8
137	Ren Watson	Golden State Warriors	Virginia Commonwealth	9
138	Stan Ray	Milwaukee Bucks	Cal State-Fullerton	10
139	Jene Grey	San Diego Clippers	Le Moyne	11
140	Jeff Tropf	Portland Trail Blazers	Central Michigan	12
141	Tim Waterman	Atlanta Hawks	St. Bonaventure	13
142	Bobby Willis	Philadelphia 76ers	Pennsylvania	14
143	Rich Valavicius	Houston Rockets	Auburn	15
144	John Johnson	Denver Nuggets	Creighton	16
145	Nick Daniels	Kansas City Kings	Xavier	17
146	Tyrone Branyan	San Antonio Spurs	Texas	18
147	Ollie Matson	Phoenix Suns	Pepperdine	19

Round 819 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
148	Keith McDonald	Utah Jazz	Utah State	1
149	Glenn Sudhop	Boston Celtics	North Carolina State	2
150	Rodney Lee	Detroit Pistons	Memphis	3
151	Mark Haymore	Cleveland Cavaliers	Massachusetts	4
152	Billy Tucker	New York Knicks	Tennessee State	5
153	Tony Warren	Chicago Bulls	North Carolina State	6
154	Henry Hollingsworth	New Jersey Nets	Hofstra	7
155	Mario Butler	Golden State Warriors	Briar Cliff	8
156	Larry Spicer	Milwaukee Bucks	Alabama-Birmingham	9
157	Brian Magid	Indiana Pacers	George Washington	10
158	Renaldo Lawrence	San Diego Clippers	Appalachian State	11
159	Willie Pounds	Portland Trail Blazers	Chaminade	12
160	John Goedeke	Atlanta Hawks	Maryland-Baltimore County	13
161	Delbert Watson	Houston Rockets	East Tennessee State	14
162	Matt Teahan	Denver Nuggets	Denver	15
163	Rick Raivio	Philadelphia 76ers	Portland	16
164	Tony Vann	Kansas City Kings	Alabama-Huntsville	17
165	Charles Jones	Phoenix Suns	Albany State (GA)	18
166	Jo Jo Walters	Washington Bullets	Manhattan	19

Round 918 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
167	Milt Huggins	Utah Jazz	Southern Illinois	1
168	Kevin Sinnett	Boston Celtics	Navy	2
169	Tim Joyce	Cleveland Cavaliers	Ohio	3
170	Val Bracey	Detroit Pistons	Central Michigan	4
171	James Jackson	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota	5
172	Brett Wyatt	New York Knicks	New Jersey City	6
173	Ricky Free	New Jersey Nets	Columbia	7
174	Roger Lapham	Milwaukee Bucks	Maine	8
175	Gene Ransom	Golden State Warriors	California	9
176	Mike Dodd	San Diego Clippers	San Diego State	10
177	Stan Eckwood	Portland Trail Blazers	Harding	11
178	Cedric Oliver	Atlanta Hawks	Hamilton	12
179	Emmett Lewis	Denver Nuggets	Colorado	13
180	Coby Leavitt	Philadelphia 76ers	Utah	14
181	Gary Wilson	Kansas City Kings	Southern Illinois	15
182	Eddie McLeod	San Antonio Spurs	Nevada-Las Vegas	16
183	Hosea Champine	Phoenix Suns	Robert Morris	17
184	Ray Hooker	Washington Bullets	Murray State	18

Round 1018 selections +

Overall	Player	Drafting team	Affiliation	Round pick
185	Paul Dawkins	Utah Jazz	Northern Illinois	1
186	Alton Byrd	Boston Celtics	Columbia	2
187	Willie Polk	Detroit Pistons	Grand Canyon	3
188	Terry Peavy	Cleveland Cavaliers	Point Park	4
189	Gordon Thomas	New York Knicks	St. John's (NY)	5
190	Marvin Thoms	Chicago Bulls	California-Los Angeles	6
191	Eric Fleisher	New Jersey Nets	Tulane	7
192	Kevin Heenan	Golden State Warriors	Cal State-Fullerton	8
193	Chris Fahrbach	Milwaukee Bucks	North Dakota	9
194	Greg Hunter	San Diego Clippers	Loyola-Marymount	10
195	Kelvin Small	Portland Trail Blazers	Oregon	11
196	Chad Nelson	Atlanta Hawks	Drake	12
197	Cortez Collins	Chicago Bulls	Southern Indiana	13
198	Keith McCord	Philadelphia 76ers	Alabama-Birmingham	14
199	Glen Fine	San Antonio Spurs	Harvard	15
200	Russell Saunders	Kansas City Kings	New Mexico	16
201	Korky Nelson	Phoenix Suns	Santa Clara	17
202	Steve Martin	Washington Bullets	Georgetown	18

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.