1967 NBA expansion draft explained

1967 NBA expansion draft
Sport:	Basketball
Date:	May 1, 1967
League:	NBA
Prev:	1966
Next:	1968
Expansion Teams:	San Diego Rockets Seattle SuperSonics

The 1967 NBA expansion draft was the third expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 1, 1967, so that the newly founded San Diego Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics could acquire players for the upcoming 1967–68 season. Seattle and San Diego had been awarded the expansion teams on December 20, 1966, and January 11, 1967, respectively.^{[1] [2]} The Rockets moved to Houston, Texas, in and are currently known as the Houston Rockets.^[3] The SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City, in 2008 and are currently known as the Oklahoma City Thunder.^[4] In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. The Rockets and the Sonics selected fifteen unprotected players each, while the ten other NBA teams lost three players each.

The Rockets, the 12th franchise in the NBA, were founded by Robert Breitbard. The Rockets name was chosen because it reflects the growth of the space-age industries in the city as well as the city's theme of "a city in motion".^[3] Former Cincinnati Royals and Chicago Zephyrs head coach Jack McMahon was named as the franchise's first head coach and general manager.^[5] The Rockets' selections included three-time All-Star Johnny Green. Ten players from the expansion draft joined the Rockets for their inaugural season, but only five played more than one season for the team. Don Kojis, who played three seasons with the Rockets, was named to the 1968 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Star.^[6]

The SuperSonics, the 11th franchise in the NBA, were founded by a group of investors led by Sam Schulman and Eugene Klein.^[7] Schulman then served as president of the team and head of operations. He hired former Chicago Bulls assistant coach Al Bianchi to become the franchise's first head coach.^[8] The Sonics' selections included six-time All-Star Richie Guerin and one-time All-Star Tom Meschery. Guerin, who was serving as the St. Louis Hawks' player-coach when the Sonics selected him, decided to retire from playing and became a full-time head coach for the Hawks. He never played for the Sonics, even though he later came back from retirement to play with the Hawks.^[9] Nine players from the expansion draft joined the Sonics for their inaugural season, but only four played more than one season for the team. Walt Hazzard, who only played one season with the Sonics, was named to the 1968 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Star.^[6]

Key

Pos.	G	F	C
Position	Guard	Forward	Center

Selections

Player	Pos.	Nationality	Team	Previous team	Years of NBA experience	Career with the franchise	Ref.
	G/F		San Diego Rockets	Boston Celtics	1	–	^[10]
	G		San Diego Rockets	Baltimore Bullets	5		^[11]
^+	F/C		San Diego Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers	1	–	^[12]
	C		San Diego Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers	1	–	^[13]
	F		San Diego Rockets	Philadelphia 76ers	9		^[14]
^+	F/C		San Diego Rockets	Baltimore Bullets	8		^[15]
	F/C		San Diego Rockets	Boston Celtics	1	–	^[16]
^+	F		San Diego Rockets	Chicago Bulls	4	–	^[17]
	G		San Diego Rockets	Cincinnati Royals	1	—	^[18]
^+	G/F		San Diego Rockets	Cincinnati Royals	2		^[19]
	F		San Diego Rockets	New York Knicks	1	—	^[20]
	G		San Diego Rockets	San Francisco Warriors	6	—	^[21]
	G		San Diego Rockets	Detroit Pistons	5	—	^[22]
	G		San Diego Rockets	Chicago Bulls	4	—	^[23]
	F		San Diego Rockets	Cincinnati Royals	1		^[24]
	F/C		Seattle SuperSonics	New York Knicks	1		^[25]
	C		Seattle SuperSonics	Philadelphia 76ers	1	—	^[26]
	G		Seattle SuperSonics	New York Knicks	1	—	^[27]
	G		Seattle SuperSonics	St. Louis Hawks	11	—	^[28]
^+	G		Seattle SuperSonics	Los Angeles Lakers	3		^[29]
	G		Seattle SuperSonics	St. Louis Hawks	1	–	^[30]
^+	F		Seattle SuperSonics	San Francisco Warriors	6	–	^[31]
	F/C		Seattle SuperSonics	Detroit Pistons	1	–	^[32]
	F/C		Seattle SuperSonics	San Francisco Warriors	1		^[33]
	F		Seattle SuperSonics	Detroit Pistons	2	—	^[34]
	G		Seattle SuperSonics	St. Louis Hawks	4	–	^[35]
	G/F		Seattle SuperSonics	Baltimore Bullets	5	—	^[36]
	F		Seattle SuperSonics	Boston Celtics	2	—	^[37]
	G		Seattle SuperSonics	Philadelphia 76ers	2		^[38]
	C		Seattle SuperSonics	Chicago Bulls	3		^[39]

