Editing NBA draft (section)

===Selecting foreign players===
{{See also|List of foreign NBA drafted players}}
Foreign players have made a large impact on how teams draft. Early on, foreigners were not part of the draft. The NBA's appeal was limited to the United States and the league was not yet attempting to expand internationally. The first foreign player, in the sense of being a national of a country other than the U.S., to be chosen first overall in the draft was [[The Bahamas|Bahamian]] [[Mychal Thompson]] in [[1978 NBA draft|1978]]. However, Thompson's selection was not a true harbinger of the game's globalization, as he had spent much of his childhood in [[Florida]], and had played college basketball at [[Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball|Minnesota]]. One of the first foreign players selected in the draft to play in the NBA was [[Manute Bol]] out of the Sudan in 1983 in the 5th round by the San Diego Clippers. Bol's selection was later deemed ineligible by the NBA. Two years later Bol was drafted again by the NBA this time out of Division II [[Bridgeport Purple Knights|University of Bridgeport]] in 1985 as the 31st pick overall in the second round. Although Bol did not have a stellar career, he is known for being one of the tallest players ever to play the game at 7 feet and 7 inches. He holds the record for being the tallest player ever to hit a 3-point field goal. The following two years saw two players born outside the U.S. selected first overall—[[Nigeria]]n [[Hakeem Olajuwon]] in [[1984 NBA draft|1984]] (he would later gain U.S. citizenship) and [[Jamaica]]-born American [[Patrick Ewing]] in [[1985 NBA draft|1985]].{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

By the late 1990s, the number of foreign-born players drafted had dramatically increased. Some commentators incorrectly designate the top pick in the [[1997 NBA draft]], [[Tim Duncan]], as the third international player picked number 1 overall. But Duncan is from the [[United States Virgin Islands]] and, like all USVI natives, is a U.S. citizen by birth. He also had played U.S. college basketball at [[Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball|Wake Forest]]. Not counting Duncan, 11 international players were selected in the two rounds of the 1997 draft. Like top-pick Duncan, 5 of those 11 players (including the second and third overall picks) had played college basketball in the U.S. The [[1998 NBA draft|1998 draft]] saw another foreign player picked first overall, [[Nigeria]]n [[Michael Olowokandi]], but like Duncan he had played college basketball, in his case at [[Pacific Tigers men's basketball|Pacific]]. The foreign player drafted highest in 2001 was [[Pau Gasol]], selected third overall by the Atlanta Hawks. In 2002, [[Yao Ming]] became the first foreign player without U.S. college experience to be selected number 1 overall. Not only was the first overall pick an international player that year, but five more picks in the first round alone were also from overseas. In total, the 2002 draft produced 17 international players, with only three of them (all second-round picks) having U.S. college experience.