The 1999 NBA Draft was held on June 30, 1999 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Brand (1st selection), Trajan Langdon (11th), Corey Maggette (13th) and William Avery (14th) being selected out of Duke University. It is widely viewed as one of the best draft classes, with a total of nine future NBA All Stars being chosen, as well as three winners of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award - Manu Ginobili, Jason Terry, and Lamar Odom.

Round one[link]

Elton Brand, the 1st overall pick

Steve Francis, the 2nd overall pick

Baron Davis, the 3rd pick

Lamar Odom, the 4th pick

Richard Hamilton, the 7th pick

Andre Miller, the 8th pick

Shawn Marion, the 9th pick

Jason Terry, the 10th pick

Pick	Player	Nationality	NBA Team	School/Club Team
1	Elton Brand* (PF)	United States	Chicago Bulls	Duke (So)
2	Steve Francis+ (G)	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies (traded to Houston)	Maryland (Jr)
3	Baron Davis* (PG)	United States	Charlotte Hornets	UCLA (So)
4	Lamar Odom (F)	United States	Los Angeles Clippers	Rhode Island (Fr)
5	Jonathan Bender (F)	United States	Toronto Raptors (from Denver, traded to Indiana for Antonio Davis)	Picayune Memorial High School (Picayune, MS)
6	Wally Szczerbiak+ (SF)	United States	Minnesota Timberwolves (from New Jersey)	Miami (OH) (Sr)
7	Richard Hamilton+ (SG)	United States	Washington Wizards	Connecticut (Jr)
8	Andre Miller (PG)	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers (from Boston)	Utah (Sr)
9	Shawn Marion* (F)	United States	Phoenix Suns (from Dallas)	UNLV (Jr)
10	Jason Terry (G)	United States	Atlanta Hawks	Arizona (Sr)
11	Trajan Langdon (SG)	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers	Duke (Sr)
12	Aleksandar Radojević (C)	Yugoslavia	Toronto Raptors	Barton County JC (Kansas) (So)
13	Corey Maggette (SG/SF)	United States	Seattle SuperSonics, traded to Orlando	Duke (Fr)
14	William Avery (PG)	United States	Minnesota Timberwolves	Duke (So)
15	Frédéric Weis (C)	France	New York Knicks	Limoges (France)
16	Ron Artest* (SF) (now Metta World Peace)1[›]	United States	Chicago Bulls (from Phoenix)	St. John's (So)
17	Cal Bowdler (PF)	United States	Atlanta Hawks (from Sacramento)	Old Dominion (Sr)
18	James Posey (SG/SF)	United States	Denver Nuggets (from Milwaukee via Phoenix)	Xavier (Jr)
19	Quincy Lewis (SF)	United States	Utah Jazz (from Philadelphia)	Minnesota (Sr)
20	Dion Glover (SG)	United States	Atlanta Hawks	Georgia Tech (Jr)
21	Jeff Foster (PF)	United States	Golden State Warriors (traded to Indiana)	SW Texas St. (Sr)
22	Kenny Thomas (PF)	United States	Houston Rockets	New Mexico (Sr)
23	Devean George (SF)	United States	Los Angeles Lakers	Augsburg (Sr)
24	Andrei Kirilenko* (SF)	Russia	Utah Jazz	CSKA Moscow (Russian Basketball Super League 1981
25	Tim James (SF)	United States	Miami Heat	Miami (Sr)
26	Vonteego Cummings (PG)	United States	Indiana Pacers (traded to Golden State)	Pittsburgh (Sr)
27	Jumaine Jones (SF)	United States	Atlanta Hawks (traded to Philadelphia)	Georgia (So)
28	Scott Padgett (PF)	United States	Utah Jazz	Kentucky (Sr)
29	Leon Smith (PF)	United States	San Antonio Spurs (traded to Dallas)	M. L. King HS (Chicago)

Round two[link]

