1976 NBA Draft

1976 NBA Draft
General information
Date(s)	June 8, 1976
Location	New York City
First selection	John Lucas, Houston Rockets
NBA Draft  < 1975 1977 >

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.^[1] The Atlanta Hawks won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Chicago Bulls were awarded the second pick.^[2] 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.^[3] The 76ers, the Golden State Warriors and the Buffalo Braves also forfeited their second, third and fourth-round pick respectively due to their participation in 1975 supplementary draft American Basketball Association (ABA) players who had never been drafted in the NBA.^[4] 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.^[5] 13 of them withdrew before the draft, leaving only 13 early entry candidates eligible for selection.^[6] 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.^[7] The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 173 players. On August 5, 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.

Contents 1 Draft selections and draftee career notes 2 Key 3 Draft 4 Other picks 5 Trades 6 ABA dispersal draft 6.1 Trades 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

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.^[8] 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.^[9] Parish was also named to the list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.^[10] Dantley was selectod to two All-NBA Teams and six All-Star Games.^[11] 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.^[12] English's achievements include three All-NBA Team selections and eight All-Star Game selections.^[13] 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.^[14]

Lonnie Shelton, the 25th pick, is the only other player from this draft who was selected to an All-Star Game.^[15] 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.^[16][17] Dunleavy won the Coach of the Year Award in 1999 with the Portland Trail Blazers.^[18] He coached four teams in 17 seasons.^[19] Two other players drafted also went on to have coaching careers in the NBA: Dennis Johnson and seventh pick Quinn Buckner.^[20][21]

Key

Pos.	G	F	C
Position	Guard	Forward	Center

^	Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
*	Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-NBA Team
+	Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game
#	Denotes player who never played in the NBA

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Pos.	Nationality	Team	School/club team
1	1	Lucas, JohnJohn Lucas	G	United States	Houston Rockets (from Atlanta)[a]	Maryland (Sr.)
1	2	May, ScottScott May	F	United States	Chicago Bulls	Indiana (Sr.)
1	3	Washington, RichardRichard Washington	F/C	United States	Kansas City Kings	UCLA (Jr.)
1	4	Douglas, LeonLeon Douglas	F/C	United States	Detroit Pistons	Alabama (Sr.)
1	5	Walker, WallyWally Walker	F	United States	Portland Trail Blazers	Virginia (Sr.)
1	6	Dantley, AdrianAdrian Dantley^	G/F	United States	Buffalo Braves (from New Orleans via Phoenix)[b]	Notre Dame (Jr.)
1	7	Buckner, QuinnQuinn Buckner	G	United States	Milwaukee Bucks	Indiana (Sr.)
1	8	Parish, RobertRobert Parish^	C	United States	Golden State Warriors (from Los Angeles)[c]	Centenary (Sr.)
1	9	Hill, ArmondArmond Hill	G	United States	Atlanta Hawks (from Houston)[a]	Princeton (Sr.)
1	10	Lee, RonRon Lee	G	United States	Phoenix Suns	Oregon (Sr.)
1	11	Wilkerson, BobBob Wilkerson	G/F	United States	Seattle SuperSonics	Indiana (Sr.)
1	12	Furlow, TerryTerry Furlow	G/F	United States	Philadelphia 76ers	Michigan State (Sr.)
1	13	Kupchak, MitchMitch Kupchak	F/C	United States	Washington Bullets (from Buffalo)[d]	North Carolina (Sr.)
1	14	Wright, LarryLarry Wright	G	United States	Washington Bullets	Grambling State (Jr.)
1	15	Williams, ChuckieChuckie Williams	G	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers	Kansas State (Sr.)
1	16	Cook, NormNorm Cook	F	United States	Boston Celtics	Kansas (Jr.)
1	17	Parker, SonnySonny Parker	G/F	United States	Golden State Warriors	Texas A&M (Sr.)
2	18	Smith, WillieWillie Smith	G	United States	Chicago Bulls	Missouri (Sr.)
2	19	Forrest, BayardBayard Forrest	C	United States	Seattle SuperSonics (from Atlanta via Milwaukee)[e]	Grand Canyon (Sr.)
2	20	Jones, MajorMajor Jones	F	United States	Portland Trail Blazers (from Kansas City via New Orleans)[f]	Albany State (Sr.)
2	21	Tatum, EarlEarl Tatum	G/F	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (from Detroit via Phoenix)[g]	Marquette (Sr.)
2	22	Davis, JohnnyJohnny Davis	G	United States	Portland Trail Blazers	Dayton (Jr.)
2	23	English, AlexAlex English^	F	United States	Milwaukee Bucks (from New Orleans via Atlanta)[e]	South Carolina (Sr.)
2	24	Lloyd, ScottScott Lloyd	F/C	United States	Milwaukee Bucks	Arizona State (Sr.)
2	25	Shelton, LonnieLonnie Shelton+	F/C	United States	New York Knicks	Oregon State (Jr.)
2	26	Dorsey, JackyJacky Dorsey	F	United States	New Orleans Jazz (from Los Angeles via Phoenix and Portland)[h]	Georgia (So.)
2	27	Hicks, PhilPhil Hicks	F	United States	Houston Rockets	Tulane (Sr.)
2	28	Carrington, BobBob Carrington	G/F	United States	Atlanta Hawks (from Phoenix)[i]	Boston College (Sr.)
2	29	Johnson, DennisDennis Johnson^	G	United States	Seattle SuperSonics	Pepperdine (Sr.)
2	30	Fleming, AlAl Fleming	F	United States	Phoenix Suns (from Buffalo)[j]	Arizona (Sr.)
2	31	Pace, JoeJoe Pace	C	United States	Washington Bullets	Coppin State (Sr.)
2	32	Howard, MoMo Howard	G	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers	Maryland (Sr.)
2	33	Feher, ButchButch Feher	G	United States	Phoenix Suns (from Boston)[k]	Vanderbilt (Sr.)
2	34	Rogers, MarshallMarshall Rogers	G	United States	Golden State Warriors	Pan American (Sr.)

