1956 NBA draft
| 1956 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | April 30, 1956 |
| Location | New York City, New York |
| Overview | |
| 92 total selections in 14 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| Territorial pick(s) | Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics |
| First selection | Si Green, Rochester Royals |
The 1956 NBA draft was the tenth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 30, 1956, before the 1956–57 season. In this draft, eight 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, except for the defending champion and runner-up, who were assigned the last two picks on each round. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising 92 players selected.
Draft selections and draftee career notes
[edit]Si Green from Duquesne University was selected first overall by the Rochester Royals. Tom Heinsohn from the College of the Holy Cross was selected before the draft as Boston Celtics' territorial pick. Heinsohn went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season.[1] Bill Russell from the University of San Francisco was selected second overall by the St. Louis Hawks and immediately traded to the Boston Celtics for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan.[2] Three players from this draft, Tom Heinsohn, Bill Russell, and K. C. Jones, have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame after championship careers with the Boston Celtics.[3] Elgin Baylor and Sam Jones, who were selected by the Minneapolis Lakers in the later rounds, have also been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame, although they did not enter the league immediately after the draft. In the 1957 draft, Sam Jones was selected in the first round by the Boston Celtics, with whom he played for in his whole career.[4] In the 1958 draft, Elgin Baylor was selected first overall by the Lakers, with whom he played for in his whole career.[5]
Draft
[edit]
Other picks
[edit]The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.[6][7]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 16 | Dave Piontek | F/C |  United States
|
Rochester Royals | Xavier (OH) |
| 3 | 18 | Jerry Bird | F | United States
|
Minneapolis Lakers | Kentucky |
| 3 | 20 | Forest Able | G | United States
|
Syracuse Nationals | Western Kentucky |
| 3 | 22 | Bill Thieben | F/C | United States
|
Fort Wayne Pistons | Hofstra |
| 4 | 24 | Johnny McCarthy | G | United States
|
Rochester Royals | Canisius |
| 4 | 28 | Swede Halbrook | C | United States
|
Syracuse Nationals | Wichita Vickers (NIBL) |
| 4 | 29 | Dan Swartz | F | United States
|
Boston Celtics | Morehead State |
| 5 | 33 | Norm Stewart | F | United States
|
St. Louis Hawks | Missouri |
| 5 | 36 | Jim Ray | G | United States
|
Syracuse Nationals | Toledo |
| 6 | 42 | Phil Jordon | F/C | United States
|
Minneapolis Lakers | Whitworth |
| 6 | 43 | Pat Dunn | G | United States
|
New York Knicks | Utah State |
| 7 | 50 | John Barber | F | United States
|
Minneapolis Lakers | Cal State L.A. |
| 10 | 74 | Bob Hopkins | F/C | United States
|
Syracuse Nationals | Grambling |
| 14 | 90 | Elgin Baylor^ | F | United States
|
Minneapolis Lakers[c] | Seattle |
Notable undrafted players
[edit]These players were not selected in the 1956 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Eichhorst | G | United States
|
Southeast Missouri State |
Trades
[edit]- a On draft-day, the Boston Celtics acquired the draft rights to second pick Bill Russell from the St. Louis Hawks in exchange for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan.[2]
- b On draft-day, the New York Knicks acquired the draft rights to sixth pick Ron Sobieszczyk from the Fort Wayne Pistons in exchange for Gene Shue.[8]
- c Baylor would not play for the Minneapolis Lakers until he was drafted by them again 1st overall in the 1958 NBA draft.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- General
- "1956 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- "1952–1956 NBA Drafts". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
- "1956 NBA Draft". The Draft Review. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
- Specific
- ^ "Rookie of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ a b "Bill Russell Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
- ^ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ "Sam Jones Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
- ^ "Elgin Baylor Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
- ^ "1956 NBA draft".
- ^ "NBA Past Drafts - RealGM".
- ^ Janssen, Kim (October 25, 2009). "Ron Sobieszczyk, 1934-2009: Former DePaul basketball standout, played in NBA". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2009.