Ron Artest, the 16th pick

Manu Ginobili, the 57th pick

Pick	Player	Nationality	NBA Team	School/Club Team
30	John Celestand (PG)	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (from Vancouver Grizzlies)	Villanova
31	Rico Hill (F)	United States	Los Angeles Clippers	Illinois State
32	Michael Ruffin (PF)	United States	Chicago Bulls	Tulsa
33	Chris Herren (G)	United States	Denver Nuggets	Fresno State
34	Evan Eschmeyer (C)	United States	New Jersey Nets	Northwestern
35	Calvin Booth (C)	United States	Washington Wizards	Penn State
36	Wang Zhizhi (C)	China	Dallas Mavericks	Bayi Rockets (China)
37	Obinna Ekezie (C)	Nigeria	Vancouver Grizzlies (from Boston)	Maryland
38	Laron Profit (SG/SF)	United States	Orlando Magic (from Golden State)	Maryland
39	A.J. Bramlett (C)	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers	Arizona
40	Gordan Giriček (G/F)	Croatia	Dallas Mavericks	CSKA Moscow
41	Francisco Elson (C)	Netherlands	Denver Nuggets	California
42	Louis Bullock (G)	United States	Minnesota Timberwolves ( traded to Orlando)	Michigan
43	Lee Nailon (SF)	United States	Charlotte Hornets	TCU
44	Tyrone Washington (C)	United States	Houston Rockets (from Phoenix)	Mississippi State
45	Ryan Robertson (G)	United States	Sacramento Kings	Kansas
46	J.R. Koch (F)	United States	New York Knicks	Iowa
47	Todd MacCulloch (C)	Canada	Philadelphia 76ers	Washington
48	Galen Young (G)	United States	Milwaukee Bucks	Charlotte
49	Lari Ketner (C)	United States	Chicago Bulls (from Detroit via Atlanta)	UMass
50	Venson Hamilton (C)	United States	Houston Rockets	Nebraska
51	Antwain Smith (F)	United States	Vancouver Grizzlies (from L.A. Lakers)	St. Paul's (VA)
52	Roberto Bergersen (G)	United States	Atlanta Hawks	Boise State
53	Rodney Buford (SG)	United States	Miami Heat	Creighton
54	Melvin Levett (G)	United States	Detroit Pistons (from Indiana)	Cincinnati
55	Kris Clack (G)	United States	Boston Celtics (from Orlando via Denver)	Texas
56	Tim Young (C)	United States	Golden State Warriors (from Portland)	Stanford
57	Manu Ginóbili* (SG)	Argentina	San Antonio Spurs	Viola Reggio Calabria (Italy)
58	Eddie Lucas (G)	United States	Utah Jazz	Virginia Tech

Notes[link]

^ 1: Ron Artest changed his name into Metta World Peace on September 16, 2011.^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (archived)
• 1999 NBA Draft at Basketball-Reference.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA) can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted. College players who have finished their four-year college eligibility are automatically eligible for selection, while the underclassmen have to declare their eligibility and give up their remaining college eligibility. International players who are at least 22 years old are automatically eligible for selection, while the players younger than 22 have to declare their eligibility. Players who are not automatically eligible but have declared their eligibility are often called "early-entrants" or "early-entry candidates". The Draft usually takes place at the end of June, during the NBA off-season. The Draft consists of two rounds with a total of sixty players to be selected.

In the past, high school players were also eligible to be selected. However, starting in the 2006 Draft, high school players were not eligible to enter the draft directly after graduating high school. The rules now state that high school players will gain eligibility for draft selection one year after their high school graduation and they must also be at least 19 years old as of the end of the calendar year of the draft. Contrary to popular belief, they do not necessarily have to have at least one year of college basketball (as some players have chosen to use that year to play professionally in Europe for example).

