Arvid Kramer

Arvid Kramer (born October 3, 1956) is a retired American basketball player, mostly known for being the first overall pick by the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1988 expansion draft at the age of 31, and furthermore being the only player to be selected in two expansion drafts and never playing for the teams that drafted him. He is 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) tall and 220 pounds (100 kg) and played at the center position during most of his basketball career.

Early life

Arvid Dean Kramer was born in Fulda, Minnesota. He played basketball for Augustana College.

Professional career

Kramer was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 3rd round (1st pick, 45th overall) of the 1979 NBA draft in his senior year. After the draft, the Jazz made a 2-for-1 trade involving Bernard King, which left no room for Kramer on their roster, so they waived him. He played about a half season in the CBA before being signed to a 10-day contract by the Denver Nuggets on February 28, 1980. He was good enough to later get signed for the remainder of the season.

He only played eight games with the Nuggets in 1979–80. He was left unprotected and selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1980 NBA Expansion Draft. The Mavericks had more contracts than roster spots, so Kramer accepted a contract to play for a team in Italy before the 1980 season. He never played in another NBA game and had a long career in Europe, where he played in various leagues in Italy, France and Germany. He retired as a player in 1996 and worked as a general manager for the Telekom Baskets Bonn in Bonn, Germany from 1996 to 2004.

The expansion Miami Heat of the NBA made him the first overall pick in the 1988 expansion draft at the age of 31. The Dallas Mavericks wanted to make sure that their players Uwe Blab, Steve Alford or Bill Wennington, who were left unprotected, would not be selected, so they offered the Miami Heat the rights to Arvid Kramer and their first choice (No. 20) in the college draft (which later would turn out to become Kevin Edwards). He never played for the Heat.

Personal life

As of 2004, Kramer lives in Encinitas, California, where he is Director and Head Coach of the youth basketball organization MAVS Basketball Club.