1964 NBA draft

The 1964 NBA draft was the 18th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 4, 1964 before the 1964–65 season. In this draft, nine 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. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile (80 km) radius of its home arena as their territorial pick.^[1][2] The draft consisted of 15 rounds comprising 101 players selected.

Draft selections and draftee career notes

Mahdi Abdul-Rahman (then known as Walt Hazzard) and George Wilson were selected before the draft as Los Angeles Lakers' and Cincinnati Royals' territorial picks respectively. Jim Barnes from Texas Western College was selected first overall by the New York Knicks. Willis Reed from Grambling College, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, was selected eight overall by the New York Knicks.^[3] Reed has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and was also named in the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.^[4][5] Reed, who spent all of his 10-year playing career with the Knicks, won the NBA championships twice in 1970 and 1973. In both NBA Finals, he was named as the Finals MVP. He also won the Most Valuable Player Award in 1970 and was selected to five All-NBA Teams and seven All-Star Games.^[6] He became a head coach after ending his playing career. He coached the Knicks for two seasons and then the New Jersey Nets for two seasons.^[7]

Paul Silas, the 10th pick, won three NBA championships, two with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976 and one with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979. He also had two All-Star Game selections.^[8] After his playing career, he coached three NBA teams, most recently with the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[9] Jerry Sloan, the 19th pick, was selected to two All-Star Games in his playing career before becoming a head coach. He coached the Chicago Bulls for three seasons before being fired during the 1981–82 season. He then became the head coach of the Utah Jazz in 1988, the position he held until resigning in early 2011.^[10] He has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.^[4] Abdul-Rahman, 2nd pick Joe Caldwell, 4th pick Lucious Jackson and 5th pick Jeff Mullins are the only other players from this draft who have been selected to an All-Star Game.^{[11][12][13][14]} John Thompson, the 25th pick, has also been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Hame as a coach.^[4] After finishing his playing career, he became a successful college basketball head coach at Georgetown University. He coached the Georgetown Hoyas for 27 seasons, winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in 1984 and becoming the first African American head coach to win a major collegiate championship.^[15][16] Aside from playing basketball, 12th pick Cotton Nash also played professional baseball in the Major League Baseball (MLB). He played baseball for three seasons in between his basketball career.^[17][18] He is one of only 12 athletes who have played in both NBA and MLB.^[19][20][21]

Key

Draft

Walt Hazzard was a territorial pick selected by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Willis Reed was the 8th pick, selected by the New York Knicks.

Paul Silas was the 10th pick, selected by the St. Louis Hawks.

Round	Pick	Player	Pos.	Nationality	Team	School/club team
0T	00–	Hazzard, WaltWalt Hazzard+1[›]	G	United States	Los Angeles Lakers	UCLA
0T	00–	Wilson, GeorgeGeorge Wilson	C	United States	Cincinnati Royals	Cincinnati
1	01	Barnes, JimJim Barnes	F/C	United States	New York Knicks	Texas Western
1	02	Caldwell, JoeJoe Caldwell+	G/F	United States	Detroit Pistons	Arizona State
1	03	Bradds, GaryGary Bradds	F	United States	Baltimore Bullets	Ohio State
1	04	Jackson, LuciousLucious Jackson+	F/C	United States	Philadelphia 76ers	Pan American
1	05	Mullins, JeffJeff Mullins+	G/F	United States	St. Louis Hawks	Duke
1	06	Kramer, BarryBarry Kramer	G/F	United States	San Francisco Warriors	NYU
1	07	Counts, MelMel Counts	F/C	United States	Boston Celtics	Oregon State
2	08	Reed, WillisWillis Reed^	F/C	United States	New York Knicks	Grambling
2	09	Hunter, LesLes Hunter	F/C	United States	Detroit Pistons	Loyola (IL)
2	10	Silas, PaulPaul Silas+	F/C	United States	St. Louis Hawks (from Baltimore)	Creighton
2	11	Harge, IraIra Harge#	C	United States	Philadelphia 76ers	New Mexico
2	12	Nash, CottonCotton Nash	F	United States	Los Angeles Lakers	Kentucky
2	13	Komives, HowardHoward Komives	G	United States	New York Knicks (from St. Louis)[a]	Bowling Green
2	14	Koper, BudBud Koper	G	United States	San Francisco Warriors	Oklahoma City
2	15	Chmielewski, BillBill Chmielewski#	C	United States	Cincinnati Royals	Philadelphia Tapers (ABL)2[›]
2	16	Bonham, RonRon Bonham	F	United States	Boston Celtics	Cincinnati

Other picks

Jerry Sloan was the 19th pick, selected by the Baltimore Bullets.

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	18	Jones, WaliWali Jones	G	United States	Detroit Pistons	Villanova
3	19	Sloan, JerryJerry Sloan+	G/F	United States	Baltimore Bullets	Evansville
3	20	Jones, LarryLarry Jones	G/F	United States	Philadelphia 76ers	Toledo
3	23	McLemore, McCoyMcCoy McLemore	F/C	United States	San Francisco Warriors	Drake
3	24	Courtin, SteveSteve Courtin	G	United States	Cincinnati Royals	Saint Joseph's
3	25	Thompson, JohnJohn Thompson	F	United States	Boston Celtics	Providence
4	26	Crawford, FreddieFreddie Crawford	G/F	United States	New York Knicks	St. Bonaventure
4	27	Davis, JimJim Davis	F/C	United States	Detroit Pistons	Colorado
4	30	Finkel, HankHank Finkel	C	United States	Los Angeles Lakers	Dayton
4	33	Hairston, HappyHappy Hairston	F	United States	Cincinnati Royals	NYU
4	34	Strawder, JoeJoe Strawder	C	United States	Boston Celtics	Bradley
5	40	Tresvant, JohnJohn Tresvant	F/C	United States	St. Louis Hawks	Seattle
7	53	Bryant, EmEm Bryant	G	United States	New York Knicks	DePaul
9	72	Black, TomTom Black	C	United States	Baltimore Bullets	South Dakota State

Trades

• ^a On October 18, 1963, the New York Knicks acquired a second-round pick from the St. Louis Hawks in exchange for Richie Guerin.^[22] The Knicks used the pick to draft Howard Komives.

Notes

^ 1: Walt Hazzard changed his name to Mahdi Abdul-Rahman in 1972. However, he retained his birth name throughout his professional career.^[23]
^ 2: Bill Chmielewski left college in 1962 after his sophomore year. He then played in the American Basketball League (ABL), before the league folded in 1963.^[24][25]

References

General

Specific

External links

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