| 1952 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date | April 26, 1952 |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Overview | |
| 106 total selections in17 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| Teams | 10 |
| First selection | Mark Workman,Milwaukee Hawks |
| Hall of Famers | |
The1952 NBA draft was the sixth annualdraft of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 26, 1952, before the1952–53 season. In thisdraft, ten remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S.college basketball players. In each round, the teams selected in reverse order of their win–loss record in theprevious season, except for the defending champion, theMinneapolis Lakers, who was assigned the last pick of each round. The draft consisted of 17 rounds comprising 106 players selected. However, this draft was notable for this being the first time the NBA would not immediately announce the ordering of their draft choices to the public due to worries by the young league that they would give an upcoming rivaling amateur league, theNational Industrial Basketball League, an idea of who the best college players were at the time, especially for their two top teams there in theBartlesville Phillips 66ers andPeoria Caterpillar Tractors; notably, the NBA would also give the 66ers and Peoria invites to the NBA, though they both denied the opportunity to join the league as professional teams.[1]
Mark Workman fromWest Virginia University was selectedfirst overall by theMilwaukee Hawks.Bill Mlkvy fromTemple University was selected before the draft asPhiladelphia Warriors'territorial pick.Don Meineke from theUniversity of Dayton was selected by theFort Wayne Pistons in the second round and went on to win the inauguralRookie of the Year Award.[2] The ninth pick of the draft,Clyde Lovellette fromUniversity of Kansas, was the only player from that draft to make it to anNBA All-Star Game at least once and to have been inducted to theBasketball Hall of Fame.[3][4] As such, it would be seen as one of the least successful and less talked about drafts in NBA history, though at least one media outlet would mention the 1952 NBA draft as the worst NBA draft ever held, while also noting that this draft would have been an even bigger disaster without Clyde Lovellette's selection in mind and that its long-term efforts for the four teams with the worst records that season led to them either folding operations or moving elsewhere years after this draft concluded.[5]
Tenth-round pickGene Conley played both professional basketball andbaseball. He played six seasons in the NBA for theBoston Celtics and theNew York Knicks as well as 11 seasons in theMajor League Baseball (MLB). He won threeNBA championships with the Celtics as well as the1957 World Series with theMilwaukee Braves, becoming the only athlete to win world championships in both basketball and baseball.[6]
Dick Groat from Duke was picked 3rd overall by the Fort Wayne Pistons and went on to win the National League 1960 MVP, and two World Series championships while playing shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates and then the St. Louis Cardinals.
| Pos. | G | F | C |
| Position | Guard | Forward | Center |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| # | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular-season or playoff game |
The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.[7][8]
These players were not selected in the 1952 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Christ | G |  United States | Fordham |
| Pete Darcey | C | United States | Oklahoma State |
| Don Hanrahan | F | United States | Loyola Chicago |
| Bob Naber | F | United States | Louisville |