The 1994 NBA Draft was headlined by Glenn Robinson, Jason Kidd and
Grant Hill, who were selected with the first three picks. Kidd and
Hill developed into Basketball Hall of Famers, while Robinson became
a two-time All-Star and later won an NBA championship.
Five players from the class eventually became NBA All-Stars:
Robinson, Kidd, Hill, Juwan Howard and Eddie Jones. The draft also
produced numerous longtime NBA contributors, including Donyell
Marshall, Brian Grant, Jalen Rose, Aaron McKie, Wesley Person,
Charlie Ward, Howard Eisley and Voshon Lenard.
Teams listed below are the franchises credited with making each
selection at the time of the draft. This preserves the actual draft
order even when the pick had previously changed hands through a
trade.
Glenn Robinson: Milwaukee selected Robinson first
overall after a dominant career at Purdue. Known as "Big Dog,"
Robinson became a two-time NBA All-Star and averaged more than
20 points per game in eight of his first nine NBA seasons. He
finished his career as a member of San Antonio's 2005 championship
team.
Historic rookie contract: Robinson's negotiations
with Milwaukee became one of the major stories surrounding the
draft. He eventually signed a 10-year, $68 million rookie contract,
one of the largest rookie deals in professional sports history.
The NBA introduced a rookie salary scale beginning with the
following draft class.
Jason Kidd: Dallas selected Kidd second overall
after two seasons at California. He developed into one of the
greatest point guards in NBA history, earning 10 All-Star selections
and five All-NBA First Team honors while ranking among the league's
career leaders in assists and steals.
Kidd's championship: Kidd eventually returned to
Dallas and helped the Mavericks win the 2011 NBA championship. He
was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Grant Hill: Detroit selected Hill third overall
after a decorated career at Duke. Hill became a seven-time NBA
All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection and was inducted into the
Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Co-Rookies of the Year: Jason Kidd and Grant Hill
shared the 1994-95 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Both were also
named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team along with Glenn Robinson,
Brian Grant and Eddie Jones.
Top three: Robinson, Kidd and Hill all became NBA
All-Stars for the franchises that drafted them. The first three
picks gave the draft an unusually productive top end.
Five All-Stars: The class produced five eventual
NBA All-Stars: Glenn Robinson, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Juwan Howard
and Eddie Jones.
Juwan Howard: Washington selected Howard fifth
overall out of Michigan. A member of Michigan's famous Fab Five,
Howard became an NBA All-Star in 1996 and played 19 seasons in the
league. He later won championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and
2013.
Jalen Rose: Denver selected another member of
Michigan's Fab Five when it chose Rose 13th overall. Rose played
13 NBA seasons and won the 1999-2000 NBA Most Improved Player
Award with Indiana.
Eddie Jones: The Lakers selected Jones 10th
overall out of Temple. He became a three-time NBA All-Star and
three-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection during a
14-season career.
Charlie Ward: The Knicks selected Ward 26th
overall after he won the 1993 Heisman Trophy as Florida State's
quarterback. Rather than pursue an NFL career, Ward played 11
NBA seasons, spending most of his career with New York.
Aaron McKie: Portland selected McKie 17th overall
out of Temple. He later became an important member of Philadelphia's
2001 NBA Finals team and won the 2000-01 NBA Sixth Man of the Year
Award.
Second-round value: Several second-round selections
built substantial NBA careers. Howard Eisley played 12 seasons,
Jim McIlvaine played eight, Derrick Alston reached the NBA before
building a long international career, and Voshon Lenard played
11 NBA seasons.
Željko Rebrača: Seattle used the final pick of the
draft, No. 54, on Yugoslav center Željko Rebrača. He remained in
Europe for several years before joining Detroit in 2001 and earning
NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors as a 29-year-old rookie.
International development: Boston selected Russian
forward Andrei Fetisov at No. 36, Indiana selected Canadian college
standout William Njoku at No. 41, and Seattle selected Rebrača at
No. 54. The selections reflected the NBA's steadily expanding
international scouting reach during the 1990s.