NBA Draft Lottery[link]

The NBA Draft Lottery is an annual event held by the NBA to determine the draft order. The teams who missed the playoffs in the previous season participate in a lottery process to determine the draft order. The lottery winner would get the first selection in the draft. In the current rules, 14 non-playoff teams participate in the Draft Lottery. The lottery is weighted so that the team with the worst record has the best chance of obtaining higher draft picks. The lottery process determines the first three picks of the draft. The rest of the first-round order of picks is in reverse order of the teams' win-loss record. The lottery does not determine the draft order in the second round of the draft. The term "lottery pick" denotes a draft pick whose position is determined through the lottery, while the non-playoff teams involved in the process are often called "lottery teams". The Draft Lottery system was first used in the 1985 Draft.

Draft selection process[link]

All players must be at least 19 years of age during the calendar year of the draft, and a player who completed basketball eligibility at an American high school must also be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class. Restrictions exist on players signing with sports agents and on declaring for, then withdrawing, from drafts—although most of them are enforced by the NCAA rather than the NBA.

In the early years of the draft, teams would select players until they ran out of prospects. The 1960 draft went 21 rounds. By 1974, it had stabilized to 10 rounds, which held up until 1985, when the draft was shortened to seven rounds. By agreement with the National Basketball Players Association, the drafts from 1989 onward have been limited to two rounds, which gives undrafted players the chance to try out for any team.^[1]

Globalization of the draft[link]

The NBA draft has been dominated by collegiate players since the draft was put in place in 1950. In more recent years high school seniors have also had a large impact on the draft. These include players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, and Amar'e Stoudemire. However, because of the new age requirement put in place in 2005, high school seniors are no longer eligible for the draft. During the same stretch that high school players were making a large impact on the draft, another group of players started to make their presence felt in the draft.

Selecting foreign players[link]

Foreign players have made a large impact on how teams are now drafting. When the draft began, foreign players were not selected. As the years progressed, things began to change and a few international players were selected. The first foreign player, in the sense of being a national of a country other than the U.S., to be chosen first overall in the draft was Bahamian Mychal Thompson in 1978. However, Thompson's selection was not a true harbinger of the game's globalization, as he had spent much of his childhood in Florida, and had played college basketball at Minnesota. One of the first foreign players selected in the draft to play in the NBA was Manute Bol out of the Sudan in 1983 in the 5th round by the San Diego Clippers. Bol's selection was later deemed ineligible by the NBA. Two years later Bol was drafted again by the NBA this time out of Division II University of Bridgeport in 1985 as the 31st pick overall in the second round. Although Bol did not have a stellar career, he is known for being one of the tallest players ever to play the game at 7 feet and 7 inches. He holds the record for being the tallest player ever to hit a 3 point field goal. The following two years saw two players born outside the U.S. selected first overall—Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984 and Jamaica-born American Patrick Ewing in 1985. However, like Thompson before them, both had played U.S. college basketball—Olajuwon at Houston and Ewing at Georgetown—and Ewing had also played high school basketball in the U.S.

By the 1997 Draft, the number of foreign players being drafted dramatically increased. The top pick in that draft, Tim Duncan, became the third international player picked number 1 overall—although his designation as "international" is a matter of semantics, as he is a native of the United States Virgin Islands and, like all USVI natives, is a U.S. citizen by birth. He also had played U.S. college basketball at Wake Forest. Including Duncan, 12 international players were selected in the two rounds of the draft—although half of them, including Duncan and the next two such players picked, had played college basketball. The 1998 draft saw another foreign player picked first overall, Nigerian Michael Olowokandi, but like Duncan he had played college basketball, in his case at Pacific. In 2001 the highest drafted foreign player, Pau Gasol, was selected 3rd overall by the Atlanta Hawks. That would all change the following season when Yao Ming became the first foreign player without U.S. college experience to be selected number 1 overall. Not only was the first overall pick an international player, but five more picks in the first round alone were also from overseas. In total, the 2002 draft produced 17 international players, with only three of them (all second-round picks) having U.S. college experience.

