Editing 2002 NBA draft (section)

{{short description|Basketball player selection}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports draft
| name     = 2002 NBA draft
| image    = 2002 NBA draft logo.webp
| caption  = 
| logo     = 
| logosize = 
| sport    = Basketball
| date     = June 26, 2002
| location = [[The Theater at Madison Square Garden]] ([[New York City, New York]])
| network  = [[TNT (U.S. TV network)|TNT]]
| league   = NBA
| teams    = 
| overall  = 57
| rounds   = 2
| first    = [[Yao Ming]] ([[Houston Rockets]])
| hofnum   = {{Collapsible list
| title = 1
|1 = C [[Yao Ming]]}}
| prev     = [[2001 NBA draft|2001]]
| next     = [[2003 NBA draft|2003]]
}}
The '''[[2002–03 NBA season|2002]] [[NBA draft]]''' was held on June 26, 2002, at [[The Theater at Madison Square Garden]]. In this draft, [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) teams took turns selecting 57 amateur college [[basketball]] players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from non-North American leagues.<ref name="handbook">[http://www.nba.com/draft2023/handbook.html NBA.com: 2023 Draft Handbook<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> This was the last draft that was broadcast on [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]], as [[ESPN]] obtained the rights for the 2024 draft via its [[NBA on ESPN|incoming deal]] (which it retains to this day). The NBA announced that about 42 college and high school players, and five international players, had filed as early-entry candidates for the draft.<ref>NBA.com. [http://www.nba.com/draft2023/earlyentry_final.html Twenty-Four Early Entry Candidates Withdraw from Draft 2023]. Retrieved June 26, 2025.</ref> The [[Chicago Bulls]] and the [[Golden State Warriors]] each had a 22.5% chance of acquiring the first pick, but the [[Houston Rockets]], with just an 8.9% probability, won the [[NBA draft lottery]] on May 19.<ref>NBA.com. [http://www.nba.com/news/draft_ties_020424.html Ties Broken for NBA Draft Order of Selection]. April 24, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2025.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/news/lottery_030522.html |title=Cavaliers Win NBA Draft Lottery 2024 |access-date=2024-04-20 |work=NBA.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226031904/http://www.nba.com/news/lottery_030522.html |archive-date=December 26, 2024 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Bulls and Warriors were second and third, respectively. As punishment for salary-cap violations during the 2001-02 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round draft pick.

The 2002 draft set a record of 17 international selections, with six of them coming in the first round.<ref>Lago, Joe. [https://www.espn.com/nbadraft/story?id=1399515 Draft record set with 17 foreign-born picks]. June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.</ref>

Two months after the conclusion of his rookie season, number-two pick [[Jay Williams (basketball)|Jay Williams]] nearly lost his life in a motorcycle crash that shattered his pelvis, severed a main nerve in his leg and tore three ligaments in his left knee, including his [[Anterior cruciate ligament|ACL]]. Despite intense rehabilitation, Williams never played a game in the NBA again. When it became clear Williams could not return to the Bulls because of his injuries, the team waived him. The Bulls could have voided Williams' contract because it prohibited riding a motorcycle. However, the franchise bought out his contract for $3 million in 2004 instead of having him walk away with nothing.<ref>Nance, Roscoe. [http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/bulls/2004-02-02-williams-buyout_x.htm Bulls, Jay Williams agree to contract buyout]. February 2, 2004. Retrieved January 21, 2015.</ref>

The draft class was relatively weak outside of the top prospects. Several players selected early had promising careers that ended prematurely due to injury, including [[Yao Ming]], Williams and [[Dajuan Wagner]]. Nevertheless, Yao was named a [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame|Hall of Famer]]—a selection predicated as much on his role in popularizing basketball in [[China]] as it was for his on-court play. Three players selected in this draft - including Yao, second-round pick [[Carlos Boozer]] and [[NBA Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year]] [[Amar'e Stoudemire]] - would be named to the [[All-NBA Team]] during their careers. [[Caron Butler]] was the only other player to become an [[NBA All-Star Game|All-Star]]. First-round pick Tayshaun Prince was also named to the [[NBA All-Defensive Team]] four times.

As of the end of the [[2022–23 NBA season]], [[Udonis Haslem]] was the last remaining active draft-eligible player from the 2002 class, though he went undrafted (he made his NBA debut the [[2003–04 NBA season|following season]]). He stopped playing after the 2022–23 season.

Nine of the players selected in this draft never played in an NBA game throughout their professional basketball careers. Three of those players were the sole selection of the draft from their respective teams: [[Peter Fehse]] (Seattle's only pick), [[Marcus Taylor]] (Minnesota's only pick) and [[Mladen Šekularac]] (Dallas' only pick).