1967 NBA Draft

1967 NBA draft
General information
Date(s)	May 3, 1967 (Rounds 1–11) May 4, 1967 (Rounds 12–20)
Location	New York City, New York
First selection	Jimmy Walker, Detroit Pistons
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1967 NBA expansion draft

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.

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 and ninth pick Mel Daniels have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. They 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 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. 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.

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