1952 NBA Draft

The 1952 NBA Draft featured ten teams and produced one future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer. Minneapolis selected Kansas center Clyde Lovellette late in the first round, and he became by far the most accomplished NBA player from the class.

Milwaukee held the first selection and chose West Virginia center Mark Workman. Baltimore followed with Eastern Kentucky's Jim Baechtold, while Fort Wayne selected Duke two-sport star Dick Groat. Philadelphia surrendered its normal first-round position to claim Temple's Bill Mlkvy as a territorial selection.

Lovellette became the only NBA All-Star from the draft class. He played 11 NBA seasons, scored nearly 12,000 points and won championships with the Minneapolis Lakers and Boston Celtics.

The class also included future NBA Rookie of the Year Don Meineke, longtime NBA guard and coach Jack McMahon, two-sport professional Gene Conley and Dick Groat, who left professional basketball for baseball and eventually became the 1960 National League Most Valuable Player.

106 selections: The 1952 NBA Draft lasted 17 rounds and contained 106 selections. Thirty-three members of the draft class eventually appeared in the NBA.

First overall pick: Milwaukee selected West Virginia star Mark Workman with the first overall choice. Workman played two NBA seasons with Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Clyde Lovellette: Minneapolis selected Kansas center Clyde Lovellette with the final selection of the first round. He became the most accomplished NBA player from the 1952 draft.

Hall of Fame: Lovellette was the only player from the 1952 draft class eventually inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player.

Only All-Star: Lovellette was also the only member of the draft class to become an NBA All-Star. He was selected to four All-Star Games during his 11-season career.

Three NBA championships: Lovellette won the 1954 NBA championship with the Minneapolis Lakers and later won the 1963 and 1964 championships as a member of the Boston Celtics.

Bill Mlkvy: Philadelphia used its territorial selection on Temple star Bill Mlkvy, nicknamed "The Owl Without a Vowel." Mlkvy had been one of the country's most prolific college scorers but played only one NBA season.

Territorial selection: Mlkvy occupied Philadelphia's first-round position in the historical selection sequence. He is therefore often shown as the fourth overall selection even though he was officially acquired through the territorial-pick rule.

Dick Groat: Fort Wayne selected Duke guard Dick Groat third overall. Groat played 26 NBA games for the Pistons before concentrating on professional baseball.

Baseball MVP: Groat became an eight-time Major League Baseball All-Star and won the 1960 National League Most Valuable Player Award while helping the Pittsburgh Pirates win the World Series.

Monk Meineke: Fort Wayne selected Dayton center Don "Monk" Meineke in the second round. Meineke won the inaugural NBA Rookie of the Year Award for the 1952-53 season.

Jack McMahon: Rochester selected St. John's guard Jack McMahon in the second round. McMahon played eight NBA seasons and later became an NBA and ABA head coach.

Gene Conley: Boston selected Washington State's Gene Conley in the 10th round. Conley played six NBA seasons and also enjoyed an 11-year Major League Baseball career.

Two-sport champion: Conley won the 1957 World Series with the Milwaukee Braves and later won NBA championships with the Boston Celtics, making him one of the rare athletes to win championships in two major professional sports.

Deep draft: Early NBA drafts continued until teams decided to stop selecting. By the 13th round only Minneapolis and Rochester remained active, and Minneapolis made the only selections in Rounds 14 through 17.

Final selection: Minneapolis selected Memphis State's John Wallisa with the 106th and final selection of the 17-round draft.