{"id":2009967,"date":"2026-06-25T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T07:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2009967"},"modified":"2026-06-25T10:00:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T07:00:58","slug":"the-1986-nba-draft-talent-infamy-and-unrealized-potential-40-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2009967","title":{"rendered":"The 1986 NBA Draft: Talent, infamy and \u2018unrealized potential,\u2019 40 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The 1986 NBA Draft was held on June 17, but it\u2019s what happened two days later that defined one of the league\u2019s deepest draft classes.<\/p>\n

Maryland forward Len Bias, taken with the No. 2 pick by the Boston Celtics, died as a result of a cocaine overdose<\/a>. Bias was supposed to be the Boston Celtics\u2019 bridge from Larry Bird to another generation of dominance. Instead, he became the first of four top-seven picks whose careers would be derailed by substance abuse.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Beyond the tragedies and injuries that altered several careers, the 1986 class had a mass of talent and impact. It produced Hall of Famers and All-Stars and others who made their marks overseas. Some players set records, and others became coaches and team executives. But four decades later, the class <\/span>continues to stand above most as an example of how potential can go unfulfilled.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, there were success stories as there are in most any drafts, because there were a lot of great players that year,\u201d said ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, a fifth-round pick out of Duke by the Dallas Mavericks in 1986. \u201cI think, though, it was a lot of unrealized potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

The class was stacked with talent from the ACC and Big East, the two premier conferences at the time. It also featured potential stars from smaller conferences and players who had the chance to make an impact.<\/p>\n

The centers in the class were seen as potential franchise cornerstones at a time when teams favored a dominant big man to build around. There were also athletic wings and guards who were highly touted. But despite the success of many of the players \u2014 68 of the 162 players selected during seven rounds played in an NBA game \u2014 Bias\u2019 shocking death, and how it changed the Celtics\u2019 future and the NBA, is what the draft year is most associated with.<\/p>\n

Bias, a two-time ACC Player of the Year, is the only No. 2 pick to never play in the NBA. The 6-foot-8 forward was supposed to help maintain the Celtics\u2019 contender status after 1986. They won the NBA title a week and a half before the draft but wouldn\u2019t win again until 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anybody that played against Bias that didn\u2019t believe he was going to be an all-time great NBA,\u201d Bilas said. \u201cI think he, had he lived, would have been a direct counterpart to Michael Jordan. He would have been the face of the Boston franchise after the Bird-McHale-Parish years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Harold Pressley, out of Villanova, was the 17th pick by the Sacramento Kings and thought Bias \u201cwas going to be something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c(It was) his ability to play the game hard and his athletic ability and his determination,\u201d Pressley said. \u201cI had the unfortunate pleasure of playing against him twice that year (in \u201985). After one game, I thought, \u2018What the heck am I going to do with this guy if I ever see him again?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say there weren\u2019t other first-rounders who went on to have good careers. Chuck Person, the No. 4 pick, was the eventual NBA Rookie of the Year and one of the league\u2019s best shooters during his 13-year career. Ron Harper, the eighth pick in the draft, won five NBA titles: three with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls and two more with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O\u2019Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n

Dell Curry (15th), Johnny Dawkins (10th), John Salley (11th), Buck Johnson (20th), Scott Skiles (22nd) and Arvydas Sabonis (24th) were other notable first-round selections. Skiles still holds the single-game NBA record for assists with 30. And the No. 1 pick, Brad Daugherty, made five All-Star teams in eight years before back problems forced his retirement.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/div>\n

{“endpoint”:”https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql”}<\/p>\n

Pressley would have predicted the 1986 class to be loaded with talent based on his McDonald\u2019s All-American team. The East roster included Daugherty, Curry, Dawkins, Johnson, Billy Thompson (19th pick) and Kenny Walker (fifth) \u2014 all of whom were drafted in the top 20 in 1986.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s impossible to discuss the class without the impact of tragedy. The drug-related issues that impacted the careers of No. 3 pick Chris Washburn (drafted by the Golden State Warriors), No. 6 pick William Bedford (Phoenix Suns) and No. 7 pick Roy Tarpley (Mavericks) \u2014 who died in 2015, at 50 years old \u2014 remain a big part of how the class is remembered.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Bilas played against Tarpley in rookie camp and believes he would have been a Hall of Famer if not for his off-court struggles<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Tarpley won NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1988, but was suspended for three seasons (1991-94) for cocaine use and later banned by the NBA in 1995 for violating the league\u2019s substance abuse policy. He found success playing overseas, winning a Greek league championship in 1994, and was inducted posthumously into Greece\u2019s Hellenic Basketball Clubs Association (HEBA) Hall of Fame in 2022.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n Roy Tarpley, pictured with the Mavericks in 1989, had a career derailed by drug issues. (Photo by Mike Powell\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Washburn\u2019s career never really took off. He checked into drug rehab in January 1987 for cocaine use, and played in only 72 games over two seasons. He was permanently banned by the NBA in 1989 for failed drug tests. Washburn co-wrote his memoir, which was published in 2025 and details his battles with addiction and sobriety, and he now shares his story as a motivational speaker.<\/p>\n

