The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, and Jamal Mashburn became All-Stars whose careers were cut short by injuries, with Webber being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. Isaiah Rider and Vin Baker showed great potential but were plagued by personal problems. Bobby Hurley's career was derailed by a car wreck in December of his rookie year. The mid-to-late first round (starting with pick 13) was littered with players that failed to make any significant impact, with the exception of three-time NBA champion Sam Cassell. One of the NBA best all-time wing defensive players, three-time champion Bruce Bowen, went undrafted.
Despite having the lowest odds, the Orlando Magic won the first pick in the 1993 NBA draft lottery. It was the second year in a row the Magic won the draft lottery. The Magic drafted Chris Webber with the number one overall pick, but only minutes later, executed a blockbuster trade. The Magic traded Webber to the Golden State Warriors for their first-round pick (#3 overall) Penny Hardaway and three of Golden State's future first-round draft selections.
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1993 NBA draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.
Early entrants
College underclassmen
For the eleventh year in a row and the fifteenth time in sixteen years, no college underclassman would withdraw their entry into the NBA draft. However, this would the third time in NBA history where a foreign-born player would enter the NBA draft as an underclassman of sorts, as well as be the first time said player didn't represent the Eastern Bloc, but instead represented Africa (although still playing in Europe at the time). It would also be the seventh time in eight years that a player that would leave college in order to play basketball professionally overseas would declare entry into the NBA draft as an underclassman of sorts, with the Australian born Tony Ronaldson leaving Arizona State University to play for the South East Melbourne Magic in his home nation. Including those two players, the total number of underclassmen that entered this year's draft is twenty. Regardless, the following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
- Milton Bell – F, Richmond (junior)
- Antonio Bowen – F, Northern Oklahoma JC (freshman)
- Shawn Bradley – C, BYU (freshman)
- Kenny Carter – G, Luzerne County CC (freshman)
- Parrish Casebier – G, Evansville (junior)
- Shawn Copes – F, Central Missouri (junior)
- Jim Dickinson – C, Seton Hall (junior)
- Anfernee Hardaway – G, Memphis (junior)
- Daniel Lyton – F, Riverside City (junior)
- Jamal Mashburn – F, Kentucky (junior)
- Malloy Nesmith – G, Utah State (junior)
- James Robinson – G, Alabama (junior)
- Rodney Rogers – F, Wake Forest (junior)
- Ryan Swank – G, Luzerne County CC (sophomore)
- Kevin Thomas – F, Beaver County CC (freshman)
- Ernest Vickers – F, Panhandle State (junior)
- Chris Webber – F, Michigan (sophomore)
- Luther Wright – C, Seton Hall (junior)
International players
For the third time in NBA history, an international player would enter the NBA draft. This draft would also be the first time a foreign player entering the NBA draft would not come from the Eastern Bloc, but instead represent Africa while playing in Europe. The following international player successfully applied for early draft entrance.
- Etienne Preira – F, ADA Blois (France)
Invited attendees
The 1993 NBA draft is considered to be the sixteenth 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 somewhere within The Palace of Auburn Hills), 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 that held some very successful players, two notable absences from this group include Sam Cassell from Florida State University and Nick Van Exel from the University of Cincinnati, with 7'7" Romanian center Gheorghe Mureșan waiting until the second round to be selected himself. Even so, the following players were invited to attend this year's draft festivities live and in person.
- Vin Baker – PF, Hartford
- Shawn Bradley – C, Brigham Young
- Calbert Cheaney – SG/SF, Indiana
- Terry Dehere – SG, Seton Hall
- Acie Earl – C, Iowa
- Doug Edwards – SF, Florida State
- Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway – PG/SG, Memphis State
- Allan Houston – SG, Tennessee
- Lindsey Hunter – PG, Jackson State
- Bobby Hurley – PG, Duke
- Jamal Mashburn – SF, Kentucky
- Chris Mills – SF, Arizona
- Gheorghe Mureșan – C, Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez (France)
- Isaiah Rider – SG, UNLV
- Rodney Rogers – PF, Wake Forest
- Chris Webber – PF/C, Michigan
- Luther Wright – C, Seton Hall