1968 NBA expansion draft explained

1968 NBA expansion draft
Sport:	Basketball
Date:	May 6, 1968
League:	NBA
Prev:	1967
Next:	1970
Expansion Teams:	Milwaukee Bucks Phoenix Suns

The 1968 NBA expansion draft was the fourth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1968, so that the newly founded Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns could acquire players for the upcoming 1968–69 season. Milwaukee and Phoenix had been awarded the expansion teams on January 22, 1968.^[1] 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. In this draft, each of the twelve other NBA teams had protected seven players from their roster. After each round, where each the Suns and the Bucks had selected one player, the existing teams added another player to their protected list.^[2] The draft continued until both teams had selected eighteen unprotected players each, while the existing teams had lost three players each.

The Milwaukee Bucks were formed and owned by a group of investors headed by Wesley Pavalon and Marvin Fishman, which called the Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. (Milwaukee Pro).^[3] The Bucks were the second NBA team from Milwaukee, after the Milwaukee Hawks, which moved to St. Louis in 1955 and then Atlanta in 1968, becoming the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks' selections included former first overall pick Fred Hetzel, six-time All-Star Larry Costello, five-time All-Star Wayne Embry, four-time All-Star Guy Rodgers and one-time All-Star Len Chappell. Prior to the expansion draft, Costello retired from playing due to injury and was named as the franchise's first head coach.^{[4] [5]} Ten players from the expansion draft joined the Bucks for their inaugural season, but only three played more than one season for the team. Jon McGlocklin, who played eight seasons with the Bucks, was named to the 1969 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Star.^[6] He was the only player from the expansion draft that was on the Bucks team that won the NBA championship in .^[7] Embry was later inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.^[8]

The Phoenix Suns were formed and owned by a group of investors headed by Richard Bloch.^[9] Former Chicago Bulls head coach and Coach of the Year Johnny Kerr was named as the franchise's first head coach.^[10] The Suns' selections included former territorial picks Gail Goodrich and George Wilson. Eight players from the expansion draft joined the Suns for their inaugural season, but only five played more than one season for the team. John Wetzel was the ninth player from the expansion draft to play for the Suns. He made his first appearance in after serving in the military for two years.^[11] Goodrich and Dick Van Arsdale were named to the 1969 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Stars.^[6] Van Arsdale played nine seasons with the Suns and became the Suns' franchise leader in games played when he retired in 1977, a record which has since been broken by Alvan Adams and Walter Davis.^[12] Goodrich played two seasons with the Suns and was later inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player.^[13]

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.
^+	F/C		Milwaukee Bucks	Detroit Pistons	6	–	^[14]
	G		Milwaukee Bucks	Philadelphia 76ers	12	—	^[15]
	G		Milwaukee Bucks	Baltimore Bullets	7	—	^[16]
^+	F/C		Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics	10		^[17]
	F		Milwaukee Bucks	San Diego Rockets	10		^[18]
	G		Milwaukee Bucks	Cincinnati Royals	1	—	^[19]
	F/C		Milwaukee Bucks	San Francisco Warriors	3		^[20]
	F		Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics	1	—	^[21]
	F		Milwaukee Bucks	Cincinnati Royals	2		^[22]
^+	G/F		Milwaukee Bucks	San Diego Rockets	3	–	^[23]
	F		Milwaukee Bucks	Atlanta Hawks	1		^[24]
	F/C		Milwaukee Bucks	Seattle SuperSonics	6	—	^[25]
	F/C		Milwaukee Bucks	Detroit Pistons	1	—	^[26]
	F		Milwaukee Bucks	Philadelphia 76ers	1	—	^[27]
^	G		Milwaukee Bucks	Cincinnati Royals	10	–	^[28]
	G/F		Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics	4	—	^[29]
	G/F		Milwaukee Bucks	San Francisco Warriors	3		^[30]
	G		Milwaukee Bucks	Seattle SuperSonics	3		^[31]
	G		Phoenix Suns	San Diego Rockets	6	—	^[32]
	G		Phoenix Suns	New York Knicks	4	—	^[33]
^	G		Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers	3	–	^[34]
	F		Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers	1	—	^[35]
	F/C		Phoenix Suns	New York Knicks	2	–	^[36]
	F/C		Phoenix Suns	San Francisco Warriors	1		^[37]
	G		Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons	1	—	^[38]
	G/F		Phoenix Suns	Baltimore Bullets	1	–	^[39]
	F/C		Phoenix Suns	Chicago Bulls	4		^[40]
	G		Phoenix Suns	Philadelphia 76ers	1	—	^[41]
	G		Phoenix Suns	Chicago Bulls	2	—	^[42]
	G/F		Phoenix Suns	Atlanta Hawks	2	–	^[43]
	C		Phoenix Suns	Chicago Bulls	1	—	^[44]
	F/C		Phoenix Suns	Atlanta Hawks	5	—	^[45]
^+	G/F		Phoenix Suns	New York Knicks	3	–	^[46]
	G		Phoenix Suns	Baltimore Bullets	1	—	^[47]
	G/F		Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers	1	–;	^[48]
	C		Phoenix Suns	Seattle SuperSonics	4		^[49]

