The 1976 NBA draft was the 30th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 8, 1976, before the 1976–77 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Atlanta Hawks won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Chicago Bulls were awarded the second pick. The Hawks then traded the first pick to the Houston Rockets before the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. The New York Knicks forfeited their first-round draft pick due to their illegal signing of George McGinnis whose rights were held by the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers, the Golden State Warriors and the Buffalo Braves also forfeited their second, third and fourth-round picks respectively due to their participation in the 1975 supplementary draft of American Basketball Association (ABA) players who had never been drafted in the NBA. 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. Before the draft, 26 college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. 13 of them withdrew before the draft, leaving only 13 early entry candidates eligible for selection. These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 173 players. On August 8, 1976, the league also hosted a Dispersal draft for ABA players from the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, who were not included in the ABA–NBA merger.
Draft selections and draftee career notes John Lucas from the University of Maryland was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets. Adrian Dantley from the University of Notre Dame, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, was selected 6th by the Buffalo Braves. Four players from this draft, Dantley, 8th pick Robert Parish, 23rd pick Alex English and 29th pick Dennis Johnson, have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Parish was also named to the list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996. Dantley was selected to two All-NBA Teams and six All-Star Games. Parish won three NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s. Later in his career, he added another championship in 1997 with the Chicago Bulls. His other achievements include two All-NBA Team selections and nine All-Star Game selections. English's achievements include three All-NBA Team selections and eight All-Star Game selections. Johnson won the NBA championships, along with the Finals Most Valuable Player Award, with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979. He then won two other championships with the Celtics in the 1980s. He was selected to two All-NBA Teams, five All-Star Games and nine All-Defensive Teams.
Lonnie Shelton, the 25th pick, is the only other player from this draft who was selected to an All-Star Game. Lucas, 22nd pick Johnny Davis and 99th pick Mike Dunleavy all became head coaches after ending their playing career. Lucas has coached three teams in six seasons while Davis has coached three teams in four seasons. Dunleavy won the Coach of the Year Award in 1999 with the Portland Trail Blazers. He coached four teams in 17 seasons. Two other players drafted also went on to have coaching careers in the NBA: Dennis Johnson and seventh pick Quinn Buckner.
Key Pos.GFCPositionGuardForwardCenter
Draft
Player Team 11 G Houston Rockets Maryland 12 F Chicago Bulls Indiana 13 F/C Kansas City Kings UCLA 14 F/C Detroit Pistons Alabama 15 F Portland Trail Blazers Virginia 1 New York Knicks 16^~ G/F Buffalo Braves Notre Dame 17 G Milwaukee Bucks Indiana 18^ C Golden State Warriors Centenary 19 G Atlanta Hawks Princeton 110 G Phoenix Suns Oregon 111 G/F Seattle SuperSonics Indiana 112 G/F Philadelphia 76ers Michigan State 113 F/C Washington Bullets North Carolina 114 G Washington Bullets Grambling State 115 G Cleveland Cavaliers Kansas State 116 F Boston Celtics Kansas 117 G/F Golden State Warriors Texas A&M 218 G Chicago Bulls Missouri 219 C Seattle SuperSonics Grand Canyon 220 F Portland Trail Blazers Albany State 221 G/F Los Angeles Lakers Marquette 222 G Portland Trail Blazers Dayton 223^ F Milwaukee Bucks South Carolina 224 F/C Milwaukee Bucks Arizona State 225+ F/C New York Knicks Oregon State 226 F New Orleans Jazz Georgia 227 F Houston Rockets Tulane 228 G/F Atlanta Hawks Boston College 229^ G Seattle SuperSonics Pepperdine 2 Philadelphia 76ers 230 F Phoenix Suns Arizona 231 C Washington Bullets Coppin State 232 G Cleveland Cavaliers Maryland 233 G Phoenix Suns Vanderbilt 234 G Golden State Warriors Pan American 335 # C Chicago Bulls West Texas A&M 336 # G Los Angeles Lakers Rutgers 337 C Chicago Bulls Washington 338 G/F Detroit Pistons Rutgers 339 # G Portland Trail Blazers Western Michigan 340 G Milwaukee Bucks Marquette 341 # F New York Knicks Alcorn State 342 # F New Orleans Jazz San Diego State 343 F Los Angeles Lakers Indiana 344 # F Houston Rockets Princeton 345 F/C Phoenix Suns SMU 346 # G Atlanta Hawks Virginia Tech 347 # G Philadelphia 76ers DePaul 348 # F Buffalo Braves UTEP 349 # G Washington Bullets Memphis 350 F/C Cleveland Cavaliers Wisconsin–Parkside 351 # G Boston Celtics Nebraska 3 Golden State Warriors 452 G/F Chicago Bulls Pittsburgh 453 F/C Atlanta Hawks Hawaii 454 # G Kansas City Kings Washington 455 # G Detroit Pistons Iowa 456 # G Portland Trail Blazers Grand Canyon 457 # F New York Knicks Texas Tech 458 # F New Orleans Jazz UC Santa Barbara 459 # F Milwaukee Bucks Iowa 460 G Los Angeles