1979 NBA Draft Recap

The 1979 NBA Draft took place in Location Unknown on June 25, 1979

First Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
1 Magic Johnson LAL PG 6-9 255 19 14 Michigan State So * United States
2 David Greenwood CHI F 6-9 222 22 12 UCLA Sr United States
3 Bill Cartwright NYK C 7-1 245 21 16 San Francisco Sr United States
4 Greg Kelser DET F 6-7 190 21 6 Michigan State Sr United States
5 Sidney Moncrief MIL SG 6-3 180 21 11 Arkansas Sr United States
6 James Bailey SEA FC 6-9 220 22 9 Rutgers Sr United States
7 Vinnie Johnson SEA G 6-2 200 22 13 Baylor Sr United States
8 Calvin Natt NJN F 6-6 220 22 11 Louisiana-Monroe Sr United States
9 Larry Demic NYK PF 6-9 225 21 4 Arizona Sr United States
10 Roy Hamilton DET PG 6-2 180 21 2 UCLA Sr United States
11 Cliff Robinson NJN F 6-9 220 19 11 USC So * United States
12 Jim Paxson POR SG 6-6 200 21 11 Dayton Sr United States
13 Dudley Bradley IND GF 6-6 195 22 10 North Carolina Sr United States
14 Brad Holland LAL SG 6-3 180 22 3 UCLA Sr United States
15 Phil Hubbard DET FC 6-8 215 22 10 Michigan Jr United States
16 Jim Spanarkel PHL GF 6-5 190 21 5 Duke Sr United States
17 Lee Johnson HOU PF 6-11 205 22 2 Texas A&M Commerce Sr United States
18 Reggie King KCK F 6-6 225 22 6 Alabama Sr United States
19 Wiley Peck SAN SF 6-7 220 21 1 Mississippi State Sr United States
20 Larry Knight UTH PF 6-8 220 22 2 Loyola (IL) Sr United States
21 Sly Williams NYK F 6-7 210 21 7 Rhode Island Jr * United States
22 Kyle Macy PHX G 6-3 175 22 9 Kentucky Jr United States

Second Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
23 Tico Brown UTH SG 6-5 180 21 3 Georgia Tech Sr United States
24 Johnny High PHX G 6-3 185 22 4 Nevada Sr United States
25 Oliver Mack LAL SG 6-3 185 22 3 East Carolina Sr United States
26 Bruce Flowers CLE PF 6-8 225 22 1 Notre Dame Sr United States
27 Reggie Carter NYK SG 6-3 175 21 2 St. John's Jr United States
28 Danny Salisbury GOS SF 6-6 202 22 1 Texas-RGV Sr United States
29 Tony Price DET SG 6-6 190 22 2 Pennsylvania Sr United States
30 Gary Garland DEN PG 6-4 180 21 1 DePaul Sr United States
31 Edgar Jones MIL FC 6-10 225 23 0 Nevada Sr United States
32 Tony Zeno IND SF 6-8 210 21 1 Arizona State Sr United States
33 Lawrence Butler CHI SG 6-3 180 22 1 Idaho State Sr United States
34 Kim Goetz NYK SF 6-7 195 21 0 San Diego State Sr United States
35 James Bradley ATL PF 6-8 202 23 1 Memphis Sr United States
36 Clint Richardson PHL G 6-3 195 22 9 Seattle Sr United States
37 Bernard Toone PHL PF 6-9 210 22 1 Marquette Sr United States
38 Larry Wilson ATL SF 6-5 200 N/A 0 Nicholls State Sr United States
39 Victor King LAL PF 6-9 210 21 0 Louisiana Tech Sr United States
40 Andrew Fields POR PF 6-8 200 N/A 0 Cheyney (PA) Sr United States
41 Mark Young LAL PF 6-10 238 N/A 0 Fairfield Sr United States
42 Paul Mokeski HOU C 7-0 250 22 13 Kansas Sr United States
43 Johnny Moore SEA SEA to SAN G 6-1 175 21 10 Texas Sr United States
44 Joe DeSantis WAS PG 6-2 180 21 0 Fairfield Sr United States