International players selected number 1 overall[link]

As noted earlier, four international players had gone first overall before 2002, although all had played college basketball in the U.S., and one of them was in fact a U.S. citizen by birth. It was not until 2002 that an international player without college experience went first overall—Yao Ming. His selection was not only a watershed moment for the NBA, it also had a large impact in Yao's homeland of China. Hannah Beech (2003) writes "Yao has single-handedly transformed his countrymen from nameless, faceless millions into mighty men who can jam with the very best." ^[2] Yao has helped the NBA grow into a worldwide product. Beech (2003) goes on to write "Ratings for NBA games broadcast on Chinese TV have never been higher than this year as the nation keeps track of its new favorite team, Yao's Houston Rockets." ^[2] For his career Yao is averaging a solid 19.0 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game, 1.89 blocks per game, and is shooting 82.6 percent from the free throw line.

2001 Draft[link]

From the 2001 draft to the 2006 Draft there were a total of 6 foreign players selected. This trend shows how NBA teams are expanding the way they are selecting players in the draft. Players like Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Tony Parker, Nenê and Luol Deng are changing the landscape of the NBA to include a wide array of players from all over the globe.

2002, 2005 and 2006 Drafts[link]

The 2002, 2005 and 2006 Drafts saw international players picked first overall. In 2002 the Houston Rockets selected Yao Ming from China first in the draft. Also in 2005, the Milwaukee Bucks picked Andrew Bogut, from Australia by way of the University of Utah, #1. The next year, the Toronto Raptors made Andrea Bargnani the second foreign player without U.S. college experience to be selected number 1 overall.

Other notable past NBA drafts[link]

Some of the most noted NBA draft years are 1984, 1996, and 2003. Each of those is often referred to as one of, if not the, best NBA Draft ever, though the 2003 Draft was too recent to accurately compare. The 2000 NBA Draft has been regarded as the worst in history, with Sports Illustrated calling its first round "a horrible group of players."^[3] The 1986 Draft was notable for the number of solid and even outstanding players selected in later rounds, partly because of drug problems that claimed the life of second overall pick Len Bias and affected the careers of several other first-round picks.^[4][5]

See also[link]

• Draft bust
• Expansion draft
• Haywood v. National Basketball Association
• Mock draft
• NBA Draft Lottery
• NBA first overall draft pick
• NBA territorial pick
• WNBA Draft

References[link]

General

Specific

External links[link]

• NBA.com: NBA Draft History
• Basketball-Reference.com: NBA Draft Index.
• TheDraftReview.com: NBA Draft Index

Steve Francis

Guard
Personal information
Born	(1977-02-21) February 21, 1977 (age 35) Takoma Park, Maryland
Nationality	American
High school	Montgomery Blair[1]
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
College	San Jacinto (1996–1997) Allegany College of Maryland (1997–1998) Maryland (1998–1999)
NBA Draft	1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall
Selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies
Career history
1999–2004	Houston Rockets
2004–2006	Orlando Magic
2006–2007	New York Knicks
2007–2008	Houston Rockets
2010	Beijing Ducks (China)
Career highlights and awards
NBA Rookie of the Year (2000) 3× NBA All-Star (2002–2004)

Steven D'Shawn Francis (born February 21, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He had also played for the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, and New York Knicks. Nicknamed "Stevie Franchise"^[2] and self-described as "Steve-O",^[3] he was known early in his career for his crossover dribble, driving ability, and flashy dunks.^[4][5]

Early years[link]

Francis grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland.^[6] He was nicknamed "Wink" as a child.^[6] After his mother died of cancer in 1995, his grandmother raised him. He stopped playing basketball for two years after his mother's death.^[7]

Francis attended the San Jacinto College of Texas in 1996–97, and the Allegany College of Maryland in 1997–98. Francis became the first player to take two unbeaten teams into the National Junior College Tournament.^[7]

University of Maryland[link]

Francis transferred to the University of Maryland in 1998 for his junior season. The addition of Francis helped propel the Terrapins to a #5 preseason ranking. Francis made an instant impact as Maryland's starting shooting guard, scoring 17 points in the season opener against Western Carolina. Francis and the Terps gained national attention with impressive showings in the Puerto Rico Shootout and a 62–60 win over #5 Stanford in the BB&T Classic. The Terps climbed to a #2 national ranking by early December.^[8]

The Terrapins finished second in the ACC and Francis was named to the All-ACC first team and the All ACC Tournament team. The Terrapins were a number 2 seed in the NCAA tournament but were defeated by St. John's in the Sweet 16. Under Francis' leadership, Maryland finished with a school record-setting 28 wins and only 6 losses and were ranked #5 in the final Associated Press poll.

