Draft Board

1979 NBA Draft Results

1979 NBA Draft results with every pick in order, led by No. 1 pick Magic Johnson to Los Angeles Lakers.

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The 1979 NBA Draft produced 202 selections across 10 rounds, with 22 franchises making at least one pick. Los Angeles Lakers held the first overall selection and took Magic Johnson out of Michigan State.

New York Knicks made the most selections that year with 13. 147 different colleges and programs were represented across the board, led by UCLA with 5 players drafted.

Pick Team Player College
Round 1
1 Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson Michigan State
2 Chicago Bulls Dave Greenwood UCLA
3 New York Knicks Bill Cartwright San Francisco
4 Detroit Pistons Greg Kelser Michigan State
5 Milwaukee Bucks Sidney Moncrief Arkansas
6 Seattle SuperSonics James Bailey Rutgers University
7 Seattle SuperSonics Vinnie Johnson Baylor
8 New Jersey Nets Calvin Natt Louisiana-Monroe
9 New York Knicks Larry Demic Arizona
10 Detroit Pistons Roy Hamilton UCLA
11 New Jersey Nets Cliff Robinson USC
12 Portland Trail Blazers Jim Paxson Dayton
13 Indiana Pacers Dudley Bradley UNC
14 Los Angeles Lakers Brad Holland UCLA
15 Detroit Pistons Phil Hubbard Michigan
16 Philadelphia 76ers Jim Spanarkel Duke
17 Houston Rockets Lee Johnson None listed
18 Kansas City Kings Reggie King Alabama
19 San Antonio Spurs Wiley Peck Mississippi State
20 Utah Jazz Larry Knight Loyola Chicago
21 New York Knicks Sly Williams Rhode Island
22 Phoenix Suns Kyle Macy Kentucky
Round 2
23 Utah Jazz Tico Brown Georgia Tech
24 Phoenix Suns Johnny High Nevada
25 Los Angeles Lakers Ollie Mack East Carolina University
26 Cleveland Cavaliers Bruce Flowers Notre Dame
27 New York Knicks Reggie Carter St. John's
28 Golden State Warriors Danny Salisbury University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
29 Detroit Pistons Tony Price Penn
30 Denver Nuggets Gary Garland DePaul
31 Milwaukee Bucks Edgar Jones Nevada
32 Indiana Pacers Tony Zeno Arizona State
33 Chicago Bulls Lawrence Butler Idaho State University
34 New York Knicks Kim Goetz San Diego State
35 Atlanta Hawks James Bradley Memphis
36 Philadelphia 76ers Clint Richardson Seattle University
37 Philadelphia 76ers Bernard Toone Marquette
38 Atlanta Hawks Larry Wilson Nicholls State
39 Los Angeles Lakers Victor King Louisiana Tech
40 Portland Trail Blazers Andrew Fields Cheyney (PA)
41 Los Angeles Lakers Mark Young Fairfield
42 Houston Rockets Paul Mokeski Kansas
43 Seattle SuperSonics Johnny Moore Texas
44 Washington Bullets Joe DeSantis Fairfield
Round 3
45 Utah Jazz Arvid Kramer Augustana College (SD)
46 Washington Bullets Andrew Parker Iowa State
47 Chicago Bulls Calvin Garrett Oral Roberts
48 Detroit Pistons Terry Duerod Detroit Mercy
49 Chicago Bulls Cedrick Hordges South Carolina
50 New York Knicks Geoff Huston Texas Tech
51 New Jersey Nets John Gerdy Davidson
52 Milwaukee Bucks Larry Gibson Maryland
53 Boston Celtics Wayne Kreklow Drake University
54 Golden State Warriors Cheese Johnson Wichita State
55 San Diego Clippers Tom Channel Boston University
56 Portland Trail Blazers Mickey Fox Saint Mary's University
57 Atlanta Hawks Don Marsh Franklin & Marshall College
58 Philadelphia 76ers Earl Cureton Detroit Mercy
59 Houston Rockets Ricardo Brown Pepperdine
60 Los Angeles Lakers Walter Daniels Georgia
61 Boston Celtics Ernesto Malcolm Briar Cliff University