Third Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
45 Arvid Kramer UTH C 6-9 220 22 1 Augustana College Sr United States
46 Andrew Parker WAS SG 6-5 205 22 0 Iowa State Sr United States
47 Calvin Garrett CHI CHI to HOU PF 6-7 190 22 4 Oral Roberts Sr United States
48 Terry Duerod DET SG 6-2 180 22 4 Detroit-Mercy Sr United States
49 Cedrick Hordges CHI CHI to DEN PF 6-8 220 22 2 South Carolina Sr United States
50 Geoff Huston NYK G 6-2 175 21 9 Texas Tech Sr United States
51 John Gerdy NJN SG 6-4 185 N/A 0 Davidson Sr United States
52 Larry Gibson MIL PF 6-9 205 N/A 0 Maryland Sr United States
53 Wayne Kreklow BOS SG 6-4 190 22 2 Drake Sr United States
54 Cheese Johnson GOS SF 6-6 195 21 1 Wichita State Sr United States
55 Tom Channel SDC SG 6-3 200 N/A 0 Boston University Sr United States
56 Mickey Fox POR G 6-2 185 26 0 Saint Mary's-Halifax RS-Jr United States
57 Don March ATL PG 6-0 160 23 0 Franklin & Marshall Sr United States
58 Earl Cureton PHL PF 6-9 210 21 12 Detroit-Mercy Jr United States
59 Ricardo Brown HOU PG 6-0 190 22 0 Pepperdine Jr United States
60 Walter Daniels LAL SG 6-2 180 N/A 2 Georgia Sr United States
61 Ernesto Malcolm BOS SG 6-4 200 22 0 Briar Cliff Sr Panama
62 Terry Crosby KCK SG 6-4 195 22 1 Tennessee Sr United States
63 Sylvester Norris SAN C 6-11 220 22 1 Jackson State Sr United States
64 Al Green PHX PG 6-2 185 N/A 1 LSU Sr United States
65 Bill Laimbeer CLE C 6-11 245 22 14 Notre Dame Sr United States
66 Charles Floyd WAS F 6-7 215 N/A 0 High Point Sr United States

Fourth Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
67 Greg Deane UTH SG 6-4 190 21 1 Utah Sr United States
68 Nick Galis BOS SG 6-2 180 21 0 Seton Hall Sr United States
69 Eugene Robinson MIL PF 6-8 220 N/A 0 Louisiana-Monroe Sr United States
70 Rick Swing CLE SG 6-4 190 22 0 The Citadel Sr United States
71 Larry Rogers NYK F 6-6 210 22 0 Houston Sr United States
72 George Maynor CHI PG 6-3 - N/A 0 East Carolina Sr United States
73 James Donaldson SEA C 7-2 275 21 15 Washington State Sr England
74 Don Newman IND PG 6-2 185 21 0 Idaho Jr United States
75 Ron Ripley GOS C 6-10 215 N/A 0 Green Bay Sr United States
76 Sammy Drummer HOU SG 6-5 208 23 0 Georgia Tech Sr United States
77 Lionel Garrett SDC PF 6-9 210 N/A 0 Southern Sr United States
78 Daryll Robinson POR SG 6-4 195 N/A 0 Appalachian State Sr United States
79 Ray White LAL SG 6-5 200 N/A 0 Mississippi State Sr United States
80 Lionel Green HOU PF 6-8 205 N/A 0 LSU Sr United States
81 Ricky Reed LAL PG 6-1 170 N/A 0 Temple Sr United States
82 Jerry Sichting GOS G 6-1 168 22 11 Purdue Sr United States
83 Mike Niles PHL SF 6-6 225 24 2 Cal State Fullerton Sr United States
84 Al Daniel SAN SG 6-4 190 N/A 1 Furman Sr United States
85 John McCullough KCK SG 6-4 190 22 3 Oklahoma Sr United States
86 Malcolm Cesare PHX PF 6-8 220 23 0 Florida Sr United States
87 Richie Allen SEA SF 6-7 200 N/A 0 Cal State Dominguez Hills Sr United States
88 Lamont Reid WAS SG 6-4 190 N/A 0 Oral Roberts Sr United States