Other picks

The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.

Round	Pick	Player	Pos.	Nationality	Team	School/club team
3	37	Hansen, LarsLars Hansen	C	Denmark  Canada1[›]	Chicago Bulls (from Kansas City)[l]	Washington (Sr.)
3	38	Sellers, PhilPhil Sellers	G/F	United States	Detroit Pistons	Rutgers (Sr.)
3	40	Walton, LloydLloyd Walton	G	United States	Milwaukee Bucks	Marquette (Sr.)
3	43	Abernethy, TomTom Abernethy	F	United States	Los Angeles Lakers	Indiana (Sr.)
3	50	Cole, GaryGary Cole (now Abdul Jeelani)2[›]	F/C	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers	Wisconsin–Parkside (Sr.)
3	45	Terrell, IraIra Terrell	F/C	United States	Phoenix Suns	SMU (Sr.)
4	52	Starr, KeithKeith Starr	G/F	United States	Chicago Bulls	Pittsburgh (Sr.)
4	53	Barker, TomTom Barker	F/C	United States	Atlanta Hawks	Hawaii (Sr.)
4	60	Britt, WaymanWayman Britt	G	United States	Los Angeles Lakers	Michigan (Sr.)
5	70	Davis, RonRon Davis	G/F	United States	Atlanta Hawks	Washington State (Sr.)
5	74	Griffin, PaulPaul Griffin	F/C	United States	New Orleans Jazz	Western Michigan (Sr.)
5	85	Lawrence, EdmundEdmund Lawrence	C	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers	McNeese State (Sr.)
6	89	McCarter, AndreAndre McCarter	G	United States	Kansas City Kings	UCLA (Sr.)
6	99	Dunleavy, MikeMike Dunleavy	G	United States	Philadelphia 76ers	South Carolina (Sr.)
6	103	Collins, ArtArt Collins	G	United States	Boston Celtics	Biscayne (Sr.)
7	111	Walker, AndyAndy Walker	G	United States	New Orleans Jazz	Niagara (Sr.)
7	117	Walker, PhilPhil Walker	G	United States	Philadelphia 76ers	Millersville (Sr.)
7	121	Drollinger, RalphRalph Drollinger	C	United States	Boston Celtics	UCLA (Sr.)
8	134	Barnhill, NortonNorton Barnhill	G	United States	Seattle SuperSonics	Washington State (Sr.)

