Phelps was not drafted by an NBA team. He was the sixth overall pick of the 1994 Continental Basketball Association (CBA) draft, by the Chicago Rockers. He did play in three NBA games with the Sacramento Kings in the 1994-95 season. The Vancouver Grizzlies selected him in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, but he did not play for them before they renounced his NBA rights in 1996. He also spent some time during the NBA preseason (but not in any regular season contests) with the Milwaukee Bucks (1994), and Philadelphia 76ers (1997).