The 1967 NBA draft was the 21st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 3 and 4, 1967, before the 1967–68 season. In this draft, 12 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. 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. The Detroit Pistons won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Baltimore Bullets 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. Five teams that had the best records in previous season were not awarded second round draft picks. Two expansion franchises, the Seattle SuperSonics and the San Diego Rockets, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the sixth and seventh pick in the first round, along with the last two picks of each subsequent round. The draft consisted of 20 rounds comprising 162 players selected.
Draft selections and draftee career notes Jimmy Walker from Providence College was selected first overall by the Detroit Pistons. Earl Monroe from Winston-Salem State University, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, was drafted second by the Baltimore Bullets. Monroe, fifth pick Walt Frazier, ninth pick Mel Daniels, and fourth round pick Louie Dampier have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Monroe, Frazier, and Daniels were also named in the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996. Monroe and Frazier both won the NBA championship with the Knicks in 1973. Three seasons earlier in 1970, Frazier was also a member of the Knicks team that won the NBA championship for the first time. Frazier was selected to seven All-NBA Teams, six All-Star Games and seven All-Defensive Teams, while Monroe was selected to one All-NBA Team and four All-Star Games. Walker and 19th pick Bob Rule are the only other players from this draft who have been selected to an NBA All-Star Game. Daniels, the 9th pick, opted to play in the American Basketball Association (ABA) with the Minnesota Muskies. He won the ABA Most Valuable Player Award twice and was selected to five All-ABA Teams and seven ABA All-Star Games while winning three ABA championships as the center for the Indiana Pacers. He later played one season in the NBA with the New York Nets after the ABA–NBA merger. After his playing career, he became a coach for the Indiana Pacers and served two games as their interim head coach in 1988. Dampier, drafted in the fourth round by Cincinnati, elected to play with the ABA Kentucky Colonels, where he played for all nine seasons of its existence (including the 1975 ABA championship) while being an ABA All-Star seven times. Pat Riley, the 7th pick, and Phil Jackson, the 17th pick, became successful NBA head coaches after ending their playing career. Riley won five NBA championships as head coach; four with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s and one with the Miami Heat in 2006. He also won the Coach of the Year Award for a record three times, tied with Don Nelson. Jackson won eleven NBA championships, the most in NBA history. He led the Chicago Bulls to win three straight championships twice over separate three year periods; during 1991–1993 and 1996–1998. He then captured his third "three-peat" with the Lakers during 2000–2002, before winning two more title in 2009 and 2010. He also won a Coach of the Year Award in 1996 with the Bulls. Both coaches have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. They were also named among the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.
First pick Jimmy Walker was also drafted in the 1967 NFL/AFL draft, despite never having played college football. He was drafted last in the 17-round draft by the New Orleans Saints. He stayed with his basketball career and became a two-time All-Star. On the other hand, the first pick in the 1967 NFL/AFL draft, Bubba Smith, was drafted by an NBA team. He was selected with the 114th pick in the 11th round by the Baltimore Bullets. However, he stayed with his football career and played nine seasons in the NFL as a defensive end.
Future St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Chlupsa was drafted by the Rockets in the thirteenth round out of Manhattan College.