Fifth Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
89 Perry Wolfe UTH G 6-2 - 22 1 Stanford Sr United States
90 Jimmy Allen BOS - - N/A 0 New Haven Sr United States
91 Matt Simpkins CLE - - N/A 0 Georgia Southern Sr United States
92 Flintie Ray Williams DET - - N/A 0 UNLV Sr United States
93 Larry Washington CHI - - N/A 0 Drury University Sr United States
94 Johnny Green NYK - - N/A 0 UC Riverside Sr United States
95 Jim Abromaitis NJN F - - N/A 1 UConn RS-Jr United States
96 George Lett GOS - - N/A 0 Centenary Sr United States
97 Jim Tillman MIL F - - N/A 0 Eastern Kentucky Jr United States
98 Billy Reid IND SG 6-5 190 21 1 San Francisco Jr United States
99 Greg Joyner SDC - - N/A 0 Middle Tennessee State Sr United States
100 Matt White POR C 6-11 - 21 0 Pennsylvania Sr United States
101 Tiny Pinder ATL PF 6-8 210 23 0 NC State Sr Bahamas
102 Larry Williams DEN PF 6-9 - N/A 0 Louisville Sr United States
103 Carl McPipe PHL C 6-8 225 N/A 0 Nebraska Sr United States
104 Allen Leavell HOU G 6-1 170 22 10 Oklahoma City Sr United States
105 Curtis Watkins KCK - - N/A 0 DePaul Sr United States
106 Steve Schall SAN C 6-10 - N/A 0 Arkansas Jr United States
107 Mark Eaton PHX C 7-4 275 22 12 UCLA Fr United States
108 Marshall Ashford WAS - - N/A 0 Virginia Tech Sr United States

Sixth Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
109 Ernie Cobb UTH PG 5-11 180 N/A 1 Boston University Sr United States
110 Marvin Delph BOS - - N/A 0 Arkansas Sr United States
111 Truman Clayton DET G 6-1 180 22 0 Kentucky Sr United States
112 Joe Manning CLE - - N/A 0 North Texas Sr United States
113 Phil Abney NYK F 6-5 - N/A 0 New Mexico Sr United States
114 Steve Smith CHI - - N/A 0 USC Sr United States
115 Tony Smith NJN SG - - N/A 1 UNLV Jr United States
116 Derrick Mayes MIL - - N/A 1 Illinois State Sr United States
117 Greg Guye IND - - N/A 0 Stetson Jr United States
118 Jim Mitchem GOS - - N/A 0 DePaul Sr United States
119 Bob Bender SDC PG 6-2 - 22 0 Duke Jr United States
120 Ray Ellis POR - - N/A 0 Pepperdine Sr United States
121 Dwight Williams ATL - - N/A 0 Gardner-Webb Sr United States
122 Odell Ball DEN PF 6-9 205 N/A 0 Marquette Sr United States
123 Dan Hartshorne PHL - - N/A 0 Oregon Sr United States
124 Collie Davis HOU - - N/A 0 Southern Sr United States
125 Terry Knight SAN - - N/A 1 Pittsburgh Sr United States
126 Bob Roma KCK - - N/A 1 Princeton Sr United States
127 Dale Shackelford PHX GF 6-6 200 23 0 Syracuse Sr United States
128 Garcia Hopkins WAS - - N/A 1 Morgan State Sr * United States

Seventh Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
129 Paul Poe UTH F 6-8 - N/A 0 Louisiana Christian Sr United States
130 Steve Castellan BOS PF 6-8 205 N/A 0 Virginia Sr United States
131 Steve Skaggs CLE - - N/A 0 Ohio Sr United States
132 Ken Jones DET - - N/A 1 Saint Mary's Sr United States
133 Mike Eversley CHI - - N/A 0 Chicago State Sr United States
134 Marc Coleman NYK F 6-5 - N/A 0 Seton Hall Sr United States
135 Jim Strickland NJN - - N/A 0 South Carolina Jr United States
136 Dirk Ewing IND - - N/A 0 Stetson Sr United States
137 Ren Watson GOS - - N/A 0 VCU Sr United States
138 Stan Ray MIL C - - N/A 0 Cal State Fullerton Sr United States
139 Jene Grey SDC - - N/A 0 Le Moyne Sr United States
140 Jeff Tropf POR - - N/A 0 Central Michigan Sr United States
141 Tim Waterman ATL - - N/A 0 St. Bonaventure Sr United States
142 Bobby Willis PHL - - N/A 1 Pennsylvania Sr United States
143 Rich Valavicius HOU F 6-5 220 N/A 0 Auburn Sr United States
144 John Johnson DEN - - N/A 0 Creighton Sr United States
145 Nick Daniels KCK G - - N/A 0 Xavier Sr United States
146 Tyrone Branyan SAN - - N/A 0 Texas Sr United States
147 Ollie Matson PHX - - N/A 0 Pepperdine Jr United States

