1955 NBA Draft

The 1955 NBA Draft was one of the deepest drafts of the NBA's early years. The class included Maurice Stokes, Tom Gola and Jack Twyman, all of whom were eventually inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. K.C. Jones was also selected in this draft, although he did not enter the NBA from this selection and was drafted again by Boston in 1956.

The Milwaukee Hawks held the first regular selection and chose Duquesne forward Dick Ricketts. Rochester followed with Maurice Stokes, who immediately became one of the league's best all-around players and won the 1956 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

Philadelphia used a territorial selection on La Salle star Tom Gola, while Minneapolis used its territorial choice on Minnesota guard Dick Garmaker. Both became NBA All-Stars. Other notable members of the class included Jack Twyman, Kenny Sears, Jim Loscutoff, Ed Conlin, Dick Hemric and Al Ferrari.

The surviving historical records for the very late rounds of early NBA drafts are not always counted identically by modern databases. The detailed round-by-round record extends through a 15th round, while many modern statistical summaries list 95 selections over 14 rounds. This page preserves the fuller historical draft record and lists supplemental selections separately.

First overall pick: The Milwaukee Hawks selected Duquesne forward Dick Ricketts with the first regular pick. Ricketts played three NBA seasons before continuing his professional sports career as a Major League Baseball pitcher.

Maurice Stokes: Rochester selected Saint Francis (PA) star Maurice Stokes with the second pick. Stokes averaged 16.8 points, 16.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game as a rookie and won the 1956 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

Tragic career: Stokes became an NBA All-Star in each of his three seasons before suffering a devastating brain injury in March 1958. His teammate Jack Twyman later became his legal guardian and helped care for him for the remainder of his life.

Tom Gola: Philadelphia used its territorial selection on La Salle star Tom Gola. Gola had led La Salle to the 1954 NCAA championship and became a five-time NBA All-Star. He helped the Warriors win the 1956 NBA championship as a rookie.

Dick Garmaker: Minneapolis used a territorial selection on University of Minnesota guard Dick Garmaker. He became a four-time NBA All-Star and played six seasons in the league.

Jack Twyman: Rochester selected Cincinnati forward Jack Twyman with the eighth regular pick. Twyman became a six-time NBA All-Star, scored more than 15,000 career points and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Hall of Famers: Maurice Stokes, Tom Gola and Jack Twyman became Hall of Famers from the 1955 class. K.C. Jones, who was selected by Minneapolis in the 10th round, also became a Hall of Famer after later being drafted by Boston in 1956.

K.C. Jones: Minneapolis selected San Francisco guard K.C. Jones with the 76th pick. Jones did not join the Lakers. Boston selected him again in the second round of the 1956 draft, and he later won eight NBA championships as a Celtics player.

Kenny Sears: New York selected Santa Clara forward Kenny Sears with the fourth regular pick. Sears became a two-time NBA All-Star and twice led the NBA in field-goal percentage.

Five NBA All-Stars: Dick Garmaker, Tom Gola, Kenny Sears, Maurice Stokes and Jack Twyman all became NBA All-Stars.

Jim Loscutoff: Boston selected Oregon forward Jim Loscutoff with the third regular pick. He spent his entire nine-year NBA career with the Celtics and was a member of seven championship teams.

Milwaukee to St. Louis: The Hawks participated in the draft as the Milwaukee Hawks. The franchise relocated to St. Louis before the 1955-56 season, so the historically correct draft-day team name is Milwaukee.

Territorial selections: Philadelphia's Tom Gola and Minneapolis' Dick Garmaker were territorial choices. Territorial selections allowed teams to surrender their regular first-round selection in order to claim a prominent local player.

Wilt Chamberlain: The mid-1950s were also the period in which Philadelphia began pursuing local high-school phenomenon Wilt Chamberlain under the league's territorial rules. Chamberlain ultimately became Philadelphia's official territorial selection in the 1959 NBA Draft.

Late rounds: NBA drafts of this era continued until teams passed. By the 13th round only Milwaukee, Rochester and Boston were still selecting players, and by the 15th round Milwaukee was the only team making a regular selection.

Dick Welsh: Milwaukee selected Southern California guard Dick Welsh with the lone documented 15th-round selection. Some modern statistical draft databases end their 1955 listing at the 95th selection in Round 14, while detailed historical draft research includes Welsh as a 15th-round choice.

Supplemental selections: Historical draft research also records additional supplemental selections by Boston, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. They are shown separately above rather than being mixed into the numbered draft order.