| Arvid Kramer | |
| Birth Date: | 3 October 1956 |
| Birth Place: | Fulda, Minnesota |
| Nationality: | American |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 9 |
| Weight Lb: | 220 |
| High School: | Fulda (Fulda, Minnesota) |
| Draft Year: | 1979 |
| Draft Round: | 3 |
| Draft Pick: | 45 |
| Draft Team: | Utah Jazz |
| Career Start: | 1979 |
| Career End: | 1996 |
| Career Number: | 41 |
| Career Position: | Center |
| Years1: | 1979–1980 |
| Team1: | Anchorage Northern Knights |
| Team2: | Denver Nuggets |
| Years3: | 1980–1981 |
| Team3: | Antonini Siena |
| Years4: | 1982–1983 |
| Team4: | Bayer Giants Leverkusen |
| Years5: | 1995–1996 |
| Team5: | Telekom Baskets Bonn |
| Highlights: |
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Arvid Kramer (born October 3, 1956) is a retired American professional 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.[1] He is 6feet tall and and played at the center position during most of his basketball 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 for the Anchorage Northern Knights of the Continental Basketball Association during the 1979–80 season.[2]
Kramer was signed to a 10-day contract by the Denver Nuggets on February 28, 1980, and was later signed for the remainder of the season.[3] He only played eight games with the Nuggets during the 1979–80 season.
The expansion Miami Heat of the NBA made Kramer 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).[4] He never played for the Heat.
Kramer later played for Telekom Baskets Bonn during the 1995–96 season. He retired as a player in 1996 and worked as a general manager for the Baskets in Bonn, Germany from 1996 to 2004.[5]
Kramer's son Dennis Kramer was also a basketball player. He was killed in a road traffic incident on 27 August 2023.[6]