1950 NBA Draft

The 1950 NBA Draft was the first draft held after the 1949 merger between the Basketball Association of America and National Basketball League created the modern National Basketball Association. Twelve teams participated in the draft, although the Chicago Stags folded before the beginning of the 1950-51 season.

The class became one of the most historically significant of the NBA's early years. Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, George Yardley, Bill Sharman and Earl Lloyd were among the future Hall of Fame players selected from the class. The draft also included Chuck Cooper, one of the pioneers who broke the NBA's color barrier.

Philadelphia used its territorial selection on Villanova star Paul Arizin. Boston then opened the regular draft by selecting Bowling Green center Chuck Share. Baltimore selected Wisconsin's Don Rehfeldt before the Tri-Cities Blackhawks chose Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy.

Because territorial selections, passed choices and early NBA record-keeping can produce different numbering conventions in historical sources, this page uses the commonly recognized overall selection numbers while separately identifying Arizin's territorial selection.

First NBA Draft: The 1950 draft was the first held after the Basketball Association of America and National Basketball League merger created the NBA. The league had played its first season under the NBA name in 1949-50.

Paul Arizin: Philadelphia claimed Villanova star Paul Arizin as its territorial selection. Arizin became one of the greatest players of the era, winning two NBA scoring titles and helping the Warriors win the 1956 NBA championship.

Chuck Share: Boston used the first regular selection on 6-foot-11 Bowling Green center Chuck Share. Although drafted by Boston, Share did not play for the Celtics. He eventually played nine NBA seasons and was a member of the 1958 St. Louis Hawks championship team.

Bob Cousy: The Tri-Cities Blackhawks selected Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy early in the first round. His rights were later traded to the Chicago Stags. After the Stags folded, Cousy eventually landed with Boston and became one of the defining players in Celtics history.

George Yardley: Fort Wayne selected Stanford forward George Yardley in the first round. Yardley became an NBA scoring champion and in 1957-58 became the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in a season.

Bill Sharman: Washington selected USC guard Bill Sharman in the second round. Sharman later became a Hall of Fame guard with Boston and formed one of the league's great early backcourts with Bob Cousy.

Chuck Cooper: Boston selected Duquesne forward Chuck Cooper in the second round. Cooper became the first African American player selected by an NBA team in the draft, making the 1950 draft a landmark event in league history.

Earl Lloyd: Washington selected West Virginia State forward Earl Lloyd in the ninth round. Lloyd became the first African American to appear in an NBA regular-season game when he played for the Capitols on October 31, 1950.

Breaking the color barrier: The 1950-51 season marked the integration of the NBA. Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd and New York Knicks signee Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton were the three pioneering African American players who broke the league's color barrier.

Larry Foust: Chicago selected La Salle center Larry Foust in the first round. Foust became one of the most productive players from the class and was selected to eight NBA All-Star Games during his career.

Bud Grant: Minneapolis selected Minnesota's Bud Grant in the fourth round. Grant played professional basketball before pursuing football and eventually became one of the most famous coaches in Minnesota Vikings history.

Chicago Stags: The Stags participated in the draft and selected Larry Foust, Wally Osterkorn and several other players, but the franchise folded before the beginning of the 1950-51 NBA season.

Deep draft: Unlike the modern two-round NBA Draft, the 1950 event continued for 12 rounds. As teams began passing in the later rounds, only Philadelphia and Indianapolis made selections in the 11th round and Philadelphia made the only recorded selection in the 12th.

Historical numbering: Early NBA draft sources sometimes number the 1950 selections differently because Philadelphia used its first-round position to claim Paul Arizin as a territorial pick and teams passed selections in later rounds. This table follows the commonly used historical overall selection sequence while showing Arizin separately as the territorial selection.

Final selection: Philadelphia selected Tennessee guard Ed Montgomery with the final recorded selection of the draft.