62 Kansas City Kings Terry Crosby Tennessee
63 San Antonio Spurs Sylvester Norris Jackson State University
64 Phoenix Suns Al Green LSU
65 Cleveland Cavaliers Bill Laimbeer Notre Dame
66 Washington Bullets Charles Floyd High Point University
Round 4
67 Utah Jazz Greg Deane Utah
68 Boston Celtics Nick Galis Seton Hall
69 Milwaukee Bucks Eugene Robinson Louisiana-Monroe
70 Cleveland Cavaliers Rick Swing The Citadel
71 New York Knicks Larry Rogers SE Missouri State
72 Chicago Bulls George Maynor East Carolina University
73 Seattle SuperSonics James Donaldson Washington State
74 Indiana Pacers Don Newman Idaho
75 Golden State Warriors Ron Ripley Green Bay
76 Houston Rockets Sammy Drummer Georgia Tech
77 San Diego Clippers Lionel Garrett Southern University and A&M College
78 Portland Trail Blazers Darryl Robinson Appalachian State University
79 Los Angeles Lakers Ray White Mississippi State
80 Houston Rockets Lionel Green LSU
81 Los Angeles Lakers Ricky Reed Temple
82 Golden State Warriors Jerry Sichting Purdue
83 Philadelphia 76ers Mike Niles Cal State Fullerton
84 San Antonio Spurs Al Daniel Furman University
85 Kansas City Kings John McCullough Oklahoma
86 Phoenix Suns Malcolm Cesare Florida
87 Seattle SuperSonics Richie Allen Cal State Dominguez Hills
88 Washington Bullets Lamont Reid Oral Roberts
Round 5
89 Utah Jazz Perry Wolfe Stanford
90 Boston Celtics Jimmy Allen University of New Haven
91 Cleveland Cavaliers Matt Simpkins Georgia Southern University
92 Detroit Pistons Flintie Ray Williams UNLV
93 Chicago Bulls Larry Washington Drury University
94 New York Knicks Johnny Green University of California, Riverside
95 New Jersey Nets Jim Abromaitis UConn
96 Golden State Warriors George Lett Centenary (LA)
97 Milwaukee Bucks Jim Tillman Eastern Kentucky University
98 Indiana Pacers Billy Reid San Francisco
99 San Diego Clippers Greg Joyner Middle Tennessee
100 Portland Trail Blazers Matt White Penn
101 Atlanta Hawks Tiny Pinder NC State
102 Denver Nuggets Larry Williams Louisville
103 Philadelphia 76ers Carl McPipe Nebraska
104 Houston Rockets Allen Leavell Oklahoma City University
105 Kansas City Kings Curtis Watkins DePaul
106 San Antonio Spurs Steve Schall Arkansas
107 Phoenix Suns Mark Eaton UCLA
108 Washington Bullets Marshall Ashford Virginia Tech
Round 6
109 Utah Jazz Ernie Cobb Boston College
110 Boston Celtics Marvin Delph Arkansas
111 Detroit Pistons Truman Claytor Kentucky
112 Cleveland Cavaliers Jon Manning University of North Texas
113 New York Knicks Phil Abney New Mexico
114 Chicago Bulls Steve Smith USC
115 New Jersey Nets Tony Smith UNLV
116 Milwaukee Bucks Derrick Mayes Illinois State
117 Indiana Pacers Greg Guye Stetson University
118 Golden State Warriors Jim Mitchem DePaul
119 San Diego Clippers Bob Bender Duke
120 Portland Trail Blazers Ray Ellis Pepperdine
121 Atlanta Hawks Dwight Williams Gardner-Webb University
122 Denver Nuggets Odell Ball Marquette
123 Philadelphia 76ers Dan Hartshorne Oregon
124 Houston Rockets Collie Davis Southern University and A&M College
125 San Antonio Spurs Terry Knight Pitt
126 Kansas City Kings Bob Roma Princeton
127 Phoenix Suns Dale Shackleford Syracuse
128 Washington Bullets Garcia Hopkins Morgan State University
Round 7
129 Utah Jazz Paul Poe Louisiana College
130 Boston Celtics Steve Castellan Virginia
131 Cleveland Cavaliers Steve Skaggs Ohio University
132 Detroit Pistons Ken Jones Saint Mary's
133 Chicago Bulls Mike Eversley Chicago State