Trades

• ^{a 1 2} 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.^[22] The Rockets used the pick to draft John Lucas. The Hawks used the pick to draft Armond Hill.

• ^b On May 29, 1975, the Buffalo Braves acquired a first-round pick from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a 1975 first-round pick.^[23] 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.^[24] The Braves used the pick to draft Adrian Dantley.

• ^c 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.^[25] The Warriors used the pick to draft Robert Parish.

• ^d On July 30, 1975, the Washington Bullets acquired a first-round pick from the Buffalo Braves in exchange for Dick Gibbs.^[26] The Bullets used the pick to draft Mitch Kupchak.

• ^{e 1 2} On October 22, 1975, the Seattle SuperSonics acquired a second-round pick from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Jim Fox.^[27] Previously, the Bucks acquired two 1976 second-round picks on June 5, 1975 from the Atlanta Hawks as a compensation when the Hawks illegally signed Julius Erving.^[3][28] Previously the Hawks acquired Bob Kauffman, Dean Meminger, 1974 and 1975 first-round picks, 1975 and 1976 second-round picks, and a 1980 third-round pick on May 20, 1974 from the New Orleans Jazz in exchange for Pete Maravich.^[29] The Sonics used the pick to draft Bayard Forrest. The Bucks used the pick to draft Alex English.

• ^f On September 16, 1974, the Portland Trail Blazers acquired Barry Clemens and future consideration (the Blazers acquired a second-round pick on May 25, 1976) from the New Orleans Jazz in exchange for Rick Roberson.^[30][31] Previously, the Jazz acquired Ron Behagen and the pick on May 28, 1975 from the Kansas City Kings in exchange for a 1975 first-round pick.^[32] The Blazers used the pick to draft Major Jones.

• ^g On November 3, 1975, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired John Roche and a second-round pick from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Pat Riley.^[33] Previously, the Suns acquired the pick on September 30, 1975 from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Earl Williams.^[34] The Lakers used the pick to draft Earl Tatum.

• ^h On June 3, 1976, the New Orleans Jazz acquired a 1976 second-round pick from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a 1977 second-round pick.^[35] Previously, the Blazers acquired the pick on June 9, 1975 from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Phil Lumpkin.^[36] Previously, the Suns acquired the pick and a 1977 third-round pick on November 27, 1974 from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Corky Calhoun.^[37] The Jazz used the pick to draft Jacky Dorsey.

• ⁱ On October 8, 1973, the Atlanta Hawks acquired a 1976 second-round pick and a 1977 third-round pick from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Bob Christian.^[38] The Hawks used the pick to draft Bob Carrington.

• ^j On February 1, 1976, the Phoenix Suns acquired Gar Heard and a second-round pick from the Buffalo Braves in exchange for John Shumate.^[39] The Suns used the pick to draft Al Fleming.

• ^k On May 23, 1975, the Phoenix Suns acquired Paul Westphal, 1975 and 1976 second-round picks from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Charlie Scott.^[40] The Suns used the pick to draft Butch Feher.

• ^l On December 8, 1975, the Chicago Bulls acquired a 1977 second-round pick and a 1976 third-round pick from the Kansas City Kings in exchange for Matt Guokas.^[41] The Bulls used the pick to draft Lars Hansen.

