The 1990 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1990, in New York City, New York. One of the standouts of this draft is Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton. He became a nine-time All-Star, achieved the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 1996, won an NBA Championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, holds many statistical records during his tenure with the since rebranded and relocated Seattle SuperSonics, and was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2013.
The top pick of the draft was Syracuse's Derrick Coleman who was selected by the New Jersey Nets. In total, 52 of the 54 players selected went on to play at least one competitive game in the NBA, and six players were at some point of their career selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game. One player who had been projected to be a lottery pick as well as possibly the number one by media outlets and draft analysts was Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers, who died of a heart condition in March 1990 after collapsing during a game.
Not including Gathers, six former first-round picks from this draft are deceased as of 2026: Felton Spencer, Alec Kessler, Jerrod Mustaf, Dwayne Schintzius, Lance Blanks, and Elden Campbell.
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1990 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
Early entrants
College underclassmen
For the eighth year in a row and the twelfth time in thirteen years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. Not only that, but this would be the fifth year in a row where a player that qualified for the status of a "college underclassman" would be playing professional basketball overseas, with former Grambling State University player Jesse Spinner going to Austria to play professionally for the Sefra Tyrolia. Including him, that expands the number of underclassmen for this year out to fourteen total players. Regardless, the following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
- Kelvin Ardister – F, Idaho (junior)
- Herb Barthol – C, Cleveland State (junior)
- Gabriel Estaba – F, South Alabama (junior)
- David Shon Henderson – G, Idaho (junior)
- Carl Herrera – F, Houston (junior)
- Sean Higgins – F, Michigan (junior)
- Chris Jackson – G, LSU (sophomore)
- Marcus Liberty – F, Illinois (junior)
- Kenny Miller – F, Barton County CC (junior)
- Jerrod Mustaf – F, Maryland (sophomore)
- Dennis Scott – F, Georgia Tech (junior)
- Per Stumer – F, Loyola Marymount (junior)
- Kenny Williams – F, Elizabeth City State (sophomore)
Other eligible players
This would be the fifth year in a row with at least one player that previously played in college entering the NBA draft as an underclassman, as well as the first year where a player didn't go out to either Italy or France to play overseas professionally first.
Invited attendees
The 1990 NBA draft is considered to be the thirteenth 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 within the nearby Jacob Javits Center), 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. 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 17 prospects at the time. Despite the large amount of invites and them successfully avoiding any inviting prospects waiting into the second round (following the tragic passing of potential #1 pick Hank Gathers), some notable absences from this group include Tyrone Hill from Xavier University, Jayson Williams from St. John's University, future Hall of Famer Toni Kukoč, Antonio Davis from UTEP, and Cedric Ceballos from Cal State Fullerton. Even so, the following players were invited to attend this year's draft festivities live and in person.
- / Alaa Abdelnaby – PF/C, Duke
- Dee Brown – SG, Jacksonville
- Willie Burton – SG, Minnesota
- Duane Causwell – C, Temple
- Derrick Coleman – PF/C, Syracuse
- Kendall Gill – SG, Illinois
- Chris Jackson – PG, LSU
- Alec Kessler – PF, Georgia
- Bo Kimble – SG, Loyola Marymount
- Travis Mays – PG, Texas
- Gary Payton – PG, Oregon State
- Rumeal Robinson – PG, Michigan
- Dwayne Schintzius – C, Florida
- Dennis Scott – SG/SF, Georgia Tech
- Lionel Simmons – SF, La Salle
- Felton Spencer – C, Louisville
- Loy Vaught – PF, Michigan