134 New York Knicks Marc Coleman Seton Hall
135 New Jersey Nets Jim Strickland South Carolina
136 Indiana Pacers Dirk Ewing Stetson University
137 Golden State Warriors Ren Watson VCU
138 Milwaukee Bucks Stan Ray Cal State Fullerton
139 San Diego Clippers Jene Grey LeMoyne College
140 Portland Trail Blazers Jeff Tropf Central Michigan University
141 Atlanta Hawks Tim Waterman St. Bonaventure
142 Philadelphia 76ers Bobby Willis Penn
143 Houston Rockets Rich Valavicius Auburn
144 Denver Nuggets John Johnson Creighton
145 Kansas City Kings Nick Daniels Xavier
146 San Antonio Spurs Tyrone Branyan Texas
147 Phoenix Suns Ollie Matson Jr. Pepperdine
Round 8
148 Utah Jazz Keith McDonald Utah State University
149 Boston Celtics Glenn Sudhop NC State
150 Detroit Pistons Rodney Lee Memphis
151 Cleveland Cavaliers Mark Haymore UMass
152 New York Knicks Billy Tucker Tennessee State
153 Chicago Bulls Tony Warren NC State
154 New Jersey Nets Henry Hollingsworth Hofstra
155 Golden State Warriors Mario Butler Briar Cliff University
156 Milwaukee Bucks Larry Spicer UAB
157 Indiana Pacers Brian Magid George Washington
158 San Diego Clippers Renaldo Lawrence Appalachian State University
159 Portland Trail Blazers Willie Pounds Chaminade University of Honolulu
160 Atlanta Hawks John Goedeke UMBC
161 Houston Rockets Delbert Watson East Tennessee State University
162 Denver Nuggets Matt Teahan Denver
163 Philadelphia 76ers Rick Raivio University of Portland
164 Kansas City Kings Tony Vann None listed
165 Phoenix Suns Charles Jones Albany State University
166 Washington Bullets Jo Jo Walters Manhattan University
Round 9
167 Utah Jazz Milt Huggins Southern Illinois
168 Boston Celtics Kevin Sinnett United States Naval Academy
169 Cleveland Cavaliers Tim Joyce Ohio University
170 Detroit Pistons Val Bracey Central Michigan University
171 Chicago Bulls James Jackson Minnesota
172 New York Knicks Brett Wyatt New Jersey City University
173 New Jersey Nets Ricky Free Columbia University
174 Milwaukee Bucks Roger Lapham University of Maine
175 Golden State Warriors Gene Ransom California
176 San Diego Clippers Mike Dodd San Diego State
177 Portland Trail Blazers Stan Eckwood Harding University
178 Atlanta Hawks Cedric Oliver Hamilton College
179 Denver Nuggets Emmett Lewis Colorado
180 Philadelphia 76ers Coby Leavitt Utah
181 Kansas City Kings Gary Wilson Southern Illinois
182 San Antonio Spurs Eddie McLeod UNLV
183 Phoenix Suns Hosea Champine Robert Morris University (PA)
184 Washington Bullets Gary Ray Hooker Murray State
Round 10
185 Utah Jazz Paul Dawkins Northern Illinois
186 Boston Celtics Alton Byrd Columbia University
187 Detroit Pistons Willie Polk Grand Canyon University
188 Cleveland Cavaliers Terry Peavy Point Park University
189 New York Knicks Gordon Thomas St. John's
190 Chicago Bulls Marvin Thomas UCLA
191 New Jersey Nets Eric Fleisher Tulane
192 Golden State Warriors Kevin Heenan Cal State Fullerton
193 Milwaukee Bucks Chris Fahrbach University of North Dakota
194 San Diego Clippers Greg Hunter Loyola Marymount
195 Portland Trail Blazers Kelvin Small Oregon
196 Atlanta Hawks Chad Nelson Drake University
197 Chicago Bulls Cortez Collins Southern Indiana
198 Philadelphia 76ers Keith McCord UAB
199 San Antonio Spurs Glenn Fine Harvard University
200 Kansas City Kings Russell Saunders New Mexico
201 Phoenix Suns Korky Nelson Santa Clara
202 Washington Bullets Steve Martin Georgetown