Key Pos.GFCPositionGuardForwardCenter
Draft
Player Team 11 + G Detroit Pistons Providence 12 ^~ G Baltimore Bullets Winston-Salem State 13 G Chicago Bulls Western Kentucky 14 F Detroit Pistons (from Los Angeles) St. John's 15 ^ G New York Knicks Southern Illinois 16 F Seattle SuperSonics Oklahoma Baptist 17 ^ G/F San Diego Rockets Kentucky 18 F/C St. Louis Hawks Seattle 19 ^ C Cincinnati Royals New Mexico 110 F/C San Francisco Warriors Texas Western 111 G Boston Celtics NYU 112 C Philadelphia 76ers Brigham Young 213 G/F Baltimore Bullets Grambling 214 # F Detroit Pistons Georgetown 215 F/C Chicago Bulls Denver 216 # F Los Angeles Lakers Clemson 217 ^ F/C New York Knicks North Dakota 218 # F/C San Diego Rockets Drake 219 + F/C Seattle SuperSonics Colorado State 320 # C Baltimore Bullets Seattle 321 # F Detroit Pistons Baylor 322 # C Chicago Bulls Arkansas State 323 # G Los Angeles Lakers Western Kentucky 324 F/C New York Knicks South Carolina 325 G St. Louis Hawks Duke 326 G Cincinnati Royals Oklahoma City 327 F San Francisco Warriors Akron 328 # F Cincinnati Royals Kentucky Wesleyan 329 # G San Diego Rockets Hiram Scott 330 # G Seattle SuperSonics Omaha 331 G San Diego Rockets Oregon 432 # F Baltimore Bullets South Carolina 433 # F Detroit Pistons Kansas 434 G Chicago Bulls Northwestern 435 G/F Los Angeles Lakers Saint Joseph's 436 # F New York Knicks Pacific 437 # G St. Louis Hawks UConn 438 ^ G Cincinnati Royals Kentucky 439 G San Francisco Warriors North Carolina 440 # F Boston Celtics Texas Western 441 # F San Diego Rockets Northwestern 442 # C San Diego Rockets Michigan 443 # C Seattle SuperSonics Utah State 544 # F Baltimore Bullets Group Production 545 G Detroit Pistons Wake Forest 546 # F Chicago Bulls Jacksonville 547 # F Los Angeles Lakers Bradley 548 # G New York Knicks LIU 549 # F St. Louis Hawks Miami (Florida) 550 # F Cincinnati Royals Cheyney State 551 F San Francisco Warriors UCLA 552 # G Boston Celtics US Armed Forces 553 F Philadelphia 76ers Winston-Salem State 554 G/F Seattle SuperSonics Seattle 555 # G San Diego Rockets Murray State 656 # F Baltimore Bullets Duke 657 # F Detroit Pistons Syracuse 658 # G Chicago Bulls Dillard 659 # C Los Angeles Lakers Florida 660 # F New York Knicks West Virginia 661 # G St. Louis Hawks Canisius 662 # F Cincinnati Royals American International 663 C San Francisco Warriors Colorado State 664 # F Boston Celtics Princeton 665 # F Philadelphia 76ers Creighton 666 # G San Diego Rockets Saint Louis 667 # C Seattle SuperSonics Washington 768 # G Baltimore Bullets Virginia Tech 769 # G Detroit Pistons Rutgers 770 # G Chicago Bulls Marquette 771 # G Los Angeles Lakers Wichita State 772 # G New York Knicks Indiana State 773 # C St. Louis Hawks Bethune–Cookman 774 # G Cincinnati Royals SMU 775 # F San Francisco Warriors Colorado State 776 # F Boston Celtics Allentown Jets 777 # F Philadelphia 76ers South Carolina State 778 # F Seattle SuperSonics UC Santa Barbara 779 # F San Diego Rockets Nevada Southern 880 F Baltimore Bullets Jackson State 881 G/F Detroit Pistons St. Bonaventure 882 # G Chicago Bulls College of Santa Fe 883 # G Los Angeles Lakers Otterbein 884 # F New York Knicks St. Francis Brooklyn 885 # G St. Louis Hawks Lincoln (Missouri) 886 # C Cincinnati Royals Georgetown 887 # F San Francisco Warriors Pacific 888 # G Boston Celtics Canisius 889 # G Philadelphia 76ers Virginia 890 # F San Diego Rockets Saint Joseph's 891 # F Seattle SuperSonics Boston College 992 # F