1970 NBA draft explained

1970 NBA draft
Sport:Basketball
Date:March 23, 1970
Location:New York City, New York
League:NBA
Overall:239
Rounds:19
First:Bob Lanier, Detroit Pistons
Prev:1969
Next:1971

The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international 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. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip.[1] The Detroit Pistons won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the San Diego Rockets were awarded the second pick. 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. Three expansion franchises, the Buffalo Braves, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the seventh, the eighth and the ninth pick in each round. In the first round, the Cavaliers had the seventh pick, while the Blazers and the Braves had the eighth and the ninth pick respectively. In the subsequent rounds, the Cavaliers and the Braves exchanged their order of selection, while the Blazers had the eighth pick throughout the draft. The draft consisted of 19 rounds comprising the selection of 239 players; it holds the record for the most prospects selected in any NBA draft.

Draft selections and draftee career notes

Bob Lanier from St. Bonaventure University was selected first overall by the Detroit Pistons. Rudy Tomjanovich from the University of Michigan and Pete Maravich from Louisiana State University were selected second and third respectively. Fourth pick Dave Cowens from Florida State University and eighth pick Geoff Petrie from Princeton University went on to be named as joint winners of the Rookie of the Year Award in their first season.[2] Six players from this draft, Lanier, Maravich, Cowens, 18th pick Calvin Murphy, 19th pick Nate Archibald and 122nd pick Dan Issel, have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.[3] Maravich, Cowens and Archibald were also named to the list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.[4] Maravich had four All-NBA Team selections and five All-Star Game selections.[5] Cowens won two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976, one Most Valuable Player Award in 1973, and had three All-NBA Team selections and seven All-Star Game selections.[6] Archibald won one NBA championship with the Celtics in 1981 and had five All-NBA Team selections and six All-Star Game selections.[7] Lanier and Murphy were selected to eight and one All-Star Games respectively.[8] [9] Dan Issel initially opted to play in the American Basketball Association (ABA) with the Kentucky Colonels. He played six seasons in the ABA before finally joining the NBA with the Denver Nuggets when both leagues merged. He was selected to five All-ABA Teams, six ABA All-Star Games and one NBA All-Star Game.[10] [11]

Randy Smith, who was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 205th pick, did not enter the league until the 1971–72 season, after he was drafted again in the 1971 NBA draft by the Buffalo Braves with the 104th pick. He was selected to both the All-NBA Team and the All-Star Game.[12] Tomjanovich was selected to five All-Star Games during his career.[13] Charlie Scott, the 106th pick, initially opted to play in the ABA with the Virginia Squires before joining the NBA in 1972. He was selected to two All-ABA Teams, two ABA All-Star Games and three NBA All-Star Games.[14] Three other players from this draft, fifth pick Sam Lacey, seventh pick John Johnson and eighth pick Geoff Petrie, was also selected to at least one All-Star Game.[15] [16] [17] The Rockets' first and second round picks, Tomjanovich and Murphy spent all of their playing career with the Rockets. Tomjanovich played 11 seasons while Murphy played 13 seasons with the Rockets.[9] [13]

Lanier, Tomjanovich, Cowens and Issel all became head coaches after ending their playing career. Lanier was the interim head coach of the Golden State Warriors in the 1995.[18] Tomjanovich coached two NBA teams, the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers. He coached the Rockets for 12 seasons, leading them to the NBA championship twice in 1994 and 1995.[19] He also coached the United States national basketball team to a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. Cowens started his coaching career as a player-coach with the Celtics during the 1978–79 season, before returning to a full-time player in the next season. He later coached two more NBA teams, most recently with the Golden State Warriors.[20] Issel coached the Denver Nuggets for six seasons in two separate three-year stints.[21] Two other players drafted also went on to have coaching careers in the NBA: 40th pick Gar Heard and 125th pick George Irvine.[22] [23]

The 1970 draft class is considered to be one of the best in NBA history as it produced eight Hall of Famers and twelve All-Stars from those draftees who played in the NBA.[24] The first four picks were inducted to the Hall of Fame and seven of the first eight picks became All-Stars. The 1970 Draft is also known as the first draft where international players who had never played U.S. high school and college basketball were selected. In the 10th and 11th round, the Atlanta Hawks drafted Mexican Manuel Raga and Italian Dino Meneghin; both were playing in the Italian league at the time.[25] They became the first two international players drafted to the NBA.[26] However, neither of them ever played in the league as the Hawks did not have US$35,000 to buy out either of their contracts with their teams.[27] Meneghin, who played 28 seasons in Italy, has been inducted by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to the FIBA Hall of Fame and also to the Basketball Hall of Fame.[28] [29] [30] Raga has also been inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Key

