The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn Kemp, Glen Rice, Sean Elliott, Nick Anderson, Dana Barros, Tim Hardaway, Vlade Divac, Clifford Robinson, B. J. Armstrong and Mookie Blaylock.
The draft was reduced from three rounds in the previous year to the two-round format that is still in use to the present day.
Draft selections
right|thumb|150px|[[Pervis Ellison was selected first overall by the Sacramento Kings.]]
right|thumb|150px|[[Sean Elliott was selected 3rd overall by the San Antonio Spurs.]]
right|thumb|150px|[[Glen Rice was selected 4th overall by the Miami Heat.]]
right|thumb|150px|[[Tim Hardaway was selected 14th overall by the Golden State Warriors.]]
right|thumb|150px|[[Dana Barros was selected 16th overall by the Seattle SuperSonics.]]
right|thumb|150px|[[Shawn Kemp was selected 17th overall by the Seattle SuperSonics.]]
right|thumb|150px|[[Dino Rađa was selected 40th overall by the Boston Celtics.]]
{|class=wikitable
|-
| PG||Point guard
| SG||Shooting guard
| SF||Small forward
| PF||Power forward
| C||Center
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! width="1%"| Round
! width="1%"| Pick
! width="20%"| Player
! width="1%"| Pos.
! width="20%"| Nationality
! width="35%"| NBA team
! width="25%"| School/Club team
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1
|
| PF
|
| Sacramento Kings
| Louisville <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2
|
| PF
|
| Los Angeles Clippers
| Duke <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3
| bgcolor="FFCC00"| <sup>+</sup>
| SF/SG
|
| San Antonio Spurs
| Arizona <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 4
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"| <sup>*</sup>
| SF
|
| Miami Heat
| Michigan <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 5
|
| PF/C
|
| Charlotte Hornets
| North Carolina <small>(Jr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 6
|
| C
|
| Chicago Bulls <small>(from New Jersey)</small>
| Oklahoma <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 7
|
| SG/SF
|
| Indiana Pacers
| Florida State <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 8
|
| PF
|
| Dallas Mavericks
| Louisiana Tech <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 9
|
| PF/C
|
| Washington Bullets
| Georgia Tech <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 10
|
| PG
|
| Minnesota Timberwolves
| UCLA <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 11
|
| SF/SG
|
| Orlando Magic
| Illinois <small>(Jr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 12
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"| <sup>+</sup>
| PG
|
| New Jersey Nets <small>(from Portland)</small>
| Oklahoma <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 13
|
| PF
|
| Boston Celtics
| BYU <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 14
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| ^
| PG
|
| Golden State Warriors
| UTEP <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 15
|
| SG
|
| Denver Nuggets
| Stanford <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 16
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"| <sup>+</sup>
| PG
|
| Seattle SuperSonics <small>(from Houston via Golden State)</small>
| Boston College <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 17
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"| <sup>*</sup>
| PF/C
|
| Seattle SuperSonics <small>(from Philadelphia)</small>
| Concord HS (Elkhart, Indiana)
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 18
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"| <sup>+</sup>
| PG
|
| Chicago Bulls
| Iowa <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 19
|
| PF
|
| Philadelphia 76ers <small>(from Seattle)</small>
| Louisville <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 20
|
| PF/C
|
| Chicago Bulls <small>(from Milwaukee via Seattle)</small>
| Georgia Southern <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 21
|
| SF/SG
|
| Utah Jazz
| East Carolina <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 22
|
| SG
|
| Portland Trail Blazers <small>(from New York)</small>
| Missouri <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 23
|
| SG/SF
|
| Atlanta Hawks
| Iowa <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 24
|
| PF/C
|
| Phoenix Suns <small>(traded to Detroit)</small>
| Arizona <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 25
|
| PG
|
| Cleveland Cavaliers
| Seton Hall <small>(Sr.)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 26
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| ^
| C
|
| Los Angeles Lakers
| KK Partizan <small>(Yugoslavia)</small>
|-
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 27
|
| PF
|
| Detroit Pistons <small>(traded to Phoenix)</small>
- Nick Anderson – G, Illinois (junior)
- Martin Den Hengst – C, Sheridan (freshman)
- Jay Edwards – G, Indiana (sophomore)
- Andrew Gaze – Seton Hall<!--Previous played professional basketball in Australia as well.--> (freshman)
- Benny Green – G, Tennessee–Chattanooga (junior)
- Shawn Kemp – F, Trinity Valley CC<!--Also attended the University of Kentucky.--> (freshman)
- Toney Mack – G, Georgia (junior)
- J. R. Reid – F, North Carolina (junior)
- Maurice Selvin – G, Puget Sound (sophomore)
- Alex Soyebo – C, Northland Pioneer (freshman)
- Johnny Steptoe – F, Southern (sophomore)
- Richard Whitmore – G, Brown (junior)
International players
This would be the first time in NBA history where an international born and raised player would be considered an underclassman in an NBA draft. The following international player successfully applied for early draft entrance.
|}
Invited attendees
The 1989 NBA draft is considered to be the twelfth 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 eighth year in a row), 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 16 prospects at the time. Despite the large amount of invites that held some very successful players (including the first truly international born, raised, and developed prospect in Vlade Divac), some notable absences from this group outside of future Hall of Famer Dino Rada include Dana Barros from Boston College and power forward Shawn Kemp<!--who would attend both the University of Kentucky and Trinity Valley Community College before declaring his early entry into the NBA draft-->, with Gary Leonard and Clifford Robinson both waiting into the second round themselves. Even so, the following players were invited to attend this year's draft festivities live and in person.