The 1987 NBA Draft is remembered for a few things. David Robinson was selected by the San Antonio Spurs at number one. Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant were both picked by the Bulls and formed the foundation for Michael Jordan’s first three-peat. A pair of good NBA point guards and better announcers – Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Mark Jackson – are also part of the 1987 NBA Draft class.
However, one future hall of famer had to wait until pick 11 to hear his named called on draft night. Cheryl Miller’s little brother, Reggie Miller, saw ten other players picked ahead of him. Let’s just say, a few teams would be left to rue that decision. Four picks in particular stand out as total busts.
1987 NBA Draft busts selected before Reggie Miller
1) Armen “Armon” Gilliam
Firstly, Armen Gilliam was actually drafted as Armon, but changed his name at the end of his career because people were pronouncing it wrong. Anyway, he was selected by Phoenix second overall during the 1987 NBA Draft. He didn’t last long in the desert and would have best runs as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets during the early and mid 1990s.
Gilliam was a sturdy power forward who put up some okay numbers while in the league. The UNLV alum also loved himself a fight and was nicknamed “The Hammer”. He got into an altercation with Derrick Coleman. He allegedly got into a fight with a teammate while in Phoenix. Gilliam even went after Pearl Washington in the locker room after they both got ejected from a game. Things he did not do during his career; make an all-star team or advance to the NBA Finals.
2) Dennis Hopson
We already mentioned Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant as key pieces of the Chicago Bulls dynasty selected during the first ten picks of the 1987 NBA Draft, but the team actually had the third overall selection from this class as well. Dennis Hopson was taken by the Nets with the third overall pick. They had seen enough after three seasons and shipped him out of town.
Hopson was traded to the Bulls ahead of the 1990-91 season where he would pick up a championship ring, the first of MJ’s reign. The Ohio State swing man played in 61 games that year, although he was only called off the bench five times during the playoffs. Chicago had to make do without Hopson for the next two titles as they traded him to Sacramento the following season. Hopson would be out of the league by the end of 1992.
3) Reggie Williams
The best comparison for 1987 NBA Draft Reggie Williams would be current NBA journeyman Reggie Williams. The only difference was the former was drafted ahead of Reggie Miller while the latter wasn’t drafted at all. Both were high volume scorers who didn’t shoot very well. Honestly, I don’t even remember this Reggie Williams whose biggest claim to fame is being part of the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets team that upset Seattle in the first round of the 1993-94 playoffs.
4) Olden Polynice
Olden Polynice was drafted at eight and traded to Seattle in a deal for Scottie Pippen who was taken with the fifth pick. Safe to say the Sonics probably wished they had grabbed Reggie Miller instead. Check out our video to learn more about longtime NBA center and sometimes fake police officer Olden Polynice.
And then Miller Time
The Pacers ended up taking Miller with the 11th selection in the 1987 NBA Draft and even that was controversial at the time. Some fans wanted them to take Bobby Knight underling and Indiana poster child Steve Alford. It was probably for the best they didn’t.
