The top pick of the draft was Syracuse's Derrick Coleman who was selected by the New Jersey Nets. In total, 52 of the 54 players selected went on to play at least one competitive game in the NBA, and six players were at some point of their career selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game. One player who had been projected to be a lottery pick as well as possibly the number one by media outlets and draft analysts was Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers, who died of a heart condition in March 1990 after collapsing during a game.
^Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.
^Chris Jackson changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1993.[3]