1968 NBA draft
| 1968 NBA draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General information | |||||
| Date(s) |
April 3, 1968 (First round) May 8 and 10, 1968 (Other rounds) | ||||
| Location | New York City, New York | ||||
| First selection | Elvin Hayes, San Diego Rockets | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
The 1968 NBA draft was the 22nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 3, 1968, and May 8 and 10, 1968 before the 1968–69 season.[1] In this draft, 14 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip.[2] The San Diego Rockets won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Baltimore Bullets were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Six teams that had the best records in previous season were not awarded second round draft picks. Two expansion franchises, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the seventh and eighth pick in the first round, along with the last two picks of each subsequent round. The St. Louis Hawks relocated to Atlanta and became the Atlanta Hawks prior to the start of the season.[3] The draft consisted of 21 rounds comprising 214 players selected.
Draft selections and draftee career notes
Elvin Hayes from the University of Houston was selected first overall by the San Diego Rockets. Wes Unseld from the University of Louisville was selected second by the Baltimore Bullets. He went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award and the Most Valuable Player Award in his first season,[4][5] becoming only the second player to win both awards in the same season, after Wilt Chamberlain in 1960. Hayes and Unseld have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.[6] They were also named in the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.[7] Hayes and Unseld both won the NBA championship with the Washington Bullets in 1978. In the Finals, Unseld was named as the Finals Most Valuable Player. Unseld, who spent all of his 13-year playing career with the Bullets, was also selected to one All-NBA Team and five All-Star Games, while Hayes was selected to six All-NBA Teams and twelve All-Star Games.[8][9] Bob Kauffman, the third pick, is the only other player from this draft who has been selected to an All-Star Game; he was selected to three All-Star Games during his career.[10]
Unseld became a head coach after ending his playing career. He coached the Washington Bullets for seven seasons.[11] Three other players drafted also went on to have a coaching career: 12th pick Don Chaney and 79th pick Rick Adelman. Chaney coached four NBA teams and won the Coach of the Year Award in 1991 with the Houston Rockets.[12][13] Adelman coached four NBA teams, most recently with the Houston Rockets. He lost the NBA Finals twice with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1990 and 1992.[14]
In the fourteenth round, the Seattle SuperSonics selected Mike Warren of UCLA. However, Warren never played professional basketball; he opted for an acting career in films and television instead.[15]
Key
| Pos. | G | F | C |
| Position | Guard | Forward | Center |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| + | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| # | Denotes player who never played in the NBA regular season or playoffs |
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hayes, ElvinElvin Hayes^ | F/C |  United States |
San Diego Rockets | Houston |
| 1 | 2 | Unseld, WesWes Unseld^ | F/C | United States |
Baltimore Bullets | Louisville |
| 1 | 3 | Kauffman, BobBob Kauffman+ | F/C | United States |
Seattle SuperSonics | Guilford |
| 1 | 4 | Boerwinkle, TomTom Boerwinkle | C | United States |
Chicago Bulls | Tennessee |
| 1 | 5 | Smith, DonDon Smith (now Zaid Abdul-Aziz)1[›] |
F/C | United States |
Cincinnati Royals | Iowa State |
| 1 | 6 | Moore, OttoOtto Moore | F/C | United States |
Detroit Pistons | Pan American |
| 1 | 7 | Paulk, CharlieCharlie Paulk | F/C | United States |
Milwaukee Bucks | Northeastern State |
| 1 | 8 | Gregor, GaryGary Gregor | F/C | United States |
Phoenix Suns | South Carolina |
| 1 | 9 | Williams, RonRon Williams | G | United States |
San Francisco Warriors | West Virginia |
| 1 | 10 | Hosket, BillBill Hosket | F/C | United States |
New York Knicks | Ohio State |
| 1 | 11 | Hewitt, BillBill Hewitt | F | United States |
Los Angeles Lakers | USC |
| 1 | 12 | Chaney, DonDon Chaney | G | United States |
Boston Celtics | Houston |
| 1 | 13 | Harlicka, SkipSkip Harlicka | G | United States |
Atlanta Hawks | South Carolina |
| 1 | 14 | Halimon, ShalerShaler Halimon | G/F | United States |
Philadelphia 76ers | Utah State |
| 2 | 15 | Trapp, JohnJohn Trapp | F | United States |
San Diego Rockets | Nevada Southern |
| 2 | 16 | Harris, ArtArt Harris | G | United States |
Seattle SuperSonics | Stanford |
| 2 | 17 | Petersen, LoyLoy Petersen | G | United States |
Chicago Bulls | Oregon State |
| 2 | 18 | Quick, BobBob Quick | G/F | United States |
Baltimore Bullets | Xavier (OH) |
| 2 | 19 | Dunlap, RonRon Dunlap# | C | United States |
Chicago Bulls (from Cincinnati)[a] | Illinois |
| 2 | 20 | Leaks, MannyManny Leaks | F/C | United States |
Detroit Pistons | Niagara |
| 2 | 21 | Cunningham, DickDick Cunningham | C | United States |
Phoenix Suns | Murray State |
| 2 | 22 | Moore, GeneGene Moore# | F/C | United States |
Milwaukee Bucks | Saint Louis |
Other picks
The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 23 | Lantz, StuStu Lantz | G | United States |
San Diego Rockets | Nebraska |
| 3 | 27 | Frink, PatPat Frink | G | United States |