Francis finished the season averaging 17 points per game, 4.5 assists per game, and 2.8 steals per game. He was a consensus second-team All-American and was named a finalist for the Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year Awards. Although he stated he was "99% sure" he would return to Maryland for his senior season, he opted to enter the NBA draft.

NBA career[link]

Houston Rockets (1999–2004)[link]

Francis was selected second in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He publicly announced that he did not want to play for the Grizzlies, citing the distance from his Maryland home, taxes, endorsements, and God's will. Heavily criticized for his antics, especially in Vancouver,^[9] he relented and briefly considered joining the Grizzlies before contentious negotiations and an incident at the Vancouver airport convinced both the franchise and Francis they needed to go separate ways.^[10]

Francis got his wish, being traded before the 1999–2000 season began to the Houston Rockets in a three-team, 11-player deal that brought Michael Dickerson, Othella Harrington, Antoine Carr and Brent Price, plus first- and second-round picks to the Grizzlies. It was the largest trade in NBA history at that time.^[11]

Despite sharing Rookie of the Year honors with Elton Brand^[12] and finishing as runner-up to Vince Carter in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest,^[13] the Francis-led Rockets finished with a 34–48 record.

The next season the Rockets improved to 45–37 but still missed the playoffs. In his 3rd year, Francis upped his game and was chosen by fans to start the 2002 NBA All-Star contest, but ended up playing only 55 games due to a foot injury and recurring Ménière's-induced migraines.^[14] As a result the Rockets posted a dismal 28–54 record, propelling them into the lottery, where they selected 7'6" Chinese center Yao Ming with the first pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. Francis and Yao gelled their first season together, being selected as 2003 All-Star Game starters. Francis scored a career-high 44 points in a nationally televised home win against the Lakers on January 17, 2003.^[14] The team, though, fell to 43–39 and failed to make the playoffs.

Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down in 2003, the team selecting ex-Knick coach Jeff Van Gundy as his successor. Unfortunately for Francis, Van Gundy's coaching style did not fit the speedy shooting guard's style of play. Even though Francis made the All Star game for a third straight year his stats declined in 2003–04, dropping from 21.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 6.2 APG to 16.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 6.2 APG. The team, however, made the playoffs for the first time since 1999, which would prove Francis's only post-season experience. Despite his averaging 19.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, and 7.6 apg, the Rockets lost to the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers, in five games.

As Francis' relationship with Van Gundy deteriorated it was apparent that the Rockets wanted to go in a different direction. While the coach sought to focus the Rockets offense on Yao, the team ended up trading Francis, along with his best friend on the team Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato, for then scoring champ Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, and Reece Gaines.

During Francis' first tenure in Houston, he averaged 19.3 points, 6.4 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.63 steals in 374 games (372 starts).

Orlando Magic (2004–2006)[link]

At first, Francis was unhappy with the trade to Orlando, but adapted to his new environment. Francis flourished in the "run n' gun" offense of interim head coach Chris Jent. After posting a career-low 16.6 points per game the previous year with the Rockets, Francis averaged 21.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 7.0 APG in his first season with the Magic. The Magic started out the year fast in the 2004–05 season, with Francis hitting several game-winning shots early in the season.^[15][16][17] In the middle of the season, Mobley was traded to the Sacramento Kings, which upset Francis.^[18] The Magic slumped late and missed the playoffs.

