The 1961 NBA draft was the 15th annual

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). The draft was held on March 27, 1961, before the 1961–62 season. In this

, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S.

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

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. An expansion franchise, the

Chicago Packers The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays it ...

, 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. The draft consisted of 15 rounds comprising 107 players selected.

Draft selections and draftee career notes

Walt Bellamy Walter Jones Bellamy (July 24, 1939 – November 2, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. He played 14 seasons as a center in the National Basketball Association, playing for four different teams. As a star for Indiana University ...

from the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

was selected first overall by the

. Bellamy went on to win the

Rookie of the Year Award A Rookie of the Year award or ROY is given by a number of sports leagues to the top-performing athlete in his or her first season within the league. Athletes competing for the first time in any given league are also known as "rookies". Principal ...

in his first season and was also selected to the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

. In his rookie season, he averaged 31.6

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

per game, the second highest scoring average for a rookie, and 19.0

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game, the third highest rebounding average for a rookie. 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. For his achievements, he has been inducted to the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. 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.

Doug Moe Douglas Edwin Moe (born September 21, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. As a head coach with the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988. Ea ...

, 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 In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without the intention of changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team fr ...

scandal. He eventually played in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(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. After his playing career, he became a head coach. He coached four NBA teams and won the Coach of the Year Award in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. Ray Scott, the 4th pick, played for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

for five and a half seasons before he moved on to play with two other teams in the NBA and ABA. 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 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

. Two other players drafted also went on to have a coaching career: 12th pick Johnny Egan and 60th pick Donnie Butcher. 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 The 1951 NBA draft was the fifth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 25, 1951, before the 1951–52 season. In this draft, ten remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

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 who were 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),

(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

Draft

Other picks

The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1961 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.

Notes

References

;General * * * * ;Specific

External links

NBA.com
{{1961–62 NBA season by team

Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

NBA draft

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

Basketball in New York City Sporting events in New York City