Baltimore Bullets Arkansas AM&N 993 # F Chicago Bulls Albuquerque 994 # F Los Angeles Lakers Maryland 995 # C New York Knicks Kansas State 996 G St. Louis Hawks North Carolina State 997 # G Cincinnati Royals Ohio State 998 # F San Francisco Warriors Syracuse 999 # F Boston Celtics Lowell Tech 9100 F Philadelphia 76ers Tennessee Tech 9101 # F Seattle SuperSonics Whitworth 9102 # G San Diego Rockets Missouri 10103 # G Baltimore Bullets Montana State 10104 # F Chicago Bulls Wake Forest 10105 # C Los Angeles Lakers Houston 10106 # G New York Knicks NYU 10107 # G St. Louis Hawks Saint Michael's 10108 # C Cincinnati Royals North Texas 10109 # F San Francisco Warriors San Francisco State 10110 G Boston Celtics Northeastern 10111 # F Philadelphia 76ers Niagara 10112 # G San Diego Rockets Murray State 10113 # G Seattle SuperSonics Gonzaga 11114 # F Baltimore Bullets Michigan State 11115 # F Chicago Bulls New Haven 11116 # C Los Angeles Lakers Kansas State 11117 # F New York Knicks North Carolina 11118 # F Cincinnati Royals Cincinnati 11119 # F San Francisco Warriors New Mexico 11120 # F Boston Celtics Maryland 11121 # F Philadelphia 76ers North Carolina A&T 11122 # F Seattle SuperSonics Texas A&M 11123 # F San Diego Rockets California Western 12124 # F Baltimore Bullets Pan American 12125 # G Detroit Pistons Colgate 12126 # F Chicago Bulls Tennessee 12127 # G Los Angeles Lakers New Mexico 12128 G/F New York Knicks Providence 12129 # F Cincinnati Royals Villanova 12130 # G San Francisco Warriors Pacific 12131 # G Philadelphia 76ers La Salle 12132 # G San Diego Rockets New Mexico Highlands 12133 # G Seattle SuperSonics North Texas State 13134 # F Baltimore Bullets South Carolina 13135 # F Detroit Pistons Michigan State 13136 # F Chicago Bulls Montana State 13137 # G Los Angeles Lakers Iowa 13138 # G Cincinnati Royals Richmond 13139 # G Philadelphia 76ers North Carolina A&T 13140 # C Seattle SuperSonics Ohio 13141 # F San Diego Rockets Manhattan 14142 # C Baltimore Bullets Penn State 14143 # F Chicago Bulls Erskine 14144 # G Cincinnati Royals Northwood 14145 # F Philadelphia 76ers Minnesota Morris 14146 # F San Diego Rockets South Carolina Area Trade School 14147 # F Seattle SuperSonics Clemson 15148 # C Baltimore Bullets Louisiana Tech 15149 # G Chicago Bulls Detroit Tech 15150 # F Cincinnati Royals Midwestern 15151 # G Philadelphia 76ers Tulsa Cokes 15152 # C Seattle SuperSonics Nebraska 16153 # F Baltimore Bullets Oklahoma City 16154 # G Chicago Bulls Illinois 16155 # G Cincinnati Royals Morningside 16156 # F Philadelphia 76ers Western Kentucky 17157 G Baltimore Bullets Oregon State 17158 # F Cincinnati Royals Edinboro State 17159 # F Philadelphia 76ers Northeastern State 18160 # G Baltimore Bullets Vanderbilt 19161 # G Baltimore Bullets Washington University 20162 G Baltimore Bullets Cincinnati
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 1967 draft but played at least one game in the NBA. Player Pos. Nationality School/club team G Johnson C. Smith G Wilberforce C Tulane F Kent State
Trades On February 17, 1967, the Detroit Pistons acquired a first-round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers as compensation when Rudy LaRusso refused to report to the Lakers after being traded to the Pistons in a three-team trade on January 16, 1967. The Pistons used the pick to draft Sonny Dove.
See also List of first overall NBA draft picks
References General
Specific
External links NBA.com NBA.com: NBA Draft History