# 1994 NBA draft
The 1994 [NBA draft](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-draft) was the [National Basketball Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-basketball-association)'s annual player selection draft, held on Wednesday, June 29, 1994, in [Indianapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/indianapolis), Indiana. It consisted of 54 selections, of whom 45 played in the NBA, and produced five future All-Stars: Grant Hill, Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones, Jason Kidd, and Glenn Robinson.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and location | Wednesday, June 29, 1994, Indianapolis, Indiana[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html) |
| Number of picks | 54 selections, 45 of whom played in the NBA[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html) |
| First overall pick | Glenn Robinson, by the Milwaukee Bucks, from Purdue; 39.8 career Win Shares[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html) • [2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-draft?channel=desktop) |
| Lottery odds | Milwaukee held a 16.30% chance of winning the No. 1 pick and selected Robinson[3](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-faq) |
| Career leaders in class | Jason Kidd 138.6 Win Shares, Eddie Jones 100.6, Grant Hill 99.9[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html) |
| All-Stars | 5: Grant Hill, Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones, Jason Kidd, Glenn Robinson[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html) |
| Awards | No member of the class won an NBA MVP[4](https://nbaobserver.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/1994-nba-draft/) |
## Lottery and draft order
The draft lottery that set the top of the order operated under rules revised for 1994. The previous format had been changed after the [Orlando Magic](https://www.edgepedia.org/orlando-magic) won the lottery two years in a row, the second time after having the best record among non-playoff teams, and the 1994 revision adjusted the weighting of teams' chances.[5](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cem-Tinaz/publication/322897034_Formula_One_Autoracing/links/5a74843e0f7e9b20d4922613/Formula-One-Autoracing.pdf) [Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee) entered the drawing with a 16.30% chance at the first pick and won it, using the selection on Purdue forward [Glenn Robinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/glenn-robinson).[3](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-faq) • [2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-draft?channel=desktop)
## The first round
Robinson, nicknamed "Big Dog," went first to the Bucks and became the class's leading scorer at the top of the draft, finishing his 11-year career with 14,234 points and a 20.7 points-per-game average.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html) • [4](https://nbaobserver.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/1994-nba-draft/) The class's other headliners went near the top of the round: [Jason Kidd](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-kidd) and [Grant Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/grant-hill), the co-Rookie of the Year winners of the 1994-95 season, and Eddie Jones, all of whom out-produced Robinson on Basketball-Reference's career Win Shares measure.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html)
A retrospective re-ordering of the top ten picks by NBA accomplishment places Kidd first. A 10-time All-Star, he was twice the best player on a Finals team, once finished second in MVP voting, and ranks first among the 1994 class in total games, minutes, points, rebounds, assists, and steals.[4](https://nbaobserver.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/1994-nba-draft/) Grant Hill's best season, 1996-97, included 80 games with 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, a 25.5 Player Efficiency Rating, and All-NBA First Team honors.[4](https://nbaobserver.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/1994-nba-draft/) • [7](https://www.nba.com/news/history-all-nba-teams) • [8](https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1997_per_game.html)
## Career outcomes
Measured by Win Shares, a cumulative estimate of a player's contribution to team wins, the class's leaders were Jason Kidd with 138.6, Eddie Jones with 100.6, and Grant Hill with 99.9, all well ahead of first pick Glenn Robinson's 39.8.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html) Robinson nonetheless had a productive career, appearing in 688 games over 11 seasons with a .459 field-goal percentage.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html)
The class is generally judged strong but short of the era's best. A retrospective account notes that 1994 produced no MVPs, just five All-Stars, and a No. 1 pick whose career was considered underwhelming relative to his draft position, and rates the class below the 1993 draft's reputation among readers of the same survey.[4](https://nbaobserver.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/1994-nba-draft/) Later analyses of draft value across classes place 1994's lottery haul below benchmark classes such as 1996 and 2003, which produced multiple MVPs and Hall of Famers.[6](https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/651330/azu_etd_hr_2020_0130_sip1_m.pdf)
## Context in league history
The draft fell in the middle of the NBA's 1990s expansion period, before the [Toronto Raptors](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-raptors) and [Vancouver Grizzlies](https://www.edgepedia.org/vancouver-grizzlies) joined for the 1995 draft, in which the first overall pick was Joe Smith of the [Golden State Warriors](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-state-warriors).[2](https://www.nba.com/news/history-draft?channel=desktop) The 1994 lottery reform that shaped the draft's order was one of several changes to the lottery system over the following decades, a mechanism the league has repeatedly adjusted to balance competitive fairness against incentives for teams to lose games for better draft position.[5](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cem-Tinaz/publication/322897034_Formula_One_Autoracing/links/5a74843e0f7e9b20d4922613/Formula-One-Autoracing.pdf)
## References
1. [1994 NBA Draft, Basketball-Reference.com](https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html)
2. [All-Time NBA Draft History, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/history-draft?channel=desktop)
3. [NBA Draft FAQ: order, dates, tickets, prospects, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-faq)
4. [1994 NBA Draft revisited: Kidd, Hill, Big Dog & Co., NBA Observer](https://nbaobserver.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/1994-nba-draft/)
5. [Tinaz, C. (2015). Formula One Autoracing (thesis excerpt on NBA draft lottery history), ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cem-Tinaz/publication/322897034_Formula_One_Autoracing/links/5a74843e0f7e9b20d4922613/Formula-One-Autoracing.pdf)
6. [Determining the Value of NBA Draft Picks Using Advanced Statistics, University of Arizona repository](https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/651330/azu_etd_hr_2020_0130_sip1_m.pdf)
7. [Year-by-year All-NBA Teams, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/history-all-nba-teams)
8. [NBA 1997 Per Game, basketball-reference.com](https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1997_per_game.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › NBA and WNBA (North American professional basketball) › NBA draft*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license