The following season, a disgruntled Francis was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.^[19] On February 5, 2006, there were rumors that he could be traded to the Denver Nuggets for Earl Watson but they were later dismissed and GM Otis Smith publicly announced that he would not trade Francis.^[20] However, rumors persisted that Francis would be traded to the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets.^[7]

New York Knicks (2006–2007)[link]

On February 22, 2006, one day before the NBA's trade deadline, Steve Francis was traded to the New York Knicks for small forward Trevor Ariza and the expiring contract of shooting guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway.^[19] Prior to the trade, the Denver Nuggets reportedly offered both Watson and Kenyon Martin for Francis, but the deal never took place.^[21] He made his Madison Square Garden debut on Friday, February 24 when the New York Knicks faced the New Jersey Nets, and scored 16 points in a 94–90 loss for the Knicks. He wore jersey #1 with the Knicks as his usual #3 was already assigned to Stephon Marbury.^[2] Francis has endured a recurring injury, tendinitis in his right knee, and as a result began the 2006–07 season averaging only 11.3 ppg, as opposed to his career 18.4 ppg. He returned on February 10, 2007 vs the Utah Jazz. On March 10, Francis hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against the Washington Wizards, ending one of his best games as a Knick in front of his hometown. On 2007 draft night, June 28, the Knicks traded Francis and Channing Frye to the Portland Trail Blazers for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau, and Fred Jones,^[22] which then bought out the remaining two years of Francis's contract for a reported $30 million, making him an unrestricted free agent.^[23]

Return to Houston (2007–2008)[link]

The Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and the L.A. Clippers pursued Francis.^[23] On July 20, Francis chose the Rockets; signing a two-year $6 million contract with them, although the Heat offered the most money.^[23] However, he failed to make Rick Adelman's rotation coming out of the preseason. He averaged 5.5 points and 3 assists in ten games before undergoing season-ending surgery stemming from an earlier left quadriceps tendon injury.^[24]

Francis used his contract option to come back to the Houston Rockets for the 2008–09 NBA season. He lost 15 pounds for training camp, but he was not able to play in the beginning of the season due to the recovery period of his injury.^[25]

On December 24, 2008, The Houston Rockets traded Francis back to the team that had originally drafted him, the Memphis Grizzlies, for a 2011 conditional draft pick. The move allowed the Rockets to drop under the luxury tax threshold.^[26] However, on January 27, 2009, it was reported that Francis was waived by the Grizzlies, without ever appearing in a game for them.^[27]

Chinese Basketball Association[link]

In November 2010, Francis signed with the Beijing Ducks. He averaged 0.5 points and 0.7 rebounds over four games, playing 14 minutes before leaving the team in late December to return to the U.S.^[28]

Miscellenea[link]

In September 2001, a tornado struck the University of Maryland campus and killed two students and displaced 700 more from their dormitory. Francis, who was on the campus at the time, arranged to sponsor a dinner for the displaced students before he flew back to Houston for his third season with the Rockets. He said, "I remember all of the people here supporting me while I was a Maryland student, and this is just a small way that I can give back to those who have helped me."^[29]

On February 17, 2002, Francis' #23 jersey was honored (but not retired) by Maryland in a ceremony preceding the game against the #1 ranked Duke Blue Devils.^[30] Francis sat on the team's bench during the game and cheered as the Terrapins upset the Blue Devils 87–73. On election day 2008, Francis supported presidential candidate Barack Obama by wearing a red velvet sports jacket with "Barack Obama" spelled on the back in sequins. Francis said he had followed the presidential race closely. "It's important that there is an African-American candidate running," Francis said. "I never thought I'd see the day that would happen. Right now, we're at a pivotal point. It's a great feeling for me."^[31]

Francis has suffered from Meniere's disease, which causes migraine headaches.^[32]

Francis has ventured into several entrepreneurial projects, including a construction company, boxing promotions, a barbershop and clothing line (We R One), as well as a hip hop record label named Mazerati Music.^[33]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]