Pos.GFC
PositionGuardForwardCenter

Draft

PlayerTeam
11^CDetroit Pistons
12^FSan Diego Rockets
13^G
14^F/CBoston Celtics
15+CCincinnati Royals
16F/CSeattle SuperSonics
17+FCleveland Cavaliers
18+GPortland Trail Blazers
19C
110F/CPhoenix SunsBrill Cagliari [31]
111GChicago Bulls
112CPhiladelphia 76ers
113FLos Angeles Lakers
114GAtlanta Hawks
115F/C
116FMilwaukee Bucks
117GNew York Knicks
218^GSan Diego Rockets
219^G
220G
221GBoston Celtics
222FCincinnati Royals
223F/CSeattle SuperSonics
224F/CBuffalo Braves
225FPortland Trail Blazers
226FCleveland Cavaliers
227G/FPhoenix Suns
228F/CChicago Bulls
229G
230GLos Angeles Lakers
231FAtlanta Hawks
232F
233GMilwaukee Bucks
234GNew York Knicks
335FSan Diego Rockets
336FSan Francisco Warriors
337CDetroit Pistons
338FBoston Celtics
339FCincinnati Royals
340FSeattle SuperSonics
341FCleveland Cavaliers
342FPortland Trail Blazers
343GBaltimore Bullets
344FPhoenix Suns
345GChicago Bulls
346CPhiladelphia 76ers
347GDetroit Pistons
348FPhoenix Suns
349GBaltimore Bullets
350GMilwaukee Bucks
351FNew York Knicks
452GSan Diego Rockets
453FSan Francisco Warriors
454F
455FBoston Celtics
456GCincinnati Royals
457FChicago Bulls
458FBuffalo Braves
459GPortland Trail Blazers
460GCleveland Cavaliers
461CPhoenix Suns
462GChicago Bulls
463FPhiladelphia 76ers
464FLos Angeles Lakers
465FAtlanta Hawks
466CBaltimore Bullets
467GMilwaukee Bucks
468FNew York Knicks
569CSan Diego Rockets
570GSan Francisco Warriors
571FDetroit Pistons
572FBoston Celtics
573FCincinnati Royals
574FSeattle SuperSonics
575FCleveland Cavaliers
576FPortland Trail Blazers
577GBuffalo Braves
578GPhoenix Suns
579F/CChicago Bulls
580FPhiladelphia 76ers
581FLos Angeles Lakers
582FAtlanta Hawks
583GBaltimore Bullets
584CMilwaukee Bucks
585GNew York Knicks
686FSan Diego Rockets
687CSan Francisco Warriors
688FDetroit Pistons
689FBoston Celtics
690CCincinnati Royals
691FSeattle SuperSonics
692CBuffalo Braves
693FPortland Trail Blazers
694GCleveland Cavaliers
695FPhoenix Suns
696FChicago Bulls
697FPhiladelphia 76ers
698GLos Angeles Lakers
699FAtlanta Hawks
6100FBaltimore Bullets
6101FMilwaukee Bucks
6102FNew York Knicks
7103F/CSan Diego Rockets
7104FSan Francisco Warriors
7105FDetroit Pistons
7106^G/FBoston Celtics
7107FCincinnati Royals
7108FSeattle SuperSonics
7109FCleveland Cavaliers
7110FPortland Trail Blazers
7111FBuffalo Braves
7112GPhoenix Suns
7113GChicago Bulls
7114FPhiladelphia 76ers
7115GLos Angeles Lakers
7116GAtlanta Hawks
7117FBaltimore Bullets
7118GMilwaukee Bucks
7119GNew York Knicks
8120FSan Diego Rockets
8121GSan Francisco Warriors
8122^F/CDetroit Pistons
8123CBoston Celtics
8124FCincinnati Royals
8125FSeattle SuperSonics
8126FBuffalo Braves