Notes

• Number of years played in the NBA prior to the draft
• Career with the expansion franchise that drafted the player
• Never played a game for the franchise
• Tom Meschery (formerly Tomislav Mescheryakov) was born in Harbin, Manchuria (now part of China) to Russian parents. He moved to the United States at the age of 8 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen.^{[40] [41]}

References

General

• Web site: NBA Expansion Drafts: Results. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100329091903/http://www.nba.com/history/expansion_drafts.html. 29 March 2010. dead.
• Web site: All-Time NBA Expansion Draft Results . NBA.com/Bobcats . Turner Sports Interactive, Inc . March 11, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080116123003/http://www.nba.com/bobcats/news/draft_central_expansion_alltime_results.html . January 16, 2008 .
• Web site: 1967 NBA Expansion Draft. basketball-reference.com. March 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100327041927/http://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1967_expansion.html. 27 March 2010 . live.

Specific

External links

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Seattle SuperSonics History. NBA.com/Thunder. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100223071110/http://www.nba.com/thunder/history/sonics_history.html. 2010-02-23. dead.
2. Web site: This Date in History–January. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100321143925/http://www.nba.com/history/this_date_january.html. 21 March 2010. dead.
3. Web site: Owners, fans waited years before Rockets took off. September 20, 2001. The Houston Chronicle. March 11, 2010.
4. Web site: SuperSonics, Seattle reach last-minute settlement. July 3, 2008. March 14, 2010. ESPN.com.
5. Web site: 2009-10 Houston Rockets Media Guide. March 11, 2010. NBA.com/Rockets. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. https://web.archive.org/web/20100310134834/http://www.nba.com/media/rockets/2009-10MediaGuide_page129.170.pdf. 10 March 2010 . live.
6. Web site: 1968 NBA All-Star Game. basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. March 14, 2010.
7. Web site: Sam Schulman, 1910–2003: He ushered Seattle into big-time sports. Danny. O'Neil. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. June 14, 2003. March 11, 2010.
8. Web site: Suns Add Al Bianchi to Coaching Staff. February 18, 2002. March 11, 2010. NBA.com/Suns. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.
9. Web site: Richie Guerin Bio. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20010211163726/http://nba.com/history/guerin_bio.html. February 11, 2001.
10. Web site: Jim Barnett Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
11. Web site: John Barnhill Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
12. Web site: John Block Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
13. Web site: Hank Finkel Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
14. Web site: Dave Gambee Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
15. Web site: Johnny Green Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
16. Web site: Toby Kimball Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
17. Web site: Don Kojis Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
18. Web site: Freddie Lewis Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
19. Web site: Jon McGlocklin Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
20. Web site: Wayne Molis Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
21. Web site: Paul Neumann Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100619085258/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/neumapa01.html. 19 June 2010 . live.
22. Web site: Chico Vaughn Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100526150005/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/v/vaughch01.html. 26 May 2010 . live.
23. Web site: Gerry Ward Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100619071549/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wardge01.html. 19 June 2010 . live.
24. Web site: Jim Ware Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
25. Web site: Henry Akin Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
26. Web site: Nate Bowman Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100601082817/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bowmana01.html. 1 June 2010 . live.
27. Web site: Dave Deutsch Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
28. Web site: Richie Guerin Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
29. Web site: Walt Hazzard Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
30. Web site: Tommy Kron Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100529060902/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kronto01.html. 29 May 2010 . live.
31. Web site: Tom Meschery Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
32. Web site: Dorie Murrey Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
33. Web site: Bud Olsen Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100504191105/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/olsenbu01.html. 4 May 2010 . live.
34. Web site: Ron Reed Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
35. Web site: Rod Thorn Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
36. Web site: Ben Warley Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100701035231/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/warlebe01.html. 1 July 2010 . live.
37. Web site: Ron Watts Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
38. Web site: Bob Weiss Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
39. Web site: George Wilson Statistics. June 2, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100507103456/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wilsoge01.html. 7 May 2010 . live.
40. Web site: Former NBA tough guy Tom Meschery a man of rhyme, reason. Jerry. Crowe. November 9, 2009. Los Angeles Times. December 11, 2010.
41. Web site: International Timeline. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. December 11, 2010.