The 1966 NBA draft was the 20th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 11 and 12, 1966, before the 1966–67 season. In this draft, ten 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. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip. The New York Knicks won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Detroit Pistons were awarded the second pick. This draft was the first to use the coin flip method, which replaced the territorial pick rule. 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. An expansion franchise, the Chicago Bulls, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the last pick of each round. The draft consisted of 19 rounds comprising 112 players selected.

With the elimination of territorial picks and incorporation of a coin flip for the No. 1 overall pick, 1966 is considered the first modern NBA draft.

Draft selections and draftee career notes Cazzie Russell from the University of Michigan was selected first overall by the New York Knicks. Dave Bing from Syracuse University, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, was drafted second by the Detroit Pistons. He was named in the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996 and has also been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was selected to three All-NBA Teams and seven All-Star Games. He became a politician after ending his playing career and won the election to become the mayor of Detroit in 2009.

Russell won the NBA championship with the New York Knicks 1970. He later was named to the All-Star Game in 1972. Lou Hudson, the 4th pick, and Archie Clark, the 37th pick, have also been selected to both All-NBA Team and All-Star Game. Hudson was selected to six All-Star Games and one All-NBA Team while Clark was selected to two All-Star Games and one All-NBA Team. Three other players from this draft, 3rd pick Clyde Lee, 5th pick Jack Marin and 27th pick John Block, have also been selected to at least one All-Star Game. Matt Guokas, the 9th pick, won the NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in his rookie season. He and his father, Matt Guokas, Sr., became the first father and son duo to win the NBA championships. Matt Guokas, Sr. won the inaugural championship with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1947. The younger Guokas became a head coach after ending his playing career. He coached the 76ers for three seasons and the Orlando Magic for four seasons. John Wetzel, the 75th pick, also became a head coach; he coached the Phoenix Suns for one season.

Key Pos.GFCPositionGuardForwardCenter

Draft

Player Team 11 + G/F New York Knicks Michigan 12 ^~ G Detroit Pistons Syracuse 13 + F/C San Francisco Warriors Vanderbilt 14 ^ G/F St. Louis Hawks Minnesota 15 + G/F Baltimore Bullets Duke 16 C Cincinnati Royals Kansas 17 F Los Angeles Lakers Utah 18 G/F Boston Celtics Oregon 19 G/F Philadelphia 76ers Saint Joseph's 110 G Chicago Bulls Purdue 211 F/C New York Knicks Morehead State 212 F/C Detroit Pistons Detroit 213 G/F San Francisco Warriors San Francisco 214 G/F St. Louis Hawks Davidson 215 F/C Baltimore Bullets Creighton 216 # G Cincinnati Royals Oklahoma City 217 C Los Angeles Lakers Dayton 218 # F Boston Celtics Wyoming 219 G Philadelphia 76ers Villanova 220 F/C Chicago Bulls San Francisco 321 # F New York Knicks Murray State 322 # F Detroit Pistons Michigan 323 # G San Francisco Warriors Rhode Island 324 G St. Louis Hawks Kentucky 325 # G Baltimore Bullets Idaho State 326 F Cincinnati Royals Oklahoma City 327 + F/C Los Angeles Lakers USC 328 # F Boston Celtics TCU 329 G Philadelphia 76ers Illinois 330 # F Chicago Bulls Eastern Kentucky 431 # F New York Knicks Auburn 432 # G Detroit Pistons BYU 433 # G San Francisco Warriors Duke 434 # F St. Louis Hawks St. John's 435 # C Baltimore Bullets Iowa 436 # G Cincinnati Royals VMI 437* G Los Angeles Lakers Minnesota 438 G Boston Celtics Boston College 439 F Philadelphia 76ers Central State 440 # C Chicago Bulls Temple 541 # F New York Knicks Clark 542 # C Detroit Pistons Georgia Southern 543 # F San Francisco Warriors Centenary 544 # G St. Louis Hawks BYU 545 # F/C Baltimore Bullets Texas A&M 546 F Baltimore Bullets Allentown Jets 547 # F Cincinnati Royals Saint Louis 548 # G Los Angeles Lakers Michigan State 549 # F Philadelphia 76ers Saint Joseph's 550 # G Chicago Bulls Evansville 651 # F New York Knicks Utah 652 # F Detroit Pistons SMU 653 # F San Francisco Warriors Northwestern 654 # G St. Louis Hawks Colorado State 655 # G Baltimore Bullets Penn 656 # F Cincinnati Royals Western Kentucky 657 # G Los Angeles Lakers Vanderbilt 658 # G Boston Celtics Oklahoma City 659 # C/F Philadelphia 76ers Tennessee 760 # C New York Knicks New Mexico State 761 # F Detroit Pistons North Carolina Central 762 # F San Francisco Warriors Fresno State 763 # G St. Louis Hawks UNC Wilmington 764 # F Baltimore Bullets DePaul 765 # F Cincinnati Royals Florida State 766 # F Los Angeles Lakers College of Idaho 767 # F Boston Celtics Maryland 768 # F Chicago Bulls Grambling 869 F New York Knicks Army 870 # G Detroit Pistons Southern Illinois 871 # G San Francisco Warriors UCLA 872 # F St. Louis Hawks Xavier 873 G Baltimore Bullets Cincinnati 874 # F Cincinnati Royals Cincinnati 875 G/F Los Angeles Lakers Virginia Tech 876 # G Boston Celtics San Francisco 877 # G Chicago Bulls Michigan State 978 F New York Knicks Akron 979 # F St. Louis Hawks Long Island 980 # F Baltimore Bullets Colorado 981 # F Cincinnati Royals Loyola Chicago 982 # F Los Angeles Lakers Tulsa 983 # F Philadelphia 76ers Rockhurst 984 # F Chicago Bulls Northern Michigan 1085 # G New York Knicks Hiram Scott 1086 # G St. Louis Hawks Minnesota 1087 # F Baltimore Bullets Prairie View A&M 1088 G Cincinnati Royals Arizona State 1089 # G Los Angeles Lakers Oklahoma 1090 # F Philadelphia 76ers Stanford 1091 # G Chicago Bulls DePaul 1192 # G New York Knicks NYU 1193 # F St. Louis Hawks Pacific Lutheran 1194 G/F Baltimore Bullets NYU 1195 # G Cincinnati Royals Oklahoma Baptist 1196 # C Los Angeles Lakers Purdue 1197 # G Chicago Bulls Penn State 1298 G New York Knicks Rochester 1299 # F St. Louis Hawks Wilberforce 12100 # G Baltimore Bullets Nebraska 13101 # F New York Knicks North Carolina 13102 # G St. Louis Hawks Bowling Green 13103 # F Baltimore Bullets Kansas 14104 # G St. Louis Hawks San Fernando Valley State 14105 # F Baltimore Bullets Pan American 15106 G St. Louis Hawks Wake Forest 15107 # F Baltimore Bullets Tennessee 16108 # F St. Louis Hawks Bradley 16109 # G Baltimore Bullets Wisconsin 17110 # G Baltimore Bullets Iowa 18111 # G Baltimore Bullets Weber State 19112 # F Baltimore Bullets Weber State

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1966 draft but played at least one game in the NBA. Player Pos. Nationality School/club team F Hillsdale F New Mexico Highlands F Arizona State F Tennessee

See also List of first overall NBA draft picks

References General

Specific

External links NBA.com NBA.com: NBA Draft History