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. The draft consisted of 12 rounds comprising 121 players selected.
Draft selections and draftee career notes 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. 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.
Chuck Cooper, the 12th pick, and Lloyd, the 100th pick, were the first African Americans to be drafted by an NBA team. Lloyd became the first African American to play in the NBA on October 31, 1950, one day before Cooper made his debut.
Key Pos.GFCPositionGuardForwardCenter
Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team CollegeT– ^~ G/F Philadelphia Warriors Villanova11 C Boston Celtics Bowling Green12 F Baltimore Bullets Wisconsin13 ^ G Tri-Cities Blackhawks Holy Cross14 F Washington Capitols Ohio State15 * F/C Chicago Stags La Salle16 # F New York Knicks CCNY17 ^ G/F Fort Wayne Pistons Stanford18 F/C Indianapolis Olympians Western Kentucky19 F/C Rochester Royals San Francisco110 G Minneapolis Lakers Notre Dame111 F/C Syracuse Nationals San Francisco212 ^ F Boston Celtics Duquesne213 F Baltimore Bullets Wyoming214 F Philadelphia Warriors Duquesne215 G/F Tri-Cities Blackhawks Washington State216 ^ G Washington Capitols USC217 F/C Chicago Stags Illinois218 C New York Knicks Long Island219 F Fort Wayne Pistons Tulane220 # F Indianapolis Olympians Bradley221 # G/F Rochester Royals UCLA222 # G/F Minneapolis Lakers Hamline223 G Syracuse Nationals St. John's
Other picks The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.
Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team College324 G/F Boston Celtics Ohio State325 G Baltimore Bullets NC State328 F Washington Capitols UCLA331 F Fort Wayne Pistons Tennessee332 F Indianapolis Olympians Eastern Kentucky440 G Washington Capitols Georgetown441 G/F Chicago Stags St. Bonaventure446 F Minneapolis Lakers Minnesota549 F Baltimore Bullets CCNY550 F/C Philadelphia Warriors Temple551 F/C Tri-Cities Blackhawks Toledo552 G Washington Capitols East Central State558 F Minneapolis Lakers West Virginia660 F Boston Celtics Brown668 G Indianapolis Olympians Butler780 G Indianapolis Olympians Arizona782 G Minneapolis Lakers Hamline889 G Chicago Stags Morris Harvey999 C Tri-Cities Blackhawks River Falls State9100 ^ F/C Washington Capitols West Virginia State
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1950 draft, but played at least one game in the NBA. Player Pos. Nationality School/club team F Loyola (Illinois) C Missouri ^ C Ohio State G Canisius G Loyola (Maryland) G Villanova G West Virginia State
See also List of first overall NBA draft picks NBA records
References General
Specific
External links NBA.com NBA.com: NBA Draft History