2002 NBA Draft

The 2002 NBA Draft was historic from its first selection. Houston selected Yao Ming from the Shanghai Sharks with the No. 1 pick, making him the first player selected first overall who had played neither high school nor college basketball in the United States. Yao became an eight-time NBA All-Star and helped expand the league's popularity internationally.

The class also produced Amar'e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Caron Butler and several longtime NBA contributors. Stoudemire became one of the league's premier power forwards after Phoenix selected him ninth overall directly from high school, while Boozer became one of the draft's biggest bargains after Cleveland selected him 35th.

Teams listed below are the teams credited with making each original draft selection. Several picks were traded on draft night. Minnesota forfeited its first-round selection, which resulted in the first round ending with pick No. 28 and the second round beginning at No. 30.

Yao Ming: Houston selected the 7-foot-6 Chinese center first overall from the Shanghai Sharks. Yao became an eight-time NBA All-Star and one of the most internationally significant players in league history. He was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Historic No. 1 pick: Yao became the first player selected No. 1 overall in NBA Draft history who had played neither high school nor college basketball in the United States. His selection represented an important milestone in the NBA's growing international reach.

Amar'e Stoudemire: Phoenix selected Stoudemire ninth overall directly from Cypress Creek High School in Florida. He won the 2002-03 Rookie of the Year Award and developed into a multiple-time All-Star and All-NBA selection with the Suns.

Carlos Boozer: Cleveland found one of the draft's biggest bargains with the 35th overall pick. Boozer became a two-time NBA All-Star and enjoyed productive runs with Cleveland, Utah and Chicago. He finished with the second-most career win shares among players selected in the 2002 draft.

Caron Butler: Miami selected Butler tenth overall out of Connecticut. He became a two-time NBA All-Star and later won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

Tayshaun Prince: Detroit selected Prince 23rd overall out of Kentucky. He became a key part of the Pistons' defensive identity and started for Detroit's 2004 NBA championship team and several subsequent Eastern Conference contenders.

Four All-Stars: The 2002 draft produced four NBA All-Stars: Yao Ming, Amar'e Stoudemire, Caron Butler and Carlos Boozer.

Second-round value: Carlos Boozer was selected 35th, Matt Barnes 46th, Darius Songaila 50th, Rasual Butler 53rd and Luis Scola 56th. All five developed into productive NBA players despite being selected in the second round.

Luis Scola: San Antonio selected the Argentine forward 56th overall, but he remained overseas for several more seasons. His NBA rights eventually went to Houston, where Scola made the 2007-08 All-Rookie First Team and began a 10-year NBA career.

Minnesota's forfeited pick: Minnesota did not make a first-round selection in 2002 because the Timberwolves had forfeited the pick as part of the NBA's penalties stemming from the Joe Smith contract case. As a result, there was no player selected with the No. 29 slot and the second round began at No. 30.

International class: The international group was headlined by Yao Ming and also included Nenê, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Bostjan Nachbar, Jiří Welsch, Nenad Krstić, Miloš Vujanić, David Andersen, Juan Carlos Navarro, Mario Kasun, Federico Kammerichs, Mladen Šekularac and Luis Scola.