Selections by franchise

The same 202 selections arranged by the club that made them, using the franchise name as it stood in 1979.

  • New York Knicks 13 No. 3 Bill Cartwright, No. 9 Larry Demic, No. 21 Sly Williams, No. 27 Reggie Carter, No. 34 Kim Goetz, No. 50 Geoff Huston, No. 71 Larry Rogers, No. 94 Johnny Green, No. 113 Phil Abney, No. 134 Marc Coleman, No. 152 Billy Tucker, No. 172 Brett Wyatt, No. 189 Gordon Thomas
  • Chicago Bulls 12 No. 2 Dave Greenwood, No. 33 Lawrence Butler, No. 47 Calvin Garrett, No. 49 Cedrick Hordges, No. 72 George Maynor, No. 93 Larry Washington, No. 114 Steve Smith, No. 133 Mike Eversley, No. 153 Tony Warren, No. 171 James Jackson, No. 190 Marvin Thomas, No. 197 Cortez Collins
  • Detroit Pistons 11 No. 4 Greg Kelser, No. 10 Roy Hamilton, No. 15 Phil Hubbard, No. 29 Tony Price, No. 48 Terry Duerod, No. 92 Flintie Ray Williams, No. 111 Truman Claytor, No. 132 Ken Jones, No. 150 Rodney Lee, No. 170 Val Bracey, No. 187 Willie Polk
  • Philadelphia 76ers 11 No. 16 Jim Spanarkel, No. 36 Clint Richardson, No. 37 Bernard Toone, No. 58 Earl Cureton, No. 83 Mike Niles, No. 103 Carl McPipe, No. 123 Dan Hartshorne, No. 142 Bobby Willis, No. 163 Rick Raivio, No. 180 Coby Leavitt, No. 198 Keith McCord
  • Golden State Warriors 10 No. 28 Danny Salisbury, No. 54 Cheese Johnson, No. 75 Ron Ripley, No. 82 Jerry Sichting, No. 96 George Lett, No. 118 Jim Mitchem, No. 137 Ren Watson, No. 155 Mario Butler, No. 175 Gene Ransom, No. 192 Kevin Heenan
  • Milwaukee Bucks 10 No. 5 Sidney Moncrief, No. 31 Edgar Jones, No. 52 Larry Gibson, No. 69 Eugene Robinson, No. 97 Jim Tillman, No. 116 Derrick Mayes, No. 138 Stan Ray, No. 156 Larry Spicer, No. 174 Roger Lapham, No. 193 Chris Fahrbach
  • Phoenix Suns 10 No. 22 Kyle Macy, No. 24 Johnny High, No. 64 Al Green, No. 86 Malcolm Cesare, No. 107 Mark Eaton, No. 127 Dale Shackleford, No. 147 Ollie Matson Jr., No. 165 Charles Jones, No. 183 Hosea Champine, No. 201 Korky Nelson
  • Portland Trail Blazers 10 No. 12 Jim Paxson, No. 40 Andrew Fields, No. 56 Mickey Fox, No. 78 Darryl Robinson, No. 100 Matt White, No. 120 Ray Ellis, No. 140 Jeff Tropf, No. 159 Willie Pounds, No. 177 Stan Eckwood, No. 195 Kelvin Small
  • Utah Jazz 10 No. 20 Larry Knight, No. 23 Tico Brown, No. 45 Arvid Kramer, No. 67 Greg Deane, No. 89 Perry Wolfe, No. 109 Ernie Cobb, No. 129 Paul Poe, No. 148 Keith McDonald, No. 167 Milt Huggins, No. 185 Paul Dawkins
