1970 NBA draft
The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual player selection meeting of the National Basketball Association (NBA), conducted on March 23, 1970, in New York City and consisting of 19 rounds that produced 239 total picks.[1][2] This draft holds the record for the highest number of selections in NBA history, reflecting the league's expansion and the depth of available college talent at the time.[3] The Detroit Pistons chose center Bob Lanier from St. Bonaventure University with the first overall pick, a selection that anchored their franchise for over a decade.[1][2] The draft produced a record-tying 12 All-Stars (shared with the 1974 draft)[4] and multiple Hall of Famers, widely regarded as one of the strongest classes in NBA history due to players who shaped the league through the 1970s and beyond.[5] Key early selections included forward Rudy Tomjanovich (2nd overall, San Diego Rockets, Michigan), scoring sensation Pete Maravich (3rd overall, Atlanta Hawks, LSU), and future champion Dave Cowens (4th overall, Boston Celtics, Florida State), all of whom earned enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[1][2] Later rounds yielded additional legends, such as guard Calvin Murphy (18th overall, San Diego Rockets, Niagara—who was later the first overall pick in the 1987 World Basketball League draft at age 39—) and point guard Nate "Tiny" Archibald (19th overall, Cincinnati Royals, Arizona Western College), both Hall of Famers known for their scoring prowess and playmaking.[1][5][6] Of the 239 draftees, 57 ultimately played in the NBA, contributing to teams' rebuilds amid the league's growth to 17 franchises.[1] Notable aspects of the draft included the competitive bidding for top college stars amid the rising rivalry with the American Basketball Association (ABA), which conducted a parallel draft and signed away some talents like forward Dan Issel (drafted 122nd overall by the Pistons but choosing the ABA).[1][7] The event was held via telephone hookup across multiple cities to facilitate selections, underscoring the NBA's logistical evolution.[7] Overall, the 1970 class amassed significant accolades, including co-Rookie of the Year honors shared by Geoff Petrie (8th overall, Portland Trail Blazers) and Dave Cowens (4th overall, Boston Celtics), and multiple championship contributions, cementing its legacy as a pivotal moment in professional basketball history.[1][5]Background
Historical Context
The 1969–70 NBA season represented a pivotal moment for the league, as the New York Knicks captured their first championship in franchise history by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–3 in the Finals, culminating in Willis Reed's iconic Game 7 performance where he scored the Knicks' first two baskets despite a torn thigh muscle. The Knicks posted a franchise-record 60–22 regular-season mark, the best in the league, while earning Coach of the Year honors for Red Holzman and Finals MVP for Reed, who also won regular-season MVP. With just 14 teams divided into Eastern and Western divisions, the season highlighted the integration of fresh talent, including rookie sensation Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), whose 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game propelled the expansion Milwaukee Bucks to 56 wins and earned him Rookie of the Year honors.[8] The NBA faced mounting financial pressures during this period, exacerbated by the fierce rivalry with the American Basketball Association (ABA), which had formed in 1967 and aggressively pursued top college prospects, sparking a bidding war that inflated player salaries and spread elite talent thin across both leagues. Attendance in the NBA averaged 7,563 fans per game, reflecting uneven fan interest and profitability challenges for some franchises, while the ABA's flashy style and innovations like the three-point line boosted its average to 3,948 per game in 1969–70, intensifying the competition for markets and viewers. This talent dilution and economic strain prompted the NBA to accelerate expansion as a strategy to bolster revenue and counter the ABA's growth.[9][10][11] In response, the NBA expanded from 14 to 17 teams ahead of the 1970–71 season by admitting the Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers, aiming to tap new geographic areas and increase overall league visibility amid the ABA threat. This growth directly shaped the 1970 draft's structure, as the expansion franchises received the seventh, eighth, and fifteenth picks in the first round to build their rosters quickly, with the selection order determined by league procedures following the withdrawal of a planned fourth expansion team in Houston. Portland was awarded the eighth pick and used it to select guard Geoff Petrie out of Princeton, who would go on to win Rookie of the Year.[12][13][1]Eligibility and Process