Eighth Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
148 Keith McDonald UTH G - - N/A 0 Utah State Sr United States
149 Glenn Sudhop BOS C 7-2 224 N/A 0 NC State Sr United States
150 Rodney Lee DET - - N/A 0 Memphis Sr United States
151 Mark Haymore CLE FC 6-8 230 N/A 0 Massachusetts Jr United States
152 Billy Tucker NYK - - N/A 0 Tennessee State Sr United States
153 Tony Warren CHI - - N/A 0 NC State Sr United States
154 Henry Hollingsworth NJN PG 5-11 - N/A 0 Hofstra Sr United States
155 Mario Butler GOS C 6-8 275 22 0 Briar Cliff Sr Panama
156 Larry Spicer MIL - - N/A 0 UAB Jr United States
157 Brian Magid IND G 6-2 - N/A 0 George Washington Sr United States
158 Renaldo Lawrence SDC - - N/A 0 Appalachian State Sr United States
159 Willie Pounds POR - - N/A 0 Chaminade Sr United States
160 John Goedeke ATL - - N/A 0 UMBC Sr United States
161 Delbert Watson HOU - - N/A 0 East Tennessee State Sr United States
162 Matt Teahan DEN - - N/A 0 Denver Sr United States
163 Rick Raivio PHL - - N/A 0 Portland Jr United States
164 Tony Vann KCK - - N/A 0 Alabama-Huntsville Sr United States
165 Charles A. Jones PHX FC 6-9 215 22 17 Albany State (GA) Sr United States
166 Jo Jo Walters WAS - - N/A 0 Manhattan Sr United States

Ninth Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
167 Milt Huggins UTH G - - N/A 0 Southern Illinois Sr United States
168 Kevin Sinnett BOS - - N/A 0 Navy Sr United States
169 Tim Joyce CLE - - N/A 0 Ohio Sr United States
170 Val Bracey DET - - N/A 0 Central Michigan Sr United States
171 James Jackson CHI - - N/A 0 Minnesota Sr United States
172 Brett Wyatt NYK - - N/A 0 New Jersey City Sr United States
173 Ricky Free NJN - - N/A 0 Columbia Sr United States
174 Roger Lapham MIL F 6-5 - N/A 0 Maine Sr United States
175 Gene Ransom GOS PG 5-8 - N/A 0 California Sr United States
176 Mike Dodd SDC - - N/A 0 San Diego State Sr United States
177 Stan Eckwood POR - - N/A 1 Harding Sr N/A
178 Cedric Oliver ATL G 6-4 - N/A 0 Hamilton College Sr United States
179 Emmett Lewis DEN G - - N/A 0 Colorado Sr United States
180 Coby Leavitt PHL - - N/A 0 Utah Jr United States
181 Gary Wilson KCK F - - N/A 0 Southern Illinois Sr United States
182 Eddie McLeod SAN - - N/A 0 UNLV Sr United States
183 Hosea Champine PHX - - N/A 0 Robert Morris Sr United States
184 Ray Hooker WAS GF 6-5 175 N/A 0 Murray State Trans United States

Tenth Round Selections

Pick Player Team Draft Trades Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
185 Paul Dawkins UTH SF 6-5 190 22 2 Northern Illinois Sr United States
186 Alton Byrd BOS PG 5-8 - N/A 0 Columbia Sr United States
187 Willie Polk DET G 6-5 - N/A 0 Grand Canyon Sr United States
188 Terry Peavy CLE - - N/A 0 Point Park University Sr United States
189 Gordon Thomas NYK - - N/A 0 St. John's Sr United States
190 Marvin Thomas CHI F - - N/A 0 UCLA Sr United States
191 Eric Fleisher NJN - - N/A 0 Tulane Sr United States
192 Kevin Heenan GOS - - N/A 0 Cal State Fullerton Sr United States
193 Chris Fahrbach MIL - - N/A 0 North Dakota Sr United States
194 Greg Hunter SDC - - N/A 0 Loyola Marymount Sr United States
195 Kelvin Small POR - - N/A 0 Oregon Sr United States
196 Chad Nelson ATL C 6-11 - N/A 0 Drake Jr United States
197 Cortez Collins CHI - - N/A 0 Southern Indiana Sr United States
198 Keith McCord PHL F - - 22 1 UAB Sr United States
199 Glen Fine SAN G - - N/A 0 Harvard Sr United States
200 Russell Saunders KCK G - - N/A 0 New Mexico Sr United States
201 Korky Nelson PHX - - N/A 0 Santa Clara Sr United States
202 Steve Martin WAS G - - N/A 0 Georgetown Sr United States

Undrafted Players

Player Pos HT WT Age YOS Pre-Draft Team Class Nationality
Alan Hardy SG 6-7 195 22 3 Michigan Sr United States
Norman Black GF 6-5 185 21 1 Saint Joseph's Sr United States
Bill Mayfield SF 6-7 205 21 1 Iowa Sr United States

* Team owns the player's draft rights