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

References

General

• Web site: Suns: Suns Draft History. NBA.com/Suns. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 3, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100515165752/http://www.nba.com/suns/history/draft_history.html. 15 May 2010. dead.
• Web site: NBA Expansion Drafts: Results. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 14, 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 14, 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: 1968 NBA Expansion Draft. basketball-reference.com. March 14, 2010.

Specific

External links

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: This Date in History–January. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 15, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100321143925/http://www.nba.com/history/this_date_january.html. 21 March 2010. dead.
2. News: Atlanta Gets Cage Hawks. Ocala Star-Banner. May 5, 1968. March 16, 2010.
3. Web site: How the Bucks became the Bucks. NBA.com/Bucks. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.. April 18, 2008. March 15, 2010.
4. Web site: Larry Costello, 70, Player and Coach in N.B.A., Is Dead. Richard. Goldstein. The New York Times. December 14, 2001. March 15, 2010.
5. News: Milwaukee Cage Job To Larry Costello. April 4, 1968. The Spokesman-Review. May 19, 2010.
6. Web site: 1969 NBA All-Star Game. basketball-reference.com. March 15, 2010.
7. Web site: Season records & recaps. NBA.com/Bucks. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 18, 2008. March 19, 2010.
8. Web site: Wayne Embry Bio. NBA.com/Raptors. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 15, 2010.
9. Web site: The Suns Rise in Phoenix. NBA.com/Suns. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 15, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100320171731/http://www.nba.com/suns/history/68_69recap.html. 20 March 2010 . live.
10. Web site: Johnny Kerr Bio. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 15, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20120122063328/http://www.nba.com/history/players/kerrj_bio.html. January 22, 2012. dead.
11. Web site: King's Assistant Coach John Wetzel Retires. June 3, 2004. March 15, 2010. NBA.com/Kings. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.
12. Web site: Phoenix Suns Career Leaders. December 11, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
13. Web site: Gail Goodrich Bio. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 15, 2010.
14. Web site: Len Chappell Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
15. Web site: Larry Costello Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
16. Web site: Johnny Egan Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
17. Web site: Wayne Embry Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
18. Web site: Dave Gambee Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
19. Web site: Gary Gray Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
20. Web site: Fred Hetzel Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100427004536/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hetzefr01.html. 27 April 2010 . live.
21. Web site: Johnny Jones Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100609122935/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jonesjo01.html. 9 June 2010 . live.
22. Web site: Bob Love Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
23. Web site: Jon McGlocklin Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
24. Web site: Jay Miller Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100526004332/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/milleja01.html. 26 May 2010 . live.
25. Web site: Bud Olsen Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100504191105/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/olsenbu01.html. 4 May 2010 . live.
26. Web site: George Patterson Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
27. Web site: Jim Reid Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
28. Web site: Guy Rodgers Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100524014634/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/rodgegu01.html. 24 May 2010 . live.
29. Web site: Tom Thacker Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100614012736/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thackto01.html. 14 June 2010 . live.
30. Web site: Bob Warlick Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100717040451/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/warlibo01.html. 17 July 2010 . live.
31. Web site: Bob Weiss Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
32. Web site: John Barnhill Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
33. Web site: Em Bryant Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
34. Web site: Gail Goodrich Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100605101802/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/goodrga01.html. 5 June 2010 . live.
35. Web site: Dennis Hamilton Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100531040201/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hamilde01.html. 31 May 2010 . live.
36. Web site: Neil Johnson Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
37. Web site: Dave Lattin Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
38. Web site: Paul Long Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
39. Web site: Stan McKenzie Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100528032935/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mckenst01.html. 28 May 2010 . live.
40. Web site: McCoy McLemore Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100505142655/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mclemmc01.html. 5 May 2010 . live.
41. Web site: Bill Melchionni Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
42. Web site: Dave Schellhase Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
43. Web site: Dick Snyder Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
44. Web site: Craig Spitzer Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
45. Web site: Bumper Tormohlen Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
46. Web site: Dick Van Arsdale Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100512180419/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/v/vanardi01.html. 12 May 2010 . live.
47. Web site: Roland West Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
48. Web site: John Wetzel Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com.
49. Web site: George Wilson Statistics. June 3, 2010. basketball-reference.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100507103456/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wilsoge01.html. 7 May 2010 . live.