The 1962 NBA draft was the 16th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 26, 1962, before the 1962–63 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 selected in reverse order of their won–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick, then select any player from within a 50-mile radius of its home arena as their territorial pick. The Chicago Packers, who finished last in the previous season, were renamed the Chicago Zephyrs. The Philadelphia Warriors relocated to San Francisco and became the San Francisco Warriors prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 16 rounds, comprising 102 players selected.
Draft selections and draftee career notes Dave DeBusschere and Jerry Lucas were selected before the draft as the 'Detroit Pistons' and 'Cincinnati Royals' territorial picks, respectively. Bill McGill from the University of Utah was selected first overall by the Chicago Zephyrs. Terry Dischinger from Purdue University, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, was selected eight overall by the Chicago Zephyrs. Four players from this draft, DeBusschere, Lucas, seventh pick John Havlicek and twelfth pick Chet Walker, have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. They were also named in the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996. Lucas initially opted to sign for the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League (ABL). However, the Pipers folded before the start of the season and Lucas opted to sit out a year to complete his education. He eventually entered the NBA and went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in the 1963–64 season. Lucas' achievements include an NBA championship with the New York Knicks in 1973, 5 All-NBA Team selections and 7 All-Star Game selections. DeBusschere's achievements include 2 NBA championships with the Knicks in 1970 and 1973, 1 All-NBA Team selection, 8 All-Star Game selections and 6 All-Defensive Team selections. In the 1964–65 season, he was named as a player-coach for the Pistons, becoming the youngest head coach in the NBA at the age of 24. He coached the Pistons for almost three years before returning to a full-time player. He also had a brief professional baseball career with the Chicago White Sox. He played two seasons in the Major League Baseball in 1962 and 1963, and another season in the minor-league before he gave up his dual-sport career to focus on basketball. He is one of only 12 athletes who have played in both NBA and MLB. Havlicek spent all of his 16-year playing career with the Boston Celtics. His achievements include 8 NBA championships with the Celtics, 1 Finals MVP, 11 All-NBA Team selection, 13 All-Star Game selections and 8 All-Defensive Team selections. Walker, the 12th pick, won the NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967 and was selected to 7 All-Star Games.
Zelmo Beaty, the 3rd pick, played in both NBA and American Basketball Association (ABA). He was selected to 2 NBA All-Star Games, 3 ABA All-Star Games and 3 All-ABA Teams. Dischinger and 4th pick Len Chappell are the only other players from this draft who have been selected to an All-Star Game. During his stint with the Detroit Pistons, Dischinger served as an interim player-coach for two games in 1971. Wayne Hightower, the 5th pick, had left college after his junior year in 1961. He wasn't eligible to be drafted until his college class had graduated, therefore he spent a year playing in the Spanish League with Real Madrid. In his only season there, he helped Real Madrid to a Spanish League title and to the European Champions Cup final. Reggie Harding, the 29th pick, became the first player drafted out of high school when the Detroit Pistons selected him in the fourth round. However, he did not enter the league until the 1963–64 season due to the rules that prevent a high school player to play in the league until one year after his high school class graduated. He was drafted again in the 1963 draft by the Pistons with the 48th pick in the sixth round.
Kevin Loughery, the 11th pick, had a stint as a player-coach with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1973. At the end of the season, he retired from playing and moved to the ABA to coach the New York Nets. He won 2 ABA championships with the Nets in 1974 and 1976. He then moved to the NBA with the Nets after the ABA–NBA merger. He coached 6 NBA teams, most recently with the Miami Heat. Don Nelson, the 17th pick, played 14 seasons in the NBA, winning 5 NBA championships with the Celtics. He became a head coach soon after retiring as a player in 1976. He coached 4 NBA teams, most recently with the Golden State Warriors. He held the record for most wins as a head coach, surpassing Lenny Wilkens' previous record of 1,332 wins. He won the Coach of the Year Award for a record three times, tied with Pat Riley. He was also named among the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.