  • Atlanta Hawks 9 No. 35 James Bradley, No. 38 Larry Wilson, No. 57 Don Marsh, No. 101 Tiny Pinder, No. 121 Dwight Williams, No. 141 Tim Waterman, No. 160 John Goedeke, No. 178 Cedric Oliver, No. 196 Chad Nelson
  • Boston Celtics 9 No. 53 Wayne Kreklow, No. 61 Ernesto Malcolm, No. 68 Nick Galis, No. 90 Jimmy Allen, No. 110 Marvin Delph, No. 130 Steve Castellan, No. 149 Glenn Sudhop, No. 168 Kevin Sinnett, No. 186 Alton Byrd
  • Cleveland Cavaliers 9 No. 26 Bruce Flowers, No. 65 Bill Laimbeer, No. 70 Rick Swing, No. 91 Matt Simpkins, No. 112 Jon Manning, No. 131 Steve Skaggs, No. 151 Mark Haymore, No. 169 Tim Joyce, No. 188 Terry Peavy
  • Houston Rockets 9 No. 17 Lee Johnson, No. 42 Paul Mokeski, No. 59 Ricardo Brown, No. 76 Sammy Drummer, No. 80 Lionel Green, No. 104 Allen Leavell, No. 124 Collie Davis, No. 143 Rich Valavicius, No. 161 Delbert Watson
  • Kansas City Kings 9 No. 18 Reggie King, No. 62 Terry Crosby, No. 85 John McCullough, No. 105 Curtis Watkins, No. 126 Bob Roma, No. 145 Nick Daniels, No. 164 Tony Vann, No. 181 Gary Wilson, No. 200 Russell Saunders
  • New Jersey Nets 9 No. 8 Calvin Natt, No. 11 Cliff Robinson, No. 51 John Gerdy, No. 95 Jim Abromaitis, No. 115 Tony Smith, No. 135 Jim Strickland, No. 154 Henry Hollingsworth, No. 173 Ricky Free, No. 191 Eric Fleisher
  • Washington Bullets 9 No. 44 Joe DeSantis, No. 46 Andrew Parker, No. 66 Charles Floyd, No. 88 Lamont Reid, No. 108 Marshall Ashford, No. 128 Garcia Hopkins, No. 166 Jo Jo Walters, No. 184 Gary Ray Hooker, No. 202 Steve Martin
  • Los Angeles Lakers 8 No. 1 Magic Johnson, No. 14 Brad Holland, No. 25 Ollie Mack, No. 39 Victor King, No. 41 Mark Young, No. 60 Walter Daniels, No. 79 Ray White, No. 81 Ricky Reed
  • San Antonio Spurs 8 No. 19 Wiley Peck, No. 63 Sylvester Norris, No. 84 Al Daniel, No. 106 Steve Schall, No. 125 Terry Knight, No. 146 Tyrone Branyan, No. 182 Eddie McLeod, No. 199 Glenn Fine
  • San Diego Clippers 8 No. 55 Tom Channel, No. 77 Lionel Garrett, No. 99 Greg Joyner, No. 119 Bob Bender, No. 139 Jene Grey, No. 158 Renaldo Lawrence, No. 176 Mike Dodd, No. 194 Greg Hunter
  • Indiana Pacers 7 No. 13 Dudley Bradley, No. 32 Tony Zeno, No. 74 Don Newman, No. 98 Billy Reid, No. 117 Greg Guye, No. 136 Dirk Ewing, No. 157 Brian Magid
  • Denver Nuggets 6 No. 30 Gary Garland, No. 102 Larry Williams, No. 122 Odell Ball, No. 144 John Johnson, No. 162 Matt Teahan, No. 179 Emmett Lewis
  • Seattle SuperSonics 5 No. 6 James Bailey, No. 7 Vinnie Johnson, No. 43 Johnny Moore, No. 73 James Donaldson, No. 87 Richie Allen

