1983 NBA draft

Common card · No. 229889

The 1983 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1983, in New York City. A total of 226 players were selected over 10 rounds by the league's 23 teams. The Houston Rockets selected 7'4" center Ralph Sampson with the first overall pick. Sampson, a three-time College Player of the Year at the University of Virginia, won the NBA Rookie of the Year award and was selected as an NBA All-Star early in his career before subsequent injuries impacted his playing career. Sampson was joined in the Hall by University of Houston Cougars standout Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, taken number 14 by the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite there being only 23 teams at the time of the draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers were awarded the 24th pick out of courtesy. Then-owner Ted Stepien was infamous for repeatedly trading first-round picks in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which, considering Cleveland's morose records in that time period, eventually culminated in the NBA creating a rule banning teams from dealing all of their first...

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