8127FPortland Trail Blazers
8128GCleveland Cavaliers
8129CPhoenix Suns
8130GChicago Bulls
8131GPhiladelphia 76ers
8132GLos Angeles Lakers
8133GAtlanta Hawks
8134GBaltimore Bullets
8135FMilwaukee Bucks
8136CNew York Knicks
9137GSan Diego Rockets
9138GSan Francisco Warriors
9139FDetroit Pistons
9140GBoston Celtics
9141FCincinnati Royals
9142FSeattle SuperSonics
9143FCleveland Cavaliers
9144GPortland Trail Blazers
9145FBuffalo Braves
9146FPhoenix Suns
9147GChicago Bulls
9148FPhiladelphia 76ers
9149GLos Angeles Lakers
9150GAtlanta Hawks
9151FBaltimore Bullets
9152GMilwaukee Bucks
9153CNew York Knicks
10154GSan Diego Rockets
10155F/CSan Francisco Warriors
10156FDetroit Pistons
10157FBoston Celtics
10158CCincinnati Royals
10159CSeattle SuperSonics
10160FBuffalo Braves
10161FPortland Trail Blazers
10162FCleveland Cavaliers
10163FPhoenix Suns
10164GChicago Bulls
10165GPhiladelphia 76ers
10166FLos Angeles Lakers
10167FAtlanta Hawks
10168GBaltimore Bullets
10169FMilwaukee Bucks
10170GNew York Knicks
11171FSan Diego Rockets
11172FDetroit Pistons
11173FCincinnati Royals
11174FSeattle SuperSonics
11175CCleveland Cavaliers
11176FPortland Trail Blazers
11177GBuffalo Braves
11178GPhoenix Suns
11179GChicago Bulls
11180GPhiladelphia 76ers
11181FLos Angeles Lakers
11182CAtlanta Hawks
11183FBaltimore Bullets
12184FSan Diego Rockets
12185GDetroit Pistons
12186GCincinnati Royals
12187FSeattle SuperSonics
12188FPortland Trail Blazers
12189GCleveland Cavaliers
12190FPhoenix Suns
12191CChicago Bulls
12192GLos Angeles Lakers
12193FBaltimore Bullets
13194GSan Diego Rockets
13195FDetroit Pistons
13196GCincinnati Royals
13197GSeattle SuperSonics
13198FCleveland Cavaliers
13199FPortland Trail Blazers
13200FPhoenix Suns
13201FChicago Bulls
13202FLos Angeles Lakers
13203FBaltimore Bullets
14204GSan Diego Rockets
14205G/FBuffalo Braves
14206FCincinnati Royals
14207FSeattle SuperSonics
14208FPortland Trail Blazers
14209GCleveland Cavaliers
14210GPhoenix Suns
14211FChicago Bulls
14212FLos Angeles Lakers
14213FBaltimore Bullets
15214CSan Diego Rockets
15215GDetroit Pistons
15216FCincinnati Royals
15217FCleveland Cavaliers
15218FPortland Trail Blazers
15219GPhoenix Suns
15220FChicago Bulls
15221CLos Angeles Lakers
15222FBaltimore Bullets
16223FSan Diego Rockets
16224GDetroit Pistons
16225FCincinnati Royals
16226FPortland Trail Blazers
16227GCleveland Cavaliers
16228CLos Angeles Lakers
16229FBaltimore Bullets
17230FSan Diego Rockets
17231FCleveland Cavaliers
17232GLos Angeles Lakers
17233GBaltimore Bullets
18234GSan Diego Rockets
18235FPortland Trail Blazers
18236FCleveland Cavaliers
19237GSan Diego Rockets
19238FCleveland Cavaliers
19239FPortland Trail Blazers