Colleges and programs represented

147 programs produced at least one selection in the 1979 draft.

  • UCLA5
  • Arkansas3
  • Cal State Fullerton3
  • DePaul3
  • NC State3
  • Penn3
  • Pepperdine3
  • UNLV3
  • Appalachian State University2
  • Briar Cliff University2
  • Central Michigan University2
  • Columbia University2
  • Detroit Mercy2
  • Drake University2
  • Duke2
  • East Carolina University2
  • Fairfield2
  • Georgia Tech2
  • Kentucky2
  • Louisiana-Monroe2
  • LSU2
  • Marquette2
  • Memphis2
  • Michigan State2
  • Mississippi State2
  • Nevada2
  • New Mexico2
  • Notre Dame2
  • Ohio University2
  • Oral Roberts2
  • Oregon2
  • San Diego State2
  • San Francisco2
  • Seton Hall2
  • South Carolina2
  • Southern Illinois2
  • Southern University and A&M College2
  • St. John's2
  • Stetson University2
  • Texas2
  • UAB2
  • USC2
  • Utah2
  • Alabama
  • Albany State University
  • Arizona
  • Arizona State
  • Auburn
  • Augustana College (SD)
  • Baylor
  • Boston College
  • Boston University
  • Cal State Dominguez Hills
  • California
  • Centenary (LA)
  • Chaminade University of Honolulu
  • Cheyney (PA)
  • Chicago State
  • Colorado
  • Creighton
  • Davidson
  • Dayton
  • Denver
  • Drury University
  • East Tennessee State University
  • Eastern Kentucky University
  • Florida
  • Franklin & Marshall College
  • Furman University
  • Gardner-Webb University
  • George Washington
  • Georgetown
  • Georgia
  • Georgia Southern University
  • Grand Canyon University
  • Green Bay
  • Hamilton College
  • Harding University
  • Harvard University
  • High Point University
  • Hofstra
  • Idaho
  • Idaho State University
  • Illinois State
  • Iowa State
  • Jackson State University
  • Kansas
  • LeMoyne College
  • Louisiana College
  • Louisiana Tech
  • Louisville
  • Loyola Chicago
  • Loyola Marymount
  • Manhattan University
  • Maryland
  • Michigan
  • Middle Tennessee
  • Minnesota
  • Morgan State University
  • Murray State
  • Nebraska
  • New Jersey City University
  • Nicholls State
  • Northern Illinois
  • Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma City University
  • Pitt
  • Point Park University
  • Princeton
  • Purdue
  • Rhode Island
  • Robert Morris University (PA)
  • Rutgers University
  • Saint Mary's
  • Saint Mary's University
  • Santa Clara
  • SE Missouri State
  • Seattle University
  • Southern Indiana
  • St. Bonaventure
  • Stanford
  • Syracuse
  • Temple
  • Tennessee
  • Tennessee State
  • Texas Tech
  • The Citadel
  • Tulane
  • UConn
  • UMass
  • UMBC
  • UNC
  • United States Naval Academy
  • University of California, Riverside
  • University of Maine
  • University of New Haven
  • University of North Dakota
  • University of North Texas
  • University of Portland
  • University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
  • Utah State University
  • VCU
  • Virginia
  • Virginia Tech
  • Washington State
  • Wichita State
  • Xavier

Compiled and maintained by . Data via published league records. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will check it against the source.