1983 NBA draft

Draft

*Compensation for draft choices previously traded away by Ted Stepien.

Early entrants

College underclassmen

For the fifth time in six years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. This time, only six college underclassmen would declare their entry into the draft. The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.

• USA Russell Cross – F, Purdue (junior)
• USA Clyde Drexler – G/F, Houston (junior)
• USA Derek Harper – G, Illinois (junior)
• USA Doc Rivers – G, Marquette (junior)
• USA Byron Scott – G, Arizona State (junior)
• USA Ennis Whatley – G, Alabama (sophomore)

Invited attendees

The 1983 NBA draft is considered to be the sixth NBA draft to have utilized what's properly considered the "green room" experience for NBA prospects. The NBA's green room is a staging area where anticipated draftees often sit with their families and representatives, waiting for their names to be called on draft night. Often being positioned either in front of or to the side of the podium (in this case, being positioned in the Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum for the second year in a row), once a player heard his name, he would walk to the podium to shake hands and take promotional photos with the NBA commissioner. From there, the players often conducted interviews with various media outlets while backstage. However, once the NBA draft started to air nationally on TV starting with the 1980 NBA draft, the green room evolved from players waiting to hear their name called and then shaking hands with these select players who were often called to the hotel to take promotional pictures with the NBA commissioner a day or two after the draft concluded to having players in real-time waiting to hear their names called up and then shaking hands with Larry O'Brien, the NBA's commissioner at the time. The NBA compiled its list of green room invites through collective voting by the NBA's team presidents and general managers alike, which in this year's case belonged to only what they believed were the top 13 prospects at the time. However, two of the invitations to the draft in Sidney Lowe and Dereck Whittenburg would end up staying in the green room by not just the second round, but by as late as the third round at the 51st round, with Whittenburg being the latest selection for a natural, day one draftee invite as of 2025. Not only that, but Whittenburg would be the first invite to never play a single NBA game after being drafted following his invitation, as well as be the only invite drafted into the third round back when the NBA draft would go beyond just two rounds starting in 1989. Even so, the following players were invited to attend this year's draft festivities live and in person.

• USA Thurl Bailey – PF, North Carolina State
• USA Antoine Carr – PF, Wichita State
• USA Clyde Drexler – SG, Houston
• CAN Stewart Granger – PG, Villanova
• USA Sidney Green – PG, UNLV
• USA Roy Hinson – C, Rutgers
• USA Sidney Lowe – PG, North Carolina State
• USA Rodney McCray – SF, Louisville
• USA Ralph Sampson – C, Virginia
• USA Steve Stipanovich – C, Missouri
• USA Darrell Walker – SG, Arkansas
• USA Dereck Whittenburg – PG, North Carolina State
• USA Randy Wittman – SG, Indiana

References

;General

;Specific

References

1. Bradley, Robert D.. (2013). "The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts". Scarecrow Press.
2. (June 28, 2010). "A Gift From On High". CNN.
3. "Darrell Johnson -Ineligible Draftee".
4. "Norman Horvitz - Ineligible Draftee".
5. (August 4, 2007). "1983 Underclassmen".
6. https://www.thedraftreview.com/historical-draft-events/green-room/1983-green-room-invites
7. https://www.thedraftreview.com/sundry/sundry-articles/draft-broadcasts
8. https://www.thedraftreview.com/historical-draft-events/green-room