1960 NBA Draft

The 1960 NBA Draft produced one of the most historically significant classes of the league's early years. Cincinnati used its territorial selection on Oscar Robertson, while the Minneapolis Lakers selected Jerry West immediately afterward.

Robertson, West and Lenny Wilkens eventually entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. All three were also selected to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

Other notable selections included Darrall Imhoff, Lee Shaffer, Tom "Satch" Sanders, Al Attles, Sam Stith and future NBA coach Doug Moe. Twenty-six members of the class eventually appeared in an NBA regular-season or playoff game.

The draft also captures an important moment in franchise history. The Lakers drafted as the Minneapolis Lakers but relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960-61 season, making this their final draft while based in Minnesota.

Oscar Robertson: Cincinnati used its territorial privilege to select University of Cincinnati superstar Oscar Robertson. Because the Royals also held the first overall position, Robertson is historically listed as both the territorial selection and the No. 1 pick, commonly shown as "1T."

The Big O: Robertson immediately became one of the NBA's greatest players. He won the 1961 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, was a 12-time All-Star, won the 1964 NBA MVP Award and helped Milwaukee win the 1971 NBA championship.

Jerry West: The Minneapolis Lakers selected West Virginia guard Jerry West second overall. West became a 14-time All-Star, the 1969 NBA Finals MVP and a member of the Lakers' 1972 championship team. His silhouette also became the basis for the NBA's famous logo.

Lenny Wilkens: St. Louis selected Providence guard Lenny Wilkens sixth overall. Wilkens became a nine-time NBA All-Star as a player and later coached the Seattle SuperSonics to the 1979 NBA championship.

Three Hall of Famers: Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Lenny Wilkens were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Wilkens was inducted separately as both a player and a coach.

NBA 75: Robertson, West and Wilkens were all named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Darrall Imhoff: New York selected California center Darrall Imhoff third overall. Imhoff became an NBA All-Star with Philadelphia in 1967 and played 12 seasons in the league.

Lee Shaffer: Syracuse selected North Carolina forward Lee Shaffer fifth overall. Shaffer became an NBA All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1963-64.

Tom Sanders: Boston selected NYU forward Tom "Satch" Sanders eighth overall. Sanders spent his entire 13-year NBA career with the Celtics and won eight NBA championships.

Al Attles: Philadelphia selected North Carolina A&T guard Al Attles in