The 1961 NBA draft was the 15th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 27, 1961, before the 1961–62 season. In this draft, nine 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. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile radius of its home arena as their territorial pick.[2][3] An expansion franchise, the Chicago Packers, were assigned the first pick of the first round and the last pick of each subsequent round, along with five extra picks at the end of the second round.[4] The draft consisted of 15 rounds comprising 107 players selected.
| 1961 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | March 27, 1961 |
| Location | St. Louis, Missouri[1] |
| Network(s) | NBC |
| Overview | |
| 107 total selections in 15 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| Teams | 9 |
| First selection | Walt Bellamy, Chicago Packers |
Draft selections and draftee career notes
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Walt Bellamy from the Indiana University was selected first overall by the Chicago Packers. Bellamy went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season and was also selected to the All-Star Game.[5][6] In his rookie season, he averaged 31.6 points per game, the second highest scoring average for a rookie, and 19.0 rebounds per game, the third highest rebounding average for a rookie.[7][8] He was selected to four consecutive All-Star Games during his stint with the Packers, which later became the Chicago Zephyrs and Baltimore Bullets. He then played for three other NBA teams during his 14-year career.[6] For his achievements, he has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.[9]
Three other players from this draft, 7th pick Tom Meschery, 21st pick Don Kojis and 32nd pick Bill Bridges, have also been selected to at least one All-Star Game.[10][11][12] Doug Moe, the 22nd pick, never played in the NBA. His contract with the Packers was voided due to his suspected involvement in the college basketball point shaving scandal.[13][14] He eventually played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for five years. He won the ABA championship in 1969 and was selected to three ABA All-Star Games and two All-ABA Teams.[15] After his playing career, he became a head coach. He coached four NBA teams and won the Coach of the Year Award in 1988 with the Denver Nuggets.[16][17] Ray Scott, the 4th pick, played for the Detroit Pistons for five and a half seasons before he moved on to play with two other teams in the NBA and ABA.[18] After retiring as a player in 1972, he immediately became a head coach. He coached the Pistons for three and a half seasons and won the Coach of the Year Award in 1974.[19] Two other players drafted also went on to have a coaching career: 12th pick Johnny Egan and 60th pick Donnie Butcher.[20][21]
Similar to the 1951 draft, this draft would also be marked by a significant number of players being permanently banned in the NBA before even playing a single game due to their participation in a significant college scandal, in this case a gambling scandal. While none of the players selected this year were considered to have been as high profile of players as Gene Melchiorre, the #1 pick of the 1951 NBA draft was, a significant amount of players drafted during this time were still permanently banned due to their participation in the event all the same. Players from this draft that got selected by teams there, but were later permanently banned by the NBA (at least in terms of playing there) included the likes of Leroy Wright (the 16th pick of the draft), Jerry Graves (the 19th pick of the draft), Doug Moe (the 22nd pick of the draft), Tony Jackson (the 24th pick of the draft), Jack Egan (the 29th pick of the draft), and Vincent Kempton (the 107th and final pick of the draft). Many other players that went undrafted following this scandal would also be permanently banned by extension also, including two college freshmen at the time who would since become Hall of Famers following the case.
Key
edit| 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 has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game |
Draft
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Other picks
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The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.[24][25]
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 25 | Bevo Nordmann | C |  United States
|
Cincinnati Royals | Saint Louis |
| 3 | 26 | Doug Kistler | F | United States
|
Detroit Pistons | Duke |
| 3 | 28 | Chuck Osborne | F | United States
|
Syracuse Nationals | Western Kentucky |
| 3 | 32 | Bill Bridges+ | F/C | United States
|
Chicago Packers | Kansas |
| 4 | 33 | George Blaney | G | United States
|
New York Knicks | Holy Cross |
| 5 | 42 | Bill Smith | G/F | United States
|
New York Knicks | Saint Peter's |
| 5 | 44 | Danny Doyle | F | United States
|
Detroit Pistons | Belmont Abbey |
| 5 | 50 | Howie Carl | G | United States
|
Chicago Packers | DePaul |
| 6 | 51 | Cleveland Buckner | F/C | United States
|
New York Knicks | Jackson State |
| 7 | 60 | Donnis Butcher | G | United States
|
New York Knicks | Pikeville |
| 7 | 61 | Dave Zeller | G | United States
|
Cincinnati Royals | Miami (OH) |
| 10 | 91 | Larry Comley | G | United States
|
Chicago Packers | Kansas State |
| 11 | 92 | Kevin Loughery | G | United States
|
New York Knicks | St. John's |
| 12 | 100 | George Patterson | F/C | United States
|
Cincinnati Royals | Toledo |
Notes
edit^ 1: Tom Meschery (née Tomislav Mescheryakov) was born in Harbin, Manchuria (now part of China) to Russian parents. He moved to the United States at the age of 8 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen.[26][27]
See also
editReferences
edit- General
- "Complete First Round Results 1960–69". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- "1961 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- "1957–1961 NBA Drafts". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
- "1961 NBA Draft". The Draft Review. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- Specific
- ^ Bradley, Robert D. (2013). The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810890695., pg. 73
- ^ "How the NBA draft became a lottery". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. May 21, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
- ^ "Lakers Select Baylor In NBA Draft Meeting". The Daily Collegian. Pennsylvania State University. April 23, 1958. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
- ^ Hareas, John (August 6, 2001). "A Colorful Tradition". NBA.com/Wizards. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ "Rookie of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ a b "Walt Bellamy Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Player Season Finder: Points per game in rookie season". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Player Season Finder: Rebounds per game in rookie season". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ "Tom Meschery Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Don Kojis Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Bill Bridges Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ Goldstein, Joe (November 19, 2003). "Explosion II: The Molinas period". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ Newman, Bruce (November 7, 1988). "This Joker Is Wild". Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Doug Moe Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Doug Moe Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Coach of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 31, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Ray Scott Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Ray Scott Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Johnny Egan Coaching Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Donnie Butcher Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
- ^ "Archie!". The Milwaukee Journal. April 15, 1961. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ "National Basketball Draft Brings Smiles". The Nevada Daily Mail. March 28, 1961. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ "1961 NBA draft".
- ^ "NBA Past Drafts - RealGM".
- ^ Crowe, Jerry (November 9, 2009). "Former NBA tough guy Tom Meschery a man of rhyme, reason". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
- ^ "International Timeline". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved October 2, 2010.