Key Pos.GFCPositionGuardForwardCenter
Draft
Player Team T– ^ G/F Detroit Pistons Detroit T– ^~ F/C Cincinnati Royals Ohio State 11 F/C Chicago Zephyrs Utah 12 C New York Knicks Cincinnati 13 ^ C St. Louis Hawks Prairie View A&M 14 + F/C Syracuse Nationals Wake Forest 15 F/C Philadelphia Warriors Real Madrid (Spain)16 F/C Los Angeles Lakers St. John's 17 ^ G/F Boston Celtics Ohio State 28 +~ G/F Chicago Zephyrs Purdue 29 F New York Knicks USC 210 G St. Louis Hawks Colgate 211 G Detroit Pistons St. John's 212 ^ G/F Syracuse Nationals Bradley 213 F/C Cincinnati Royals Louisville 214 G/F Philadelphia Warriors Villanova 215 C Los Angeles Lakers Wichita 216 F Boston Celtics Holy Cross 317 F Chicago Zephyrs Iowa 318 # G New York Knicks Western Kentucky 319 F/C St. Louis Hawks Grambling 320 # F Detroit Pistons Texas Tech 321 G Syracuse Nationals Tennessee State 322 # G Cincinnati Royals USC 323 F Philadelphia Warriors Florida State 324 # G Los Angeles Lakers UCLA 325 # C Boston Celtics Providence 426 G St. Louis Hawks (from Chicago) Southern Illinois 427 # C New York Knicks Florida 428 G St. Louis Hawks Loyola (California) 429 C Detroit Pistons Nashville Christian Institute (Nashville, Tennessee)430 # F Syracuse Nationals St. Bonaventure 431 # F Cincinnati Royals Xavier 432 # F San Francisco Warriors Dayton 433 # F Los Angeles Lakers SMU 434 F Boston Celtics Jacksonville 535 # G Chicago Zephyrs Utah State 536 # F New York Knicks Marshall 537 # G St. Louis Hawks Dayton 538 # G Detroit Pistons South Carolina State 539 F Syracuse Nationals Stanford 540 # F Cincinnati Royals Kansas State 541 # F San Francisco Warriors Trenton Colonials 542 # F Los Angeles Lakers South Carolina 543 # F Boston Celtics The Citadel 644 # C Chicago Zephyrs Washington 645 # G New York Knicks Pacific 646 G St. Louis Hawks Oregon State 647 # F Detroit Pistons Morehead State 648 # G Syracuse Nationals Wichita State 649 # G Cincinnati Royals Drake 650 # F San Francisco Warriors North Carolina 651 # G Los Angeles Lakers Virginia Tech 652 # F Boston Celtics Boston College 753 # C Chicago Zephyrs Tulane 754 # G New York Knicks Hofstra 755 # G St. Louis Hawks La Salle 756 # G Detroit Pistons Lawrence Tech 757 # C Syracuse Nationals Georgetown 758 # F Cincinnati Royals UCLA 759 F Philadelphia Warriors Pan American 760 # F Boston Celtics Duquesne 861 # G Chicago Zephyrs Kentucky 862 # F New York Knicks Oklahoma 863 # G St. Louis Hawks Washington State 864 # G Detroit Pistons Duquesne 865 G Syracuse Nationals Loyola (Illinois) 866 # F Cincinnati Royals Loyola (California) 867 # G San Francisco Warriors Xavier 868 # C Los Angeles Lakers Portland 869 # G Boston Celtics Boston College 970 # F Chicago Zephyrs Texas A&M 971 # F New York Knicks Duquesne 972 # G St. Louis Hawks Elizabeth City State 973 # G Detroit Pistons Hamline 974 # G Syracuse Nationals Iowa State 975 # G Cincinnati Royals Carson–Newman 976 # G San Francisco Warriors Saint Louis 977 # F Los Angeles Lakers Minnesota Duluth 978 # G Boston Celtics Brown 1079 # G Chicago Zephyrs Princeton 1080 # F New York Knicks Eastern Kentucky 1081 # F St. Louis Hawks Washington State 1082 # F Detroit Pistons Oregon 1083 # F Cincinnati Royals New Mexico State 1084 # F San Francisco Warriors North Carolina 1185 F Chicago Zephyrs Kenyon 1186 # F New York Knicks Pratt 1187 # G St. Louis Hawks Maine 1188 # F Cincinnati Royals Xavier 1189 # G San Francisco Warriors North Carolina 1290 G Chicago Zephyrs Ohio State 1291 # G St. Louis Hawks Le Moyne 1292 # G San Francisco Warriors Oregon 1393 # F Chicago Zephyrs Lewis 1394 # G St. Louis Hawks Arkansas 1495 # G Chicago Zephyrs Williams 1496 # F St. Louis Hawks Colorado 1597 # F Chicago Zephyrs Kansas State 1598 # G St. Louis Hawks Rhode Island 1699 # F Chicago Zephyrs Rockhurst 16100 # G St. Louis Hawks Cal Poly
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1962 draft but played at least one game in the NBA. Player Pos. Nationality School/club team G Thomas More G Northwestern
Notes
See also List of first overall NBA draft picks
References General
Specific
External links NBA.com NBA.com: NBA Draft History