Throwback Thursday: Mark Pope is selected in the 1996 NBA Draft

We’ve got some time to kill before the second round of the NBA Draft tonight (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), so hop in the KSR Time Machine with me and let’s go back almost 30 years, to the night Mark Pope heard his name called in the 1996 NBA Draft.

The summer of 1996 was a simpler time. Only about 16% of people had cell phones, and the only internet was dial-up. Instead of pulling up any movie you wanted on demand, you had to go to the local Blockbuster and pray they had the one you wanted to watch in stock. The Spice Girls topped the charts, and we were all getting ready for the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. “Independence Day” was about to come out, and MLB games had just started airing on FOX. If you didn’t have a Tamagotchi, what were you even doing?

Closer to home, Kentucky Basketball was at its prime under Rick Pitino, coming off the 1996 national championship run. The 1996 NBA Draft class is considered one of the best ever, producing an NBA-record 64 All-Star selections (led by Kobe Bryant, with 18) and three MVP winners (Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson). Four Wildcats were drafted that year: Antoine Walker (No. 6 – Boston Celtics), Tony Delk (No. 16 – Charlotte Hornets), Walter McCarty (No. 19 – New York Knicks), and finally, Mark Pope (No. 52 – Indiana Pacers).

Today, the Kentucky Men’s Basketball Twitter account shared the clip of the moment Pope’s name was called in the second round. Pope was not at the draft, but his former coach, Rick Pitino, was. As you might expect, Pitino seized on the chance to brag on “Mahk Pope,” the captain of the Untouchables.

“My rosary beads were out of prayers,” Pitino quipped at the TNT desk alongside Ernie Johnson and Hubie Brown. “Thank you, Indiana. Do I owe you a big favor because we’re speaking about probably the hardest worker I’ve ever coached. I used to say that Billy Donovan was the hardest worker I’ve ever coached until Mark Pope. This is a young man — if there’s going to be an 11th, 12th man to make a coach proud, it’s this young man.”

Pitino was more than happy to give a scouting report of Pope, who went on to play for six seasons in the NBA with the Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and Denver Nuggets. In the 2000-01 season, Pope started 45 games and helped the Bucks reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

“He shoots it well at 6-9. He also runs very well. He races [Walter] McCarty in all those runs and finishes maybe a second behind him. He’s got good low-post moves, and he’s just a terrific young man who will give every ounce of perspiration he has. I’m very, very happy for Mark.”

Pitino looked cool and collected on set, but admitted that he was a nervous wreck until Pope’s name was called.

“For the last 10 picks, my insides were churning. I kept saying to you, ‘I hope Mark Pope goes next,’ because here’s a Rhodes Scholar candidate who was a big part of our championship and deserves a legitimate shot. If he doesn’t make it with the Pacers, he’ll go to Europe and do an outstanding job.” Maybe Greece.”

Pope did play overseas a little bit, in Turkey. In 2005, he decided to hang up his shoes and pursue a career in medicine, enrolling in Columbia Medical School in 2006. Thankfully, his heart wasn’t in it, and he dropped out to become a basketball coach. You know the rest of the story from there.

While we wait to see some more Kentucky Wildcats’ dreams come true, enjoy Pope’s big moment in 1996. Can we get Ernie, Hubie, and Pitino on the desk tonight, please?

On this day in 1996 … The @Pacers select @CoachMarkPope, @universityofky, in the #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/dTO7BbopQG

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 26, 2025