1976 ABA Dispersal Draft

The American Basketball Association ceased operations following the 1975-76 season. Four ABA franchises — the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets and San Antonio Spurs — were admitted to the NBA for the 1976-77 season.

The Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis were not included in the agreement. Their remaining players were therefore made available to NBA teams through a special dispersal draft.

The Virginia Squires had already folded before the final ABA-NBA agreement and their players were not included in this draft.

The draft was conducted on August 5, 1976 through a telephone conference from the NBA offices at Two Pennsylvania Plaza in New York.

Teams selected in an order based largely on their records from the previous NBA and ABA seasons. Unlike a conventional player draft, selecting a player also required the acquiring team to pay a designated signing price and assume the player's existing contract.

The money paid into the dispersal draft fund helped satisfy financial obligations connected to the transition of the four surviving ABA franchises into the NBA.

Many clubs decided that the combination of a player's contract and the required dispersal-draft payment was too expensive and passed rather than make a selection.

First-round passes included the New Orleans Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Bullets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors.

Kansas City was the only club to make a selection in the second round, taking Mike Barr from the Spirits of St. Louis. The remaining teams passed, and no player was selected in the third round.

Artis Gilmore was the most expensive player in the draft. Chicago paid $1.1 million for the rights to the former Kentucky Colonels star, who immediately became the centerpiece of the Bulls' frontcourt.

Maurice Lucas proved to be one of the most important selections. Portland acquired him with the second pick, and he became a major part of the Trail Blazers team that won the 1977 NBA championship. NBA.com's review of the 1976-77 season specifically credits Lucas as an important addition to that championship team.

Portland also selected Moses Malone with the fifth pick. Malone did not remain with the Trail Blazers, but he eventually became one of the greatest centers in NBA history.

The draft also sent ABA standouts Ron Boone to Kansas City, Marvin Barnes to Detroit and longtime Kentucky Colonels star Louie Dampier to San Antonio.