Lakers Michigan 461 # G Houston Rockets Iowa State 462 # F Phoenix Suns Oregon State 463 # F Seattle SuperSonics LeMoyne–Owen 464 # G Philadelphia 76ers Montana State Billings 4 Buffalo Braves 465 # F Washington Bullets Memphis 466 # F Cleveland Cavaliers Penn 467 # G Boston Celtics Kentucky State 468 # F Golden State Warriors Vanderbilt 569 # G Chicago Bulls Illinois 570 G/F Atlanta Hawks Washington State 571 # F Kansas City Kings Duke 572 # G Detroit Pistons Marymount 573 # F Portland Trail Blazers Auburn 574 F/C New Orleans Jazz Western Michigan 575 # F Milwaukee Bucks Manhattan 576 # G New York Knicks St. John's 577 # G Milwaukee Bucks Arizona 578 # F Houston Rockets Houston 579 # G Phoenix Suns Saint Mary's 580 # F Seattle SuperSonics Wichita State 581 # F Philadelphia 76ers Missouri Western 582 # G Atlanta Hawks California 583 # C Washington Bullets Alabama State 584 C Cleveland Cavaliers McNeese State 585 # G Boston Celtics Saint Louis 586 # F Golden State Warriors California 687 # G Chicago Bulls Winston-Salem State 688 # F Atlanta Hawks Nevada 689 G Kansas City Kings UCLA 690 # F Detroit Pistons Virginia Tech 691 # F Golden State Warriors Samford 692 # F Milwaukee Bucks NC State 693 # G New York Knicks Grambling State 694 # G New Orleans Jazz Hofstra 695 # F Los Angeles Lakers Stanford 696 # C Houston Rockets Houston Baptist 697 # G Phoenix Suns Eastern Kentucky 698 # F Seattle SuperSonics Wake Forest 699 G Philadelphia 76ers South Carolina 6100 # G Buffalo Braves Fairfield 6101 # G Washington Bullets George Washington 6102 # G Cleveland Cavaliers Morris Brown 6103 G Boston Celtics Biscayne 6104 # F Golden State Warriors Norfolk State 7105 # G Chicago Bulls Centenary 7106 # F Atlanta Hawks Kansas State 7107 # F Kansas City Kings Canisius 7108 # C Detroit Pistons Puget Sound 7109 # F Portland Trail Blazers Weber State 7110 # F New York Knicks UNLV 7111 G New Orleans Jazz Niagara 7112 # G Milwaukee Bucks Southern 7113 # F Los Angeles Lakers Cal State Los Angeles 7114 # F Houston Rockets Texas A&M 7115 # F Phoenix Suns Eastern Illinois 7116 # G Seattle SuperSonics Malone 7117 G Philadelphia 76ers Millersville 7118 # G Buffalo Braves Tennessee Tech 7119 # G Washington Bullets Loyola Chicago 7120 # G Cleveland Cavaliers Western Kentucky 7121 C Boston Celtics UCLA 7122 # F Golden State Warriors Mercyhurst 8123 # F Cleveland Cavaliers Wisconsin 8124 # G Atlanta Hawks Utah 8125 # F Kansas City Kings Bradley 8126 # F Detroit Pistons Illinois State 8127 # F Portland Trail Blazers Puget Sound 8128 # F New Orleans Jazz Texas State 8129 # F Milwaukee Bucks Maine 8130 # G New York Knicks Arizona State 8131 # C Los Angeles Lakers Utah State 8132 # G Houston Rockets Texas 8133 # F Phoenix Suns Northern Arizona 8134 G Seattle SuperSonics Washington State 8135 # F Philadelphia 76ers Hardin–Simmons 8136 # G Buffalo Braves Providence 8137 # C Washington Bullets Georgetown 8138 # C Cleveland Cavaliers Middle Tennessee 8139 # G Boston Celtics Northeastern 8140 # F Golden State Warriors West Virginia 9141 # F Chicago Bulls UConn 9142 # F Atlanta Hawks San Diego State 9143 # G Kansas City Kings Colorado 9144 # F Detroit Pistons Hartwick 9145 # F Portland Trail Blazers Linfield 9146 # G Milwaukee Bucks UCF 9147 # G New York Knicks Salem 9148 # F New Orleans Jazz Mississippi Valley State 9149 # F Los Angeles Lakers Louisiana–Monroe 9150 # F Phoenix Suns Hofstra 9151 # F Seattle SuperSonics North Carolina A&T 9152 # G Philadelphia 76ers Allentown Jets 9153 # F Buffalo Braves St. Bonaventure 9154 # F Washington Bullets Newberry 9155 # G Cleveland Cavaliers Purdue 9156 # F Boston Celtics Boston College 9157 # F Golden State Warriors San Francisco 10158 # F Chicago Bulls Concord 10159 # G Atlanta Hawks South Florida 10160 # F Kansas City Kings North Texas 10161 # F Detroit Pistons Wisconsin 10162 # C Portland Trail Blazers Pepperdine 10163 # F New York Knicks Florida 10164 # F New Orleans Jazz Iowa State 10165 # F Milwaukee Bucks East Texas State 10166 # F Phoenix Suns Arizona State 10167 # F Seattle SuperSonics Alcorn State 10168 # G Philadelphia 76ers Penn 10169 # G Buffalo Braves Canisius 10170 # F Washington Bullets Seton Hall 10171 # F Philadelphia 76ers Minnesota State 10172 # F Boston Celtics Illinois 10173 # G Golden State Warriors San Diego
Trades On June 7, 1976, the Houston Rockets acquired Dwight Jones and the first pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Gus Bailey, Joe Meriweather and the ninth pick. The Rockets used the pick to draft John Lucas. The Hawks used the pick to draft Armond Hill. On May 29, 1975, the Buffalo Braves acquired a first-round pick from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a 1975 first-round pick. Previously, the Suns acquired Dennis Awtrey, Nate Hawthorne, Curtis Perry and the pick on September 16, 1974, from the New Orleans Jazz in exchange for Neal Walk and a 1975 second-round pick. The Braves used the pick to draft Adrian Dantley. On September 6, 1974, the Golden State Warriors acquired a first-round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers as compensation for the signing of Cazzie Russell as a free agent. The Warriors used the pick to draft Robert Parish. On July 30, 1975, the Washington Bullets acquired a first-round pick from the Buffalo Braves in exchange for Dick Gibbs. The Bullets used the pick to draft Mitch Kupchak.