The 1970 NBA draft operated under eligibility rules that primarily targeted amateur U.S. college basketball players who had exhausted their four years of collegiate eligibility, effectively requiring American participants to be at least four years removed from their high school graduation. This "four-year rule" prevented underclassmen, such as juniors, from declaring early for the draft, a restriction that would not change until the 1971 Supreme Court ruling in Spencer Haywood v. National Basketball Association, which introduced hardship provisions for early entry starting with the 1971 draft. International players were also eligible without the mandatory four-year college requirement, though no specific age minimum was enforced for them at the time, and such selections remained rare in the pre-globalization era of the league.[14][15] The selection process for the 1970 draft was an annual event organized by the NBA, held in New York City, where teams selected players in a predetermined order without a live audience format as seen in modern drafts. Picks were generally awarded in reverse order of each team's win-loss record from the 1969-70 season, incentivizing poorer performance with higher draft positions to promote competitive balance. To determine the very first overall pick, the league conducted a coin-flip tiebreaker between the two worst teams from each division—the Detroit Pistons (22-60 in the Eastern Division) and the San Diego Rockets (27-55 in the Western Division)—with the Pistons winning the toss and securing the top selection.[1][16] Territorial picks, which had allowed teams to forgo their regular first-round selection in favor of a local college star within a 50-mile radius to boost fan interest, were no longer in use by 1970, having been eliminated in 1966 as part of draft reforms. The addition of three expansion teams—the Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers—resulted in their draft positions being allocated within the reverse-order framework, with first-round selections at the seventh (Cleveland), eighth (Portland), and fifteenth (Buffalo) overall, following a separate expansion draft earlier that year to stock their initial rosters.[17][1]Draft Execution
Date, Location, and Format
The 1970 NBA draft took place on March 23, 1970.[1] It was coordinated from the league office in New York City through a conference telephone call linking representatives from all 17 participating teams across multiple cities.[7] This marked the first year the NBA used such a phone-based system for the entire draft process, allowing general managers and scouts to make selections remotely without a central in-person gathering.[18] The draft format consisted of 19 rounds, resulting in a record 239 total selections.[1] It was conducted entirely in a single day, with teams alternating picks in reverse order of their previous season's standings, beginning with the worst-performing team in each conference.[18] Unlike modern televised events, there were no commissioner-led public announcements; instead, picks were declared verbally over the phone line, with an emphasis on immediate team commitments to secure the selections.[16] The process moved quickly, covering the initial rounds in just over two hours before continuing to completion.[16]Participating Teams and Expansion Impact
The 1970 NBA Draft featured 17 participating teams, marking the league's expansion from 14 franchises to include the new Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers. The original 14 teams were the Atlanta Hawks, Baltimore Bullets, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cincinnati Royals, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, San Diego Rockets, San Francisco Warriors, and Seattle SuperSonics.[1] This expansion significantly influenced the draft's structure, as the league sought to equip the newcomers with competitive rosters without overly disrupting the established order. The three expansion teams were assigned specific priority positions in the first round: the Cleveland Cavaliers at seventh overall, the Portland Trail Blazers at eighth, and the Buffalo Braves at fifteenth. In subsequent rounds, the expansion teams alternated selections with existing franchises, often picking earlier to accelerate roster building. This allocation balanced opportunity for the new entrants while preserving incentives based on performance for veteran teams.[1] For the 14 established teams, the draft order was primarily determined by the inverse of their 1969–70 regular-season records, with poorer-performing squads granted earlier selections to foster parity. The last-place teams in their respective divisions, the Detroit Pistons (31–51) and San Diego Rockets (27–55), resolved the order of the first two picks via a coin flip, awarding Detroit the first overall pick and San Diego the second.[16][19] At the opposite end, the Milwaukee Bucks, who had won the 1970 NBA championship with a 56–26 record, selected 16th overall, while the New York Knicks, with a 60–22 mark, picked last at 17th.[20]Selections
First-Round Picks
The 1970 NBA Draft's first round featured 17 selections, held on March 23, 1970, in New York City, where teams prioritized versatile big men and scoring guards amid a league seeking talent to compete with the rising ABA.[1] The Detroit Pistons secured the No. 1 pick after winning a coin flip against the San Diego Rockets, a tiebreaker for the worst record from the previous season, allowing them to select St. Bonaventure center Bob Lanier, who had led his team to a 23-3 record and an NIT championship while averaging 27.6 points and 15.9 rebounds per game in college.[16] The Rockets, settling for the second spot, chose Michigan forward Rudy Tomjanovich, a 6-foot-8 rebounder known for his defensive prowess and 18.3 points per game average during his senior year.