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1969 NBA draft

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1969 NBA draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)April 7, 1969 (Rounds 1 & 2)
May 7, 1969 (Other rounds)
LocationNew York City, New York
Overview
218 total selections in 20 rounds
LeagueNBA
First selectionLew Alcindor,[1] Milwaukee Bucks
← 1968
1970 →

The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen 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.[1] The Milwaukee Bucks won the coin flip in the commissioner's New York office on March 19 and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Phoenix Suns went second.[2][3][4] 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. The Los Angeles Lakers were awarded an extra first-round draft pick as settlement of the Rudy LaRusso trade to the San Francisco Warriors.[5] The draft consisted of twenty rounds and selected 218 players.[6][7]

Draftee career notes

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Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) from UCLA was selected first overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. He went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award and was selected to both All-NBA Second Team and All-Star Game in his first season.[8][9] The following season, the Bucks acquired 31-year old point guard Oscar Robertson from the Cincinnati Royals.[10] They led the Bucks to a league-best 66 wins in the regular season. The Bucks then beat the Baltimore Bullets in the Finals to win their first NBA championship, in only their third season. In that season, Alcindor also won the Most Valuable Player Award and Finals Most Valuable Player Award. He went on to win five more NBA championships in the 1980s with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he teamed up with Magic Johnson, the first pick in 1979. He also won another Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 1985. He won a total of six Most Valuable Player Award, the most in the history of the NBA. He also held the record for the most All-Star Game selections with 19 and the most All-NBA Team selections with 15. Furthermore, he was selected to eleven All-Defensive Teams, the second most selections. He retired as all–time league scoring leader with 38,387 points and the all–time league leader in total blocked shots with 3,189 blocks.[11] For his achievements, he has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.[12] He was also named in the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.[13]

Jo Jo White, the ninth pick, won two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976. He was named as the Finals Most Valuable Player in the latter. He was selected to two All-NBA Teams and seven All-Star Games.[14] 45th pick Bob Dandridge won two NBA championships with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 and with the Washington Bullets in the 1978. He was selected to one All-NBA Team and four All-Star Games.[15] Norm Van Lier, the 34th pick, was selected to both the All-NBA Team and the All-Star Game. He was also selected to eight All-Defensive Teams.[16] Two other players from this draft, 10th pick Butch Beard and 61st pick Steve Mix, was also selected to an All-Star Game.[17][18] Beard became a head coach after his playing career, he coached the New Jersey Nets for two seasons in the 1990s.[19] Three other players drafted also went on to have a coaching career: 43rd pick Fred Carter, 68th pick Gene Littles and 187th pick Mack Calvin.[20][21][22]

In the 13th round, the San Francisco Warriors selected Denise Long, a girl's high school player from Whitten, Iowa.[23] Long, who averaged 62.8 points per game in her senior year, became the first female ever to be drafted by an NBA team.[24] However, the selection was later voided by commissioner J. Walter Kennedy as a publicity stunt.[25] In the 15th round, the Phoenix Suns selected track and field athlete Bob Beamon from the University of Texas at El Paso with the 189th pick. He had just broken the world record for long jump and won the gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games.[26] Although he had played basketball before his athletics career, he stayed with it and never played in the NBA.[27][28]

