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1950 NBA draft
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| 1950 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | April 25, 1950 |
| Location | Biltmore Hotel (Chicago, Illinois)[1] |
| Overview | |
| 121 total selections in 12 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Chuck Share, Boston Celtics |
| Hall of Famers | |
The 1950 NBA draft was the first draft following the 1949 merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League that created the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 25, 1950, before the 1950–51 season. In this draft, 12 remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. The Chicago Stags participated in the draft but folded prior to the start of the season.[2] The draft consisted of 12 rounds comprising 121 players selected.
Draft selections and draftee career notes
[edit]Chuck Share from Bowling Green State University was selected first overall by the Boston Celtics. Paul Arizin from Villanova University was selected before the draft as Philadelphia Warriors' territorial pick. The sixth pick, Irwin Dambrot, did not play in the NBA and opted for a career as a dentist.[3] Five players from this draft, Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, George Yardley, Bill Sharman and Earl Lloyd have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.[4]
Chuck Cooper, the 12th pick, and Lloyd, the 100th pick, were the first African Americans to be drafted by an NBA team.[5] Lloyd became the first African American to play in the NBA on October 31, 1950, one day before Cooper made his debut.[6][7]
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 and All-NBA Team |
| # | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular-season or playoff game |
Draft
[edit]

Other picks
[edit]The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.[8][9]

Notable undrafted players
[edit]These players were not selected in the 1950 draft, but played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Earle | F | Loyola (Illinois) | |
| Jerry Fowler | C | Missouri | |
| Neil Johnston^ | C | Ohio State | |
| Al Masino | G | Canisius | |
| Andy O'Donnell | G | Loyola (Maryland) | |
| Sherwin Raiken | G | Villanova | |
| Bob Wilson | G | West Virginia State |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- General
- "1950 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
- "1947–1948 BAA Drafts, 1949–1951 NBA Drafts". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
- Maurer, Matthew (May 29, 2007). "1950 NBA Draft". The Draft Review. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
- Specific
- ^ Bradley, Robert D. (2013). The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810890695., pg. 14
- ^ Ballantini, Brett (April 17, 2006). "Stag Party". NBA.com/Bulls. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
- ^ Anderson, Dave (February 14, 1995). "Sports of The Times; Nat Holman 'Taught Team Basketball'". The New York Times. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
- ^ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ Washburn, Gary (February 9, 2007). "Inside the NBA: Black pioneers due respect". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Seattle Media, LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ Ramsey, David (February 16, 2005). "Earl Lloyd: A Basketball Pioneer". NBA.com/Sixers. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
- ^ Axelrod, Phil (December 6, 2009). "Duquesne honors legacy of Chuck Cooper". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ "1950 NBA draft".
- ^ "NBA Past Drafts - RealGM".
External links
[edit]1950 NBA draft
View on GrokipediaBackground
State of the NBA in 1950
The National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1950 operated in its early developmental phase following the 1949 merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League, which formalized the league's structure after the 1949-50 season. That season featured 17 teams divided into three uneven divisions—Central, Eastern, and Western—with the Minneapolis Lakers claiming the championship on April 23, 1950, by defeating the Syracuse Nationals 4-2 in the Finals, propelled by George Mikan's league-leading 27.4 points per game.[7][8] The professional game emphasized physical, center-dominated play in an era without a shot clock, yielding deliberate paces and low totals, exemplified by games like Fort Wayne's 19-18 victory over Minneapolis in the decade's lowest-scoring contest.[9] This style, while showcasing stars like Mikan, constrained offensive flow and broader appeal compared to faster college basketball.[9] Financially, the league endured instability, with many franchises posting losses amid sparse attendance that paled against major sports like Major League Baseball; regional popularity existed in hubs such as New York, but national recognition lagged due to limited media coverage and competition from other entertainments.