1956 NBA draft
| 1956 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | April 30, 1956 |
| Location | 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
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
St. Louis Hawks (traded to the Boston Celtics
.St. Louis Hawks
.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | – | Tom Heinsohn^ | F/C |  United States
|
Boston Celtics | Holy Cross |
| 1 | 1 | Si Green | G/F | United States
|
Rochester Royals
|
Duquesne |
| 1 | 2 | Bill Russell^ | C | United States
|
San Francisco | |
| 1 | 3 | Jim Paxson
|
G/F | United States
|
Minneapolis Lakers
|
Dayton |
| 1 | 4 | Ronnie Shavlik | F | United States
|
New York Knicks | NC State |
| 1 | 5 | Joe Holup | F | United States
|
Syracuse Nationals
|
George Washington
|
| 1 | 6 | Ron Sobieszczyk | G | United States
|
DePaul | |
| 1 | 7 | Hal Lear | G | United States
|
Philadelphia Warriors
|
Temple |
| 2 | 8 | Bob Burrow | F/C | United States
|
Rochester Royals
|
Kentucky |
| 2 | 9 | Willie Naulls+ | F/C | United States
|
St. Louis Hawks
|
UCLA |
| 2 | 10 | Terry Rand# | C | United States
|
Minneapolis Lakers
|
Marquette |
| 2 | 11 | Gary Bergen | C | United States
|
New York Knicks | Utah |
| 2 | 12 | Paul Judson# | F | United States
|
Syracuse Nationals
|
Illinois |
| 2 | 13 | K. C. Jones^ | G | United States
|
Boston Celtics | San Francisco |
| 2 | 14 | Bob Kessler# | F | United States
|
Fort Wayne Pistons
|
Maryland |
| 2 | 15 | Phil Rollins | G | United States
|
Philadelphia Warriors
|
Louisville |
Other picks
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
|
Oregon State |
| 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
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
- 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
- List of first overall NBA draft picks
- NBA records
References
- 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.