1961 NBA draft

Basketball player selection

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

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. 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. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Two other players drafted also went on to have a coaching career: 12th pick Johnny Egan and 60th pick Donnie Butcher.

Pos. GFCPositionGuardForwardCenter

Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Team School/club team11 ^ C Chicago Packers Indiana12 F New York Knicks St. Bonaventure13 F Cincinnati Royals Ohio State14 F/C Detroit Pistons Allentown Jets (EPBL)15 C Los Angeles Lakers Memphis State16 G/F Syracuse Nationals Cleveland Pipers (NIBL)17 + F Philadelphia Warriors Saint Mary's (CA)18 G St. Louis Hawks Winston Salem State19 G Boston Celtics Houston210 G New York Knicks St. Bonaventure211 F Cincinnati Royals Cincinnati212 G Detroit Pistons Providence213 # C Los Angeles Lakers Louisville214 # C Syracuse Nationals Virginia Tech215 F Philadelphia Warriors Houston216 F St. Louis Hawks Indiana217 G Boston Celtics Niagara218 G/F Chicago Packers Louisville219 # F Chicago Packers Mississippi State220 G Chicago Packers North Carolina221 + F Chicago Packers Marquette222 # G/F Chicago Packers North Carolina223 # C Chicago Packers William & Mary

The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game. Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Team School/club team325 C Cincinnati Royals Saint Louis326 F Detroit Pistons Duke328 F Syracuse Nationals Western Kentucky332 + F/C Chicago Packers Kansas433 G New York Knicks Holy Cross542 G/F New York Knicks Saint Peter's544 F Detroit Pistons Belmont Abbey550 G Chicago Packers DePaul651 F/C New York Knicks Jackson State760 G New York Knicks Pikeville761 G Cincinnati Royals Miami (OH)1091 G Chicago Packers Kansas State1192 G New York Knicks St. John's12100 F/C Cincinnati Royals Toledo