[10] Player compensation reflected these constraints, rooted in modest team salary caps originating at approximately $55,000 league-wide in the 1946-47 inaugural BAA season, underscoring the circuit's struggle for viability.[11] Logistical strains from the 17-team format prompted contractions for 1950-51, folding teams in Chicago, Denver, Tri-Cities, and elsewhere to streamline to 14 franchises, a move aimed at stabilizing operations amid travel demands and competitive imbalances.[12] Racial dynamics shifted notably in 1950, as the Boston Celtics selected Chuck Cooper in the draft, marking the first African American pick and preceding on-court integration with debuts by Cooper, Earl Lloyd, and Nat Clifton that October 31, 1950—though all-white rosters had defined prior years.[13] These elements positioned the NBA as a nascent entity prioritizing survival through talent acquisition, amid a professional landscape where college hoops retained stronger public draw, setting preconditions for mid-decade reforms like the 24-second shot clock to enhance pace and viewership.[10]Evolution of NBA Draft Rules
The Basketball Association of America (BAA), the NBA's predecessor, conducted its inaugural draft on July 1, 1947, in Detroit, Michigan, involving 11 teams selecting from a pool of U.S. college players in reverse order of standings from the prior season—though as an expansion league, the order was largely predetermined by lottery or agreement among owners.[14] The format featured seven rounds, with each team able to pick up to one player per round, emphasizing allocation of amateur talent to build rosters amid the league's nascent competition with established rivals like the NBL; no territorial selections existed, and eligibility was confined to college seniors or equivalents, excluding high school prospects to prioritize developed players.[14] The 1948 draft followed a similar structure, expanding slightly with NBL integrations but retaining the core reverse-order mechanism without special privileges. The 1949 BAA-NBA merger prompted a key evolution: the introduction of territorial picks to address franchises' struggles with attendance and local identification in smaller markets.[15] Under this rule, enacted for the 1949 draft, a team could opt to forgo its entire first-round pick in the regular draft to claim any eligible college player whose most recent team was within 50 miles of the NBA franchise's arena, provided no prior territorial claim conflicted; the intent was to pair popular regional stars with nearby teams, leveraging existing fan bases to boost gate receipts in a financially precarious era.[15] Territorial selections preceded the standard draft, with teams like the St. Louis Bombers (Ed Macauley) and Minneapolis Lakers (Vern Mikkelsen) utilizing it immediately in 1949.[16] By the 1950 draft, these territorial provisions were firmly in place alongside the reverse-order regular draft, now with 17 teams participating after further league adjustments, allowing selections such as the Baltimore Bullets' claim on Chuck Share from Marshall University to cultivate territorial loyalty without disrupting broader equity.[17] This hybrid system persisted into the 1950s, balancing competitive distribution with market-driven incentives, though it occasionally drew criticism for favoring established locales over purely merit-based picks; rounds extended variably (often 10-20), but core eligibility remained U.S. college amateurs, underscoring the league's focus on domestic pipeline development.[15]Draft Mechanics and Proceedings
Date, Location, and Format
The 1950 NBA Draft occurred on April 25, 1950, the day after the Minneapolis Lakers defeated the Syracuse Nationals to win the NBA championship in the league's inaugural season following the 1949 BAA-NBL merger.[1][6] It took place in Chicago, Illinois, at the Biltmore Hotel, where team representatives gathered for the proceedings.[1][18] The format began with territorial picks, allowing teams to select local college players before the regular draft to boost regional interest and attendance.[19] This was followed by 12 rounds of selections among the league's 17 teams, yielding a total of 121 picks from eligible amateur players, primarily college seniors.[1][19] Selections proceeded in reverse order of the previous season's standings for non-playoff teams, with playoff teams ordered by finish, though the exact mechanics emphasized team needs over a strict lottery system used in later eras.[20] Of the draftees, only 40 ultimately played in the NBA, reflecting the era's limited player pool and integration challenges.[1]Territorial Pick System
