The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd 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

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(NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this

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

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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. The

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won the coin flip in the

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's New York office on March 19 and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Phoenix Suns went second. 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. The draft consisted of twenty rounds and selected 218 players.

Draftee career notes

Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) from

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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 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 first season. The following season, the Bucks acquired 31-year old point guard Oscar Robertson from the Cincinnati Royals. 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 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. He also won another Finals Most Valuable Player Award in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. 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. For his achievements, he has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was also named in the

50 Greatest Players in NBA History The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

list announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996. Jo Jo White, the ninth pick, won two NBA championships with the

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in 1974 and

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. 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. 45th pick Bob Dandridge won two NBA championships with the Milwaukee Bucks in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

and with the

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in the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. He was selected to one All-NBA Team and four All-Star Games. 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. Two other players from this draft, 10th pick Butch Beard and 61st pick Steve Mix, was also selected to an All-Star Game. Beard became a head coach after his playing career, he coached the New Jersey Nets for two seasons in the 1990s. 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. In the 13th round, the San Francisco Warriors selected Denise Long, a girl's high school player from Whitten, Iowa. Long, who averaged 62.8 points per game in her senior year, became the first female ever to be drafted by an NBA team. However, the selection was later voided by commissioner J. Walter Kennedy as a

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. In the 15th round, the Phoenix Suns selected

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athlete Bob Beamon from the

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with the 189th pick. He had just broken the world record for

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and won the

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at the 1968 Olympic Games. Although he had played basketball before his athletics career, he stayed with it and never played in the NBA.

Draft selections

Notable undrafted players

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

Trades

* On October 20, 1967, the

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acquired Flynn Robinson, 1968 and 1969 second-round picks from the Cincinnati Royals in exchange for Guy Rodgers. The Bulls used the pick to draft Johnny Baum. * On August 27, 1968, the Phoenix Suns acquired a second-round pick from the

in exchange for Em Bryant. The Suns used the pick to draft Gene Williams. * On December 17, 1968, the Phoenix Suns acquired Jim Fox and a third-round pick from the

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in exchange for McCoy McLemore. The Suns used the pick to draft Lamar Green.

Notes

References

;General * * * * ;Specific

External links

NBA.com
{{1969–70 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 ...

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