Bedford only played one season in Phoenix before he was traded to Detroit. He was suspended for the 1988-89 season after admitting to cocaine use and entering rehab during the 1987-88 season. Bedford played in 238 games over six seasons. He pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in 2004 and was released from prison in 2011<\/a>. Bedford returned to his hometown of Memphis after his release to serve as a coach and mentor.<\/p>\n

There was also the death of third-round pick Dra\u017een Petrovi\u0107, a sharpshooter with the New Jersey Nets, because of a car accident on Germany\u2019s Autobahn in 1993 at the age of 28. Petrovi\u0107 was a third-team All-NBA selection in 1993 and is credited with being among the first European players to have a major impact in the NBA.<\/p>\n

And then there was Kevin Duckworth, who was a two-time All-Star with the Portland Trail Blazers but struggled with weight issues. He died of heart failure in 2008 at age 44.<\/p>\n

Injuries also played a significant role for the class of 1986. Besides Daugherty, Dawkins had a knee injury that altered his game. The same for Harper, who averaged 22.8 points as a rookie to finish second in Rookie of the Year voting. He was traded to the Clippers in November 1989 in the deal that sent Danny Ferry\u2019s draft rights to the Cavs, and tore his ACL in January 1990.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHe couldn\u2019t be the high-flyer anymore and (do) the things he did when he was younger,\u201d said Mark Price, Harper\u2019s former teammate and the 25th pick in that draft. \u201cBut Ron was such a smart basketball player and has such a high IQ; he was able to adjust and kind of turned himself into a defender and just a support-type player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressley chose to go to Europe after his contract with Sacramento expired rather than wait for another NBA job. He said the draft class had a lot of personality, which is part of his fond memories. But there was also a lot of potential that was not realized for various reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings happened to that entire group, a lot of injuries,\u201d Pressley said. \u201cIt was beautiful that Ron Harper, with his injury, could come back from it. But it was very difficult for quite a few others to return after the injuries happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

As good as the first round was, 1986\u2019s second-round picks also made names for themselves. Price, who was drafted by Dallas but traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, was the first pick of that second round. He\u2019d go on to be a four-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection and was part of a solid class for the Cavaliers, which also included Daugherty, Harper and Johnny Newman, who was selected four picks after Price. Newman played until 2002.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a little disappointed because I thought there were a couple of teams that might give me a look late in the first round,\u201d Price said. \u201cBut obviously, it worked out the best for me, getting the chance to go to Cleveland and start my career there. I feel like that was one of the best draft classes. I would put it up against a lot of different teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second round also produced one of the NBA\u2019s greatest defenders, Dennis Rodman. Selected 27th by the Detroit Pistons (the first round had 24 picks in 1986), Rodman won Defensive Player of the Year twice, made two All-Star teams, won seven rebounding titles and was a part of five NBA title teams between Detroit and Chicago. He also became one of the game\u2019s biggest personalities and a magnet for controversy en route to a Hall of Fame career.<\/p>\n

Some second-rounders extended their basketball careers off the court: Nate McMillan, Jeff Hornacek and Larry Krystkowiak all had decade-plus playing careers\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>and became NBA head coaches.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Third-rounder Jim Les played seven seasons in the NBA and is the head coach at UC Davis. Otis Smith, drafted 41st overall, went on to become a team executive, including stops with Orlando and Golden State. The class also included Pete Myers, a sixth-round pick by Chicago who spent his rookie season with the Bulls and returned in 1993 to start at guard, replacing Jordan after his first retirement.<\/p>\n

Bilas never played in the NBA, but is one of the most recognizable names in college basketball as an analyst. Salley won four NBA championships and had a career in media and movies. Georgetown guard Michael Jackson went on to work for Nike and Turner Sports and was key in persuading Charles Barkley to work for TNT and become part of \u201cInside the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walter Berry, the 14th pick, is in the HEBA Hall of Fame along with Tarpley. Pressley won championships while playing in Spain.<\/p>\n

Pressley said the breadth of what the class accomplished makes it special. Not just on the court, but in the league offices, media and more, in addition to offering cautionary tales.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat \u201986 draft group, quite a few went on to do some special things,\u201d Pressley said. \u201cSo it was a draft that left its mark on basketball, and it also left its mark with, \u2018Hey, you need to be careful of what you do.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 1986 NBA Draft was held on June 17, but it\u2019s what happened two days later that defined one of the league\u2019s deepest draft classes. Maryland forward Len Bias, taken with the No. 2 pick by the Boston Celtics, died as a result of a cocaine overdose. Bias was supposed to be the Boston Celtics\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2009967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2009967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2009967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2009967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2009967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}