1998 NBA draft

Draft selections

Notable undrafted players

These players eligible for the 1998 NBA Draft were not selected but played at least one game in the NBA.

Early entrants

College underclassmen

Much like last year, this year initially saw 40 total players classified as underclassmen entering the NBA draft. However, seven players from this year's draft would later withdraw their names from entry, with Bud Eley from Southeast Missouri State University, Rico Harris from Los Angeles City College, the Yugoslavian-Greek born Marko Jarić from the Peristeri B.C. of Greece, the Bosnian-Greek born Saša Marković-Theodorakis from the Panionios B.C. in Athens, Greece, Lee Nailon from Texas Christian University, Lamar Odom from the University of Rhode Island, and the Greek born Dimitrios Papanikolaou from the Olympiacos Piraeus B.C. in Greece all withdrawing their entries into this year's draft. Including four different players that came directly from high school into the NBA draft (three of which actually became drafted) and three overseas players that successfully stayed into the NBA draft, the number of underclassmen would jump up from 26 total college players to 33 overall. Regardless, the following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.

• USA Rafer Alston – G, Fresno State (junior)
• USA Corey Benjamin – G, Oregon State (sophomore)
• USA Mike Bibby – G, Arizona (sophomore)
• USA Chandar Bingham – F, Virginia Union (sophomore)
• USA Marcus Bullard – G, Auburn Montgomery (junior)
• USA Vince Carter – F/G, North Carolina (junior)
• USA Wayne Clark – G, Park (freshman)
• USA Tim Cole – G, Northeast Mississippi CC (sophomore)
• USA Peter Cornell – C, Loyola Marymount (junior)
• USA Arthur Davis – G, St. Joseph's (sophomore)
• USA Ricky Davis – F/G, Iowa (freshman)
• USA Tremaine Fowlkes – F, Fresno State (junior)
• USA Larry Hughes – G, Saint Louis (freshman)
• USA Randell Jackson – F, Florida State (junior)
• USA Jerome James – C, Florida A&M (junior)
• USA Antawn Jamison – F, North Carolina (junior)
• USA Tyronn Lue – G, Nebraska (junior)
• USA Jelani McCoy – F/C, UCLA (junior)
• USA Mark Miller – G, UIC (junior)
• USA Nazr Mohammed – F/C, Kentucky (junior)
• USA Paul Pierce – G/F, Kansas (junior)
• USA Adam Roberts – G, San Francisco State (junior)
• USA James Spears – F, Shaw (junior)
• USA Robert Traylor – F, Michigan (junior)
• USA Winfred Walton – F, Fresno State (sophomore)
• USA Jason Williams – G, Florida (sophomore)

High school players

Had Lamar Odom declared entry into this year's draft like he planned on doing, he would not have represented St. Thomas Aquinas High School in New Britain, Connecticut due to him already declaring entry into college this year, but having academic troubles to qualify for collegiate play. That being said, this would be the fourth year in a row where at least one high school player would declare entry into the NBA draft after previously only doing it back in 1975. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.

• USA Al Harrington – F, St. Patrick (Elizabeth, New Jersey)
• USA Rashard Lewis – F, Alief Elsik HS (Houston, Texas)
• USA Ellis Richardson – G, Polytechnic (Los Angeles, California)
• USA Korleone Young – F, Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Virginia)

International players

In addition to the players below, three more players from Greece initially declared entry for this year's draft, but ultimately withdrew their names for one reason or another. The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.

• UKR Slava Medvedenko – F, Budivelnyk Kiev (Ukraine)
• GER Dirk Nowitzki – F, DJK Würzburg (Germany)
• CRO Bruno Šundov – C, Split (Croatia)

References

References

1. (August 4, 2007). "1998 Underclassmen".