Cincinnati Royals | Colorado |
| 3 | 28 | Foster, FredFred Foster | F | United States |
Cincinnati Royals (from Detroit)[b] | Miami (OH) |
| 3 | 30 | May, DonDon May | F | United States |
New York Knicks | Dayton |
| 3 | 31 | Newmark, DaveDave Newmark | C | United States |
Chicago Bulls (from Los Angeles)[c] | Columbia |
| 3 | 32 | Smith, GarfieldGarfield Smith | F/C | United States |
Boston Celtics | Eastern Kentucky |
| 3 | 35 | Williams, SamSam Williams | G | United States |
Milwaukee Bucks | Iowa |
| 4 | 37 | Barnes, HarryHarry Barnes | F | United States |
San Diego Rockets | Northeastern |
| 4 | 39 | Lynn, MikeMike Lynn | F | United States |
Chicago Bulls | UCLA |
| 4 | 42 | Niemann, RichRich Niemann | C | United States |
Detroit Pistons | Saint Louis |
| 4 | 45 | Biedenbach, EdEd Biedenbach | G | United States |
Los Angeles Lakers | North Carolina State |
| 4 | 46 | Johnson, RichRich Johnson | C | United States |
Boston Celtics | Grambling |
| 4 | 49 | Jones, RichRich Jones | F/C | United States |
Phoenix Suns | Memphis State |
| 4 | 50 | Smith, GregGreg Smith | F | United States |
Milwaukee Bucks | Western Kentucky |
| 5 | 52 | Hairston, AlAl Hairston | G | United States |
Seattle SuperSonics | Bowling Green |
| 5 | 57 | Eakins, JimJim Eakins | C | United States |
San Francisco Warriors | Brigham Young |
| 6 | 70 | Anderzunas, WallyWally Anderzunas | F/C | United States |
Detroit Pistons | Creighton |
| 6 | 71 | Allen, BobBob Allen | F | United States |
San Francisco Warriors | Marshall |
| 6 | 76 | Williams, ChuckChuck Williams | G | United States |
Philadelphia 76ers | Colorado |
| 6 | 77 | Knowles, RodRod Knowles | F/C | United States |
Phoenix Suns | Davidson |
| 7 | 79 | Adelman, RickRick Adelman | G | United States |
San Diego Rockets | Loyola (CA) |
| 8 | 96 | Orms, BarryBarry Orms | G | United States |
Baltimore Bullets | Saint Louis |
| 10 | 122 | Kennedy, JoeJoe Kennedy | F | United States |
Seattle SuperSonics | Duke |
| 10 | 131 | Waller, DwightDwight Waller | F | United States |
Atlanta Hawks | Tennessee State |
| 11 | 136 | Marsh, JimJim Marsh | F | United States |
Seattle SuperSonics | USC |
| 11 | 147 | Boone, RonRon Boone | G/F | United States |
Phoenix Suns | Idaho State |
| 13 | 162 | Ogden, BudBud Ogden | F | United States |
Seattle SuperSonics | Santa Clara |
| 13 | 163 | Gilliam, HermHerm Gilliam | G/F | United States |
Chicago Bulls | Purdue |
| 15 | 187 | Baum, JohnnyJohnny Baum | F | United States |
Los Angeles Lakers | Temple |
| 17 | 202 | Williams, MiltMilt Williams | G | United States |
New York Knicks | Lincoln (MO) |
Trades
- a On October 20, 1967, the Chicago Bulls acquired Flynn Robinson, 1968 and 1969 second-round picks from the Cincinnati Royals in exchange for Guy Rodgers.[16][17] The Bulls used the pick to draft Ron Dunlap.
- b On November 27, 1967, the Cincinnati Royals acquired a third-round pick from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Len Chappell.[18][19] The Royals used the pick to draft Fred Foster.
- c On January 9, 1968, the Chicago Bulls acquired Jim Barnes and a third-round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Erwin Mueller.[17][20] The Bulls used the pick to draft Dave Newmark.
Notes
^ 1: Don Smith changed his name to Zaid Abdul-Aziz in 1976.[21]
References
- General
- "Complete First Round Results 1960–69". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 21 March 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- "1968 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- "1967–1971 NBA Drafts". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- "1968 NBA Draft". The Draft Review. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- Specific
- ↑ "Atlanta Gets Cage Hawks". Ocala Star-Banner. May 5, 1968. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Evolution of the Draft and Lottery". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 21 March 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Hawks: Franchise History". NBA.com/Hawks. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 19 March 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Rookie of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
- ↑ "Most Valuable Player". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
- ↑ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ "The NBA's 50 Greatest Players". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Wes Unseld Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ↑ "Elvin Hayes Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ↑ "Bob Kauffman Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- ↑ "Wes Unseld Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
- ↑ "Don Chaney Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
- ↑ "Coach of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
- ↑ "Rick Adelman Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
- ↑ Michael Warren (actor)
- ↑ "Guy Rodgers Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- 1 2 "Chicago Bulls All-Time Transactions". NBA.com/Bulls. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Len Chappell Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Pistons: All-Time Transactions". NBA.com/Pistons. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 20 March 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Jim Barnes Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ Abdul-Aziz, Zaid (2006). Darkness to Sunlight. Sunlight Publishing Inc. ISBN 978-0-9778861-0-4. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.