[1] The Atlanta Hawks, exercising a pick acquired from the San Francisco Warriors in a February 1970 trade for forward Zelmo Beaty, selected Louisiana State guard Pete Maravich third overall; Maravich entered the draft as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer with 3,667 points over three seasons, drawing significant pre-draft buzz for his flashy ball-handling and long-range shooting despite playing without a three-point line in college.[21] This selection underscored the draft's emphasis on offensive firepower, following the Pistons' and Rockets' focus on interior strength—scouts had praised the class's center depth, with Lanier viewed as a ready-made successor to aging pivots league-wide, though comparisons were often drawn to recent stars like Elvin Hayes from the 1968 draft for the positional talent pool.[16] Subsequent picks highlighted a mix of athletic forwards and guards, with teams like the Boston Celtics opting for Florida State's Dave Cowens at No. 4, a gritty 6-foot-9 center who had averaged 19 points and 17 rebounds in his final college season.[1] The full list of first-round selections is as follows:| Pick | Player | Position | College/University | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Lanier | C | St. Bonaventure | Detroit Pistons |
| 2 | Rudy Tomjanovich | F | Michigan | San Diego Rockets |
| 3 | Pete Maravich | G | LSU | Atlanta Hawks |
| 4 | Dave Cowens | C | Florida State | Boston Celtics |
| 5 | Sam Lacey | C | New Mexico State | Cincinnati Royals |
| 6 | Jim Ard | F/C | Cincinnati | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 7 | John Johnson | F | Iowa | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 8 | Geoff Petrie | G | Princeton | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 9 | George Johnson | C | Stephen F. Austin | Baltimore Bullets |
| 10 | Greg Howard | F | New Mexico | Phoenix Suns |
| 11 | Jimmy Collins | G | New Mexico State | Chicago Bulls |
| 12 | Al Henry | F | Wisconsin | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 13 | Jim McMillian | F | Columbia | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 14 | John Vallely | G/F | UCLA | Atlanta Hawks |
| 15 | John Hummer | F/C | Princeton | Buffalo Braves |
| 16 | Gary Freeman | F | Oregon State | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 17 | Mike Price | G | Illinois | New York Knicks |
Subsequent Rounds and Overall Table
The 1970 NBA Draft extended to 19 rounds, resulting in a total of 239 selections across all teams, marking it as one of the longest drafts in league history with selections continuing even as teams often passed in later rounds.[1] While the first round focused on high-profile college stars, subsequent rounds (2 through 19) unearthed several Hall of Famers and future stars, demonstrating the draft's unexpected depth despite many picks never reaching the NBA—only 57 of the 239 draftees ultimately played in the league.[1] These later selections included a mix of domestic college talents and early international prospects, with notations common for players who opted for the rival ABA or remained overseas. Notable picks from these rounds highlighted the draft's value beyond the lottery. In Round 2, the San Diego Rockets selected guard Calvin Murphy from Niagara University with the 18th overall pick, a diminutive scorer who became a scoring champion and Hall of Famer.[22] Immediately following, the Cincinnati Royals chose guard Nate Archibald from the University of Texas at El Paso at 19th overall, known as "Tiny," who later earned MVP honors and Hall of Fame induction for his playmaking prowess.[23] Further depth appeared in Round 8, where the Detroit Pistons picked forward Dan Issel from the University of Kentucky at 122nd overall; Issel bypassed the NBA initially to join the ABA's Kentucky Colonels, where he starred before transitioning to the league.[24] International flavor emerged prominently in Round 11, with the Atlanta Hawks selecting Italian center Dino Meneghin at 182nd overall—no college affiliation listed—as one of the earliest non-U.S. draftees, though he never played in the NBA and instead built a legendary career in European basketball.[25] The draft's structure saw 17 picks per round in the early stages (Rounds 2–10), tapering to fewer in later rounds as teams exhausted their selections or passed, totaling 222 picks from Rounds 2–19.[1] Many selections, particularly beyond Round 5, featured players who never appeared in NBA games, often due to military service, injuries, or professional choices elsewhere; for instance, over 80% of picks from Rounds 12–19 did not play in the league.[1] This depth underscored the era's expansive scouting.| Round | Overall Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | College/Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 18 | Calvin Murphy | G | USA | San Diego Rockets | Niagara University |
| 2 | 19 | Nate Archibald | G | USA | Cincinnati Royals | University of Texas at El Paso |
| 2 | 26 | Walt Wesley | C | USA | Cincinnati Royals | Purdue (never played in NBA) |
| 8 | 122 | Dan Issel | F | USA | Detroit Pistons | University of Kentucky (joined ABA) |
| 10 | 167 | Manuel Raga | G | Mexico | Atlanta Hawks | No college (international, never played in NBA) |
| 11 | 182 | Dino Meneghin | C | Italy | Atlanta Hawks | No college (remained in Europe) |
| 19 | 239 | Ken Warzynski | F | USA | Portland Trail Blazers | Idaho (never played) |