The 1985 NBA draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the previous few years lasting up to 10 rounds total. A total of 162 players were selected over seven rounds by the league's 23 teams.
The New York Knicks were awarded the first overall pick by winning the first-ever NBA draft lottery, which was held in May of that year. The Knicks used it on Georgetown's Patrick Ewing. In addition to Ewing, this draft also resulted in several Hall of Famers, including Karl Malone taken by the Utah Jazz at pick 13.
Draft selections
* Further compensation for draft choices previously traded away by Ted Stepien.
** Compensation for the Utah Jazz signing Billy Paultz
*** Compensation for the Los Angeles Lakers signing Larry Spriggs
**** Compensation for the Atlanta Hawks signing Billy Paultz
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1985 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
Conspiracy theories about the first pick
Some have argued that NBA Commissioner David Stern fixed the first overall pick to help his hometown team, the struggling New York Knicks. The lottery system used in 1985 involved a random drawing of seven envelopes from a hopper, with each of the then-seven non-playoff teams having an equal chance of obtaining the first pick. Inside each of the envelopes was the logo of a non-playoff team. The team whose envelope was drawn first would get the first pick. The process was then repeated until the rest of the first seven lottery picks were determined. In the U.S., CBS had live coverage of Stern pulling the envelopes from the hopper (as opposed to NBA Draft lotteries today where the actual drawing is held behind closed doors before the results are revealed on TV).
The "frozen envelope theory" suggests that the National Basketball Association rigged its 1985 draft lottery so that Patrick Ewing would join the New York Knicks. Theorists claim that a lottery envelope was chilled so that it could be identified by touch. A similar "hot balls theory", promoted by Scottish football manager David Moyes, suggests that certain balls used in draws for UEFA and AFC competitions have been warmed to achieve specific outcomes.
According to another theory, some claim that when an accountant from Ernst & Whinney (the same firm used by Gulf + Western, then-owners of the Knicks) inserted the seven envelopes into the glass drum, some have claimed that he banged the fourth one against the side of the drum to create a creased corner, thereby making it easier for Stern to determine which envelope to choose: the envelope containing the Knicks logo. According to this theory, as the drum was being spun by NBA security director Jack Joyce, Stern was watching the envelopes closely. He then opened the drum, took a deep breath, reached in and selected the envelope with the bent corner and the Knicks logo. This has not been confirmed or corroborated by any official source, as most note that the spinning of the drum was far more forceful than any movement by Joyce, deliberate or otherwise.
Early entrants
College underclassmen
For the third year in a row and the seventh time in eight years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. This year, however, saw a total of twelve players qualify for entry as college underclassmen, including a Sudanese born freshman center named Manute Bol, who would be considered the tallest player in NBA history at the time. The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
- George Almones – G, Southwestern Louisiana (junior)
- Joe Atkinson – F, Oklahoma State (junior)
- Benoit Benjamin – C, Creighton (junior)
- Manute Bol – C, Bridgeport (freshman)
- Kenny Brown – G, Texas A&M (junior)
- Derrick Gervin – F, Texas–San Antonio (junior)
- Kenny Green – F, Wake Forest (junior)
- Karl Malone – F, Louisiana Tech (junior)
- Jerry Reynolds – F, LSU (junior)
- Reggie Roberts – G, Texas A&M (junior)
- Wayman Tisdale – F, Oklahoma (junior)
- Carl Wright – G, SMU (junior)
Invited attendees
The 1985 NBA draft is considered to be the eighth NBA draft to have utilized what's properly considered the "green room" experience for NBA prospects. The NBA's green room is a staging area where anticipated draftees often sit with their families and representatives, waiting for their names to be called on draft night. Often being positioned either in front of or to the side of the podium (in this case, being positioned in the Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum for the first time the NBA draft used a green room there), once a player heard his name, he would walk to the podium to shake hands and take promotional photos with the NBA commissioner. From there, the players often conducted interviews with various media outlets while backstage. However, once the NBA draft started to air nationally on TV starting with the 1980 NBA draft, the green room evolved from players waiting to hear their name called and then shaking hands with these select players who were often called to the hotel to take promotional pictures with the NBA commissioner a day or two after the draft concluded to having players in real-time waiting to hear their names called up and then shaking hands with David Stern, the NBA's commissioner at the time. The NBA compiled its list of green room invites through collective voting by the NBA's team presidents and general managers alike, which in this year's case belonged to only what they believed were the top 13 prospects at the time. However, for the fourth year in a row, one invite in Dwayne McClain would end up staying in the green room beyond the first round of the draft. Even so, the following players were invited to attend this year's draft festivities live and in person.
- Benoit Benjamin – C, Creighton
- Joe Dumars – SG, McNeese State
- / Patrick Ewing – C, Georgetown
- Joe Kleine – C, Arkansas
- Jon Koncak – C, Southern Methodist
- Keith Lee – C, Memphis State
- Karl Malone – PF, Louisiana Tech
- Dwayne McClain – SG, Villanova
- Xavier McDaniel – PF, Wichita State
- Chris Mullin – SF, St. John's
- Detlef Schrempf – SF/PF, Washington
- Wayman Tisdale – PF, Oklahoma
- Bill Wennington – C St. John's