1987 NBA college senior dominated first round draft will it happen again?

[PROGFAN66]

I don’t know if this will ever happen again, the 1987 NBA draft had only one underclassmen or non-senior of its 23 first round picks which was Derrick McKey. One other player Olden Polynice who would have been a senior that year elected to play in Europe. So that’s 22 of 23 players were senior eligible in the draft.

The first seven picks were seniors in this draft which has not happened since. Hall of Famers David Robinson, Scottie Pippen and Reggie Miller in that class were seniors as well. I think Kevin Johnson in the same draft should be in the HALL OF FAME. The Chicago Bulls first championship run with Michael Jordan would have not happened without Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant.

One thing to point out that many of these players like Robinson and Pippen were barely recruited out of high school in the Class of 1983.

All the great drafts since 1987 have heavy contributions from college underclassmen or high school players. Now go to the 2021 NBA draft which I think had only senior picked in the first round.

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[Brodeur]

Feels like the tides have turned forever. There's too much money at stake now for a high end guy to play out all four years at college. NBA teams increased their scouting as well. Going back to somebody like Kevin Garnett, teams just didn't have enough eyes on high school players since they were happy to let college develop them.

 

[PROGFAN66]

Players like Jordan, Barkley, Malone, Bird and Ewing played at least to their Junior or Senior seasons. Magic Johnson said he was not ready to play in the NBA after his freshman year at Michigan State and decided to go back to school.

It's seems those players were more polished or NBA ready once they got into the league. However, I have noticed a lot of young players coming into the league now who are easily translating into the NBA.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

Forget seniors. The days of 21-year olds getting drafted high are pretty much over. Remember that Iverson was drafted after his junior year at 21. The last non-freshman to be drafted number 1 overall was Blake Griffin in 2009 and he was a sophomore.

 

[PROGFAN66]

The 1987 class David Robinson, Scottie Pippen and Reggie Miller were listed among the NBA top 75 greatest players as well.

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

Unless they change the rules no

 

[Brodeur]

Players like Jordan, Barkley, Malone, Bird and Ewing played at least to their Junior or Senior seasons. Magic Johnson said he was not ready to play in the NBA after his freshman year at Michigan State and decided to go back to school.

It's seems those players were more polished or NBA ready once they got into the league. However, I have noticed a lot of young players coming into the league now who are easily translating into the NBA.

Those 1980s stars helped usher in the mega contracts which changed the landscape. Shaq got 7 years, 120 million on his second contract. Patrick Ewing by comparison got 6 years, 36 million on his second contract.

Once a few underclassmen had success, agents started getting in everybody ear's to turn pro ASAP. They'd argue that going back to school for another year might cost the player 10-15 million dollars (even more nowadays). Unfortunately that's led to a few guys every year who declare early and go undrafted.

And not to get into a sociology discussion, but many top prospects might not come from affluent backgrounds. So they might feel pressure to start earning money for their family instead of getting another year of seasoning in college.

 

[These Are The Days]

Probably not. I wish there was a 2 year rule because I would bet almost anything that extra year for physical maturity is what is helping Franz Wagner so much at the moment. College used to give precious time for physical development and a guy like Holmgren needing a few more years to fill out will be another example of why at least another year of college is so beneficial

 

[Voight]

Theres more money than ever before involved in the game. Too much risk for guys to stay in school unless they aren't a guaranteed first round pick. What if your projected top 15, go back for your sophomore year butene up with a serious injury? You just cost yourself millions.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Theres more money than ever before involved in the game. Too much risk for guys to stay in school unless they aren't a guaranteed first round pick. What if your projected top 15, go back for your sophomore year butene up with a serious injury? You just cost yourself millions.

Correct.

 

[GKJ]

With an actual development system the NBA has now, you have some kids who aren't even making it to college and going straight to the G-League. If you're staying in school until you're a senior at this point, you're there for the education and getting drafted is a bonus if you're lucky and have some kind of freak physical maturation. Maybe you turn pro and go play in Europe or China and get the life experience and again, if you're lucky, the NBA takes a low-risk chance on you.

 

[Stylizer1]

There is no doubt that players coming out of school has hurt the quality of the game. There have always been exceptions to the rule but most should stay in school but the money is too crazy.