Trades

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1970 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.

PlayerPos.NationalitySchool/club team
G
G

See also

References

General
Specific

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Evolution of the Draft and Lottery. March 20, 2010. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. https://web.archive.org/web/20100321141751/http://www.nba.com/history/draft_evolution.html. 21 March 2010. dead.
  2. Web site: Rookie of the Year. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 28, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100329231204/http://www.nba.com/history/awards_rookieofyear.html. 29 March 2010. dead.
  3. Web site: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees. basketball-reference.com. March 28, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100510070651/http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/hof.html. 10 May 2010 . live.
  4. Web site: The NBA's 50 Greatest Players. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 28, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100405004357/http://www.nba.com/history/50greatest.html. 5 April 2010. dead.
  5. Web site: Pete Maravich Bio. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 28, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100402064325/http://www.nba.com/history/players/maravich_bio.html. 2 April 2010 . live.
  6. Web site: Dave Cowens Bio. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 28, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100324120814/http://www.nba.com/history/players/cowens_bio.html. 24 March 2010 . live.
  7. Web site: Nate "Tiny" Archibald Bio. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 28, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100324100221/http://www.nba.com/history/players/archibald_bio.html. 24 March 2010 . live.
  8. Web site: Bob Lanier Bio. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 28, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100320033221/http://www.nba.com/history/players/lanier_bio.html. 20 March 2010 . live.
  9. Web site: Calvin Murphy Bio. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 28, 2010. February 20, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090220185624/http://www.nba.com/history/players/murphy_bio.html. live.
  10. Web site: Dan Issel Bio. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 28, 2010. August 24, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120824025204/http://www.nba.com/history/players/issel_bio.html. live.
  11. Web site: Dan Issel Statistics . basketball-reference.com . June 10, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100610083919/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/i/isselda01.html . June 10, 2010 .
  12. Web site: Randy Smith Statistics. basketball-reference.com. March 28, 2010. May 12, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130512192615/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/maravpe01.html. live.
  13. Web site: Rudy Tomjanovich Statistics. basketball-reference.com. April 12, 2010. May 12, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130512192615/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/maravpe01.html. live.
  14. Web site: Charlie Scott Statistics. basketball-reference.com. April 12, 2010. November 24, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101124073916/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/scottch01.html. live.
  15. Web site: Geoff Petrie Statistics. basketball-reference.com. April 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100524010030/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/petrige01.html. 24 May 2010 . live.
  16. Web site: Sam Lacey Statistics. basketball-reference.com. April 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100404171809/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/laceysa01.html. 4 April 2010 . live.
  17. Web site: John Johnson Statistics. basketball-reference.com. April 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100428051303/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsjo01.html. 28 April 2010 . live.
  18. Web site: Bob Lanier Coaching Record. basketball-reference.com. May 19, 2010. April 15, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090415013508/http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/laniebo01c.html. live.
  19. Web site: Rudy Tomjanovich Coaching Record. basketball-reference.com. April 11, 2010. March 20, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190320190923/https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/tomjaru01c.html. live.
  20. Web site: Dave Cowens Coaching Record . basketball-reference.com . April 11, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080517143419/http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/cowenda01c.html . May 17, 2008 .
  21. Web site: Dan Issel Coaching Record. basketball-reference.com. April 11, 2010. November 25, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101125074831/http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/isselda01c.html. live.
  22. Web site: Gar Heard Coaching Record. basketball-reference.com. May 18, 2010. December 28, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081228084417/http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/heardga01c.html. live.
  23. Web site: George Irvine Coaching Record. basketball-reference.com. May 18, 2010. January 17, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130117193148/http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/irvinge01c.html. live.
  24. NBA's Best Draft Classes. Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. August 18, 2010. May 28, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110528111215/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0903/nba.best.draft.classes/content.4.html. dead.
  25. Web site: NBA goes global, with good reason. June 27, 2003. Jeff. Zilgitt. USA Today. June 24, 2010. November 16, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101116023843/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/zillgitt/2003-06-27-zillgitt_x.htm. live.
  26. Web site: Out of the South. Brad. Friedman. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 24, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101210154622/http://www.nba.com/fedex/eng/mexico.html. December 10, 2010. dead.
  27. Web site: Searching for the next Pau Gasol. June 22, 2004. Darren. Rovell. ESPN.com. June 24, 2010. November 5, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121105005321/http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2004/news/story?id=1826128. live.
  28. Web site: Un'altra Hall of Fame per Dino Meneghin . February 8, 2013 . October 23, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101023192519/http://www.corriere.it/sport/10_agosto_20/meneghin-hall-fame_52e29964-ac6c-11df-9663-00144f02aabe.shtml . live .
  29. Web site: FIBA announces 2010 Hall of Fame Class . August 20, 2010 . FIBA . November 29, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101019073536/http://www.halloffame.fiba.com/pages/eng/hof/news/p/newsid/42798/arti.html . 19 October 2010 . dead .
  30. Web site: Dino Meneghin Bio . August 18, 2010 . FIBA . November 29, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120305034933/http://www.halloffame.fiba.com/pages/eng/hof/indu/play/2007/p/lid_17904_newsid/42701/bio.html . March 5, 2012 .
  31. News: Pete 3rd Draft Pick; Cowens 4th. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. March 24, 1970. March 31, 2010.
  32. Web site: Zelmo Beaty Statistics. basketball-reference.com. March 21, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100502012621/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/beatyze01.html. 2 May 2010 . live.
  33. Web site: Golden State Warriors 2009–10 Media Guite: Draft & Transactions. NBA.com/Warriors. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 21, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100320115556/http://www.nba.com/warriors/media/0910_GSWMG_DraftTransactions.pdf. 20 March 2010. dead.
  34. Web site: Mike Davis Statistics. basketball-reference.com. March 21, 2010. April 16, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210416190200/https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/davismi01.html. live.
  35. Web site: Clippers: All-Time Transactions. NBA.com/Clippers. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 21, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100319232102/http://www.nba.com/clippers/history/transactions.html. 19 March 2010. dead.
  36. Web site: Adrian Smith Statistics. basketball-reference.com. March 21, 2010. April 11, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190411030609/https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smithad01.html. live.
  37. Web site: Erwin Mueller Statistics. basketball-reference.com. March 21, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100316021313/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mueller01.html. 16 March 2010 . live.
  38. Web site: Pistons: All-Time Transactions. NBA.com/Pistons. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 21, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100320040345/http://www.nba.com/pistons/history/transactions_alltime.html. 20 March 2010 . live.
  39. Web site: Bill Melchionni Statistics. basketball-reference.com. March 21, 2010. August 8, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100808015255/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/melchbi01.html. live.
  40. Web site: Eddie Miles Statistics. basketball-reference.com. March 21, 2010. March 6, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110306063607/http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/milesed01.html. live.