ABA dispersal draft

On August 5, 1976, the NBA hosted a dispersal draft to select players from the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, the American Basketball Association (ABA) franchises that were not included in the ABA–NBA merger. The eighteen NBA teams and the four ABA teams that joined the NBA, the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets and San Antonio Spurs, were allowed to participate in the draft. The teams selected in reverse order of their win–loss percentage in the previous NBA and ABA seasons.^[42] The team that made a selection must paid a certain price for the signing rights to the player, which are set by the league's committee. The money from the draft was used to help the four ABA teams that merged with the NBA to pay off some of their obligations to the two folded ABA franchises, the Colonels and the Spirits. The team that made a selection must assume the player's ABA contract. The player who are not selected would became a free agent.^[43]

Twenty players from the Colonels and the Spirits were available for the draft. Eleven were selected in the first round and the twelfth player was selected in the second round. Eight players were not selected and thus became a free agent. The Chicago Bulls used the first pick to select five-time ABA All-Star Artis Gilmore with a signing price of $ 1,100,000. The Portland Trail Blazers, who acquired the Atlanta Hawks' second pick, selected Maurice Lucas and Moses Malone with signing price of $ 300,000 and $ 350,000 respectively. Marvin Barnes, who was selected fourth by the Detroit Pistons was the second most expensive player in the draft with a signing price of $ 500,000. Several teams elected to pass their first-round picks and only the Kansas City Kings used the second-round pick. The draft continued until the third round, but no other players were selected.^[44]

Round	Pick	Player	Pos.	Nationality	Team	ABA team	Signing price	Ref.
1	1	Gilmore, ArtisArtis Gilmore^	C	United States	Chicago Bulls	Kentucky Colonels	$ 1,100,000	[45]
1	2	Lucas, MauriceMaurice Lucas*	F/C	United States	Portland Trail Blazers (from Atlanta)[m]	Kentucky Colonels	$ 300,000	[46]
1	3	Boone, RonRon Boone	G/F	United States	Kansas City Kings	Spirits of St. Louis	$ 250,000	[47]
1	4	Barnes, MarvinMarvin Barnes	F/C	United States	Detroit Pistons	Spirits of St. Louis	$ 500,000	[48]
1	5	Malone, MosesMoses Malone^	F/C	United States	Portland Trail Blazers	Spirits of St. Louis	$ 350,000	[49]
1	6	Denton, RandyRandy Denton	C	United States	New York Knicks	Spirits of St. Louis	$ 50,000	[50]
1	7	Averitt, BirdBird Averitt	G	United States	Buffalo Braves (from Milwaukee)[n]	Kentucky Colonels	$ 125,000	[51]
1	8	Jones, WilWil Jones	F	United States	Indiana Pacers	Kentucky Colonels	$ 50,000	[52]
1	9	Thomas, RonRon Thomas#	G/F	United States	Houston Rockets	Kentucky Colonels	$ 15,000	[53]
1	10	Dampier, LouieLouie Dampier	G	United States	San Antonio Spurs	Kentucky Colonels	$ 20,000	[54]
1	11	van Breda Kolff, JanJan van Breda Kolff	G/F	United States	New York Nets	Kentucky Colonels	$ 60,000	[55]
2	12	Barr, MikeMike Barr	G	United States	Kansas City Kings	Spirits of St. Louis	$ 15,000	[56]

Trades

• ^m On the draft-day, the Portland Trail Blazers acquired the second pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Geoff Petrie and Steve Hawes.^[46] The Blazers used the pick to draft Maurice Lucas.

• ⁿ On the draft-day, the Buffalo Braves acquired the seventh pick from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for a 1977 second-round pick.^[51] The Braves used the pick to draft Bird Averitt.

Notes

^ 1: Lars Hansen was born in Denmark, but grew up in Canada and has represented the Canadian national team.^[57]
^ 2: Gary Cole later changed his name into Abdul Jeelani. He used that name during his career in the NBA.^[58]

References

General

Specific

External links

• NBA.com
• NBA.com: NBA Draft History

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