Draft selections

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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 and All-NBA Team
+ 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
Center Lew Alcindor of UCLA (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
was selected first overall
by the Milwaukee Bucks
Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Team School/club team
1 1 Lew Alcindor^[1] C  United States Milwaukee Bucks UCLA
1 2 Neal Walk C  United States Phoenix Suns Florida
1 3 Lucius Allen G  United States Seattle SuperSonics UCLA
1 4 Terry Driscoll F  United States Detroit Pistons Boston College
1 5 Larry Cannon G  United States Chicago Bulls La Salle
1 6 Bingo Smith G/F  United States San Diego Rockets Tulsa
1 7 Bob Portman F  United States San Francisco Warriors Creighton
1 8 Herm Gilliam G/F  United States Cincinnati Royals Purdue
1 9 Jo Jo White^ G  United States Boston Celtics Kansas
1 10 Butch Beard+ G  United States Atlanta Hawks Louisville
1 11 John Warren G/F  United States New York Knicks St. John's
1 12 Willie McCarter G  United States Los Angeles Lakers Drake
1 13 Bud Ogden F  United States Philadelphia 76ers Santa Clara
1 14 Mike Davis G  United States Baltimore Bullets Virginia Union
1 15 Rick Roberson F/C  United States Los Angeles Lakers[2] Cincinnati
2 16 Simmie Hill# F  United States Chicago Bulls (from Phoenix) West Texas State
2 17 Bob Greacen F  United States Milwaukee Bucks Rutgers
2 18 Ron Taylor# C  United States Seattle SuperSonics USC
2 19 Willie Norwood F  United States Detroit Pistons Alcorn A&M
2 20 Ken Spain# C  United States Chicago Bulls Houston
2 21 Bernie Williams G  United States San Diego Rockets La Salle
2 22 Ed Siudut# F  United States San Francisco Warriors Holy Cross
2 23 Johnny Baum F  United States Chicago Bulls (from Cincinnati)[a] Temple
2 24 Gene Williams# F  United States Phoenix Suns (from Boston)[b] Kansas State
2 25 Wally Anderzunas F/C  United States Atlanta Hawks Creighton
2 26 Bill Bunting# F/C  United States New York Knicks North Carolina
2 27 Dick Garrett G  United States Los Angeles Lakers Southern Illinois
2 28 Willie Taylor# F/C  United States Philadelphia 76ers LeMoyne–Owen
2 29 Willie Scott# F  United States Baltimore Bullets Alabama State
3 30 Floyd Kerr# G  United States Phoenix Suns Colorado State
3 31 Skeeter Swift# G  United States Milwaukee Bucks East Tennessee State
3 32 Lee Winfield G  United States Seattle SuperSonics North Texas State
3 33 Lamar Green F/C  United States Phoenix Suns (from Detroit)[c] Morehead State
3 34 Norm Van Lier* G  United States Chicago Bulls Saint Francis (PA)
3 35 Charles Bonaparte# G  United States San Diego Rockets Norfolk State
3 36 Tom Hagan# G  United States San Francisco Warriors Vanderbilt
3 37 Luther Rackley C  United States Cincinnati Royals Xavier (OH)
3 38 Julius Keye# F-C  United States Boston Celtics Alcorn State
3 39 Lloyd Kerr# G  United States Phoenix Suns Colorado State
3 40 Eddie Mast F/C  United States New York Knicks Temple
3 41 Luther Green F  United States Cincinnati Royals (from Los Angeles) Long Island
3 42 Mike Grosso# C  United States Philadelphia 76ers Louisville
3 43 Fred Carter G/F  United States Baltimore Bullets Mount St. Mary's
4 44 Dennis Stewart F  United States Phoenix Suns Michigan
4 45 Bob Dandridge* G/F  United States Milwaukee Bucks Norfolk State
4 52 Steve Kuberski F/C  United States Boston Celtics Bradley
4 56 Dave Scholz F  United States Philadelphia 76ers Illinois
5 58 Rich Jones F/C  United States Phoenix Suns Memphis State
5 61 Steve Mix+ F  United States Detroit Pistons Toledo
5 64 Willie Wise F  United States San Francisco Warriors Drake
5 65 Jake Ford G  United States Cincinnati Royals Maryland State
5 66 George Thompson G  United States Boston Celtics Marquette
5 69 Wil Jones F  United States Los Angeles Lakers Albany State
6 73 John Arthurs G  United States Milwaukee Bucks Tulane
8 103 Bob Arnzen F  United States Detroit Pistons Notre Dame
8 109 Bob Christian C  United States Atlanta Hawks Grambling
9 117 George Reynolds G  United States Detroit Pistons Houston
11 147 Justus Thigpen G  United States San Diego Rockets Weber State
12 167 Fatty Taylor G  United States Philadelphia 76ers La Salle
14 187 Mack Calvin G  United States Los Angeles Lakers USC
19 214 Grady O'Malley F  United States Atlanta Hawks Manhattan
19 215 Brian Heaney G  United States Baltimore Bullets Acadia (Canada)
Bobby "Bingo" Smith was selected 6th overall by the San Diego Rockets.

Notable undrafted players

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These players were not selected in the 1969 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.

Player Pos. Nationality School/club team
Moe Barr G  United States Duquesne
Gary Suiter C/F  United States Midwestern State

Trades

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Notes

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^ 1: Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971.[11]
^ 2: The Los Angeles Lakers were awarded an extra first-round draft pick as settlement of the Rudy LaRusso trade to the San Francisco Warriors on August 31, 1967.[5][34]

See also

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References

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General
  • "Complete First Round Results 1960–69". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 21, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  • "1969 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  • "1967–1971 NBA Drafts". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  • "1969 NBA Draft". The Draft Review. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
Specific
  1. ^ "Evolution of the Draft and Lottery". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 21, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
  2. ^ "Bucks flip – get Alcindor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. March 20, 1969. p. 36.
  3. ^ "Bucks edge Suns in flip, on court". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. March 20, 1969. p. 18.
  4. ^ Hintz, Gene W. (March 20, 1969). "Bucks bid $$ for Big Lew". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. p. D7.
  5. ^ a b "Big Dropoff in 2nd Pick". The Beaver County Times. April 8, 1969. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  6. ^ "1969 NBA draft".
  7. ^ "NBA Past Drafts - RealGM".
  8. ^ "Rookie of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  9. ^ "All-NBA Teams". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  10. ^ "Royals Trade Robertson to Bucks for Robinson and Paulk, Rookie in Army". New York Times. April 22, 1970.
  11. ^ a b "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  12. ^ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  13. ^ "The NBA's 50 Greatest Players". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  14. ^ "Jo Jo White Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  15. ^ "Bob Dandridge Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  16. ^ "Norm Van Lier Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  17. ^ "Butch Beard Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  18. ^ "Steve Mix Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  19. ^ "Butch Beard Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
  20. ^ "Fred Carter Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  21. ^ "Gene Littles Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
  22. ^ "Mack Calvin Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  23. ^ "Warriors Draft Girl". The Harvard Crimson. The Harvard Crimson, Inc. May 8, 1969. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  24. ^ "Best Woman Athlete by Birth State". Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  25. ^ Simpson, Kevin (February 10, 1985). "Denise Long, the Patron Saint of Girls Basketball, Is Now 33". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  26. ^ Schwartz, Larry. "Beamon made sport's greatest leap". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  27. ^ Kim, Randy (June 19, 2003). "Draft Oddities". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  28. ^ Williams, Lena (January 1, 2000). "Track and Field; Soothing an Old Ache". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  29. ^ "Guy Rodgers Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
  30. ^ "Chicago Bulls All-Time Transactions". NBA.com/Bulls. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 19, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
  31. ^ "Em Bryant Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
  32. ^ "McCoy McLemore Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
  33. ^ "Pistons: All-Time Transactions". NBA.com/Pistons. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
  34. ^ "Rudy LaRusso Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
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