The territorial pick system in the early NBA drafts enabled franchises to claim exclusive rights to a college senior within a 50-mile radius of their home arena before the regular draft commenced, provided the team forfeited its first-round selection in exchange.[21] This pre-draft option, first utilized in the 1949 BAA draft and continuing through 1965, aimed to bolster local fan engagement and attendance by linking teams to prominent regional alumni, thereby enhancing market viability amid the league's nascent competition with college basketball.[17] Eligibility required the player to have completed their senior year at a qualifying institution, with the claiming team submitting notification to the league commissioner; no other franchise could then draft that individual in the standard proceedings.[22] In the context of the April 25, 1950, NBA draft held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Biltmore Hotel, the system facilitated targeted acquisitions tied to geographic proximity.[1] The Philadelphia Warriors exercised their territorial rights to select Paul Arizin, a standout forward from Villanova University located approximately 12 miles from the team's arena, forgoing their first-round pick to secure the All-American scorer who averaged 20.4 points per game as a senior.[23] Similarly, the Chicago Stags invoked the provision for Wally Osterkorn, a center from the University of Illinois, situated within the stipulated radius, reflecting the system's emphasis on regional talent pipelines to cultivate hometown loyalty.[23] These selections underscored the mechanism's role in prioritizing market-specific appeal over draft order equity, though only select teams with viable local prospects opted in, as the forfeiture of a high pick carried inherent risk if the territorial choice underperformed.[20] The system's design inherently favored franchises in proximity to powerhouse college programs, such as those in urban centers like Philadelphia or Chicago, potentially exacerbating competitive imbalances despite its intent to stabilize attendance league-wide.[17] In 1950, with the NBA comprising 11 teams amid post-merger expansion challenges, territorial picks like Arizin's—later a Hall of Famer and key to the Warriors' 1952 championship—demonstrated tangible benefits for adopters, yet the rule's selective application highlighted its dependence on geographic fortune rather than uniform opportunity.[23] By enabling preemptive claims, it deviated from the reverse-order lottery precursor, allowing assertive teams to hedge against draft volatility through assured local acquisitions.[21]Selections and Immediate Aftermath
Territorial and First-Round Picks
The Philadelphia Warriors selected Paul Arizin from Villanova University as their territorial pick, allowing the team to claim a player from a local college institution in exchange for forfeiting a regular first-round selection.[24] Arizin, a 6-foot-4 forward, averaged 17.2 points per game as a rookie in the 1950-51 season.[25] The regular first-round selections, part of the draft held on April 25, 1950, in Chicago, Illinois, yielded players who contributed variably to NBA rosters.[1] The Boston Celtics held the first pick, selecting 6-foot-11 center Chuck Share from Bowling Green State University, who debuted in the league during the 1950-51 season but spent much of his early career as a backup.[1] The Baltimore Bullets followed with forward Don Rehfeldt from the University of Wisconsin, a 6-foot-6 player who appeared in 194 NBA games over five seasons.[1] Subsequent picks included guard Bob Cousy from the College of the Holy Cross, taken fourth overall by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks; Cousy, known for his ball-handling, initially resisted joining the Blackhawks before trades led him to the Chicago Stags and eventually the Celtics via dispersal draft.[1] Other selections featured centers and forwards like Larry Foust (fifth overall, Chicago Stags, La Salle University) and Dick Schnittker (fifth in some listings, Washington Capitols, Ohio State University), though many first-rounders had limited professional impact due to the era's roster constraints and competition from undrafted talent.[1] The full first-round picks were:| Pick | Team | Player | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | Chuck Share | Bowling Green |
| 2 | Baltimore Bullets | Don Rehfeldt | Wisconsin |
| 3 | Philadelphia Warriors | Paul Arizin | Villanova |
| 4 | Tri-Cities Blackhawks | Bob Cousy | Holy Cross |
| 5 | Washington Capitols | Dick Schnittker | Ohio State |
| 6 | Chicago Stags | Larry Foust | La Salle |
| 7 | New York Knicks | Irwin Dambrot | CCNY |
| 8 | Fort Wayne Pistons | George Yardley | Stanford |
| 9 | Indianapolis Olympians | Bob Lavoy | Western Kentucky |
| 10 | Rochester Royals | Joe McNamee | San Francisco |
| 11 | Minneapolis Lakers | Kevin O'Shea | Notre Dame |
| 12 | Syracuse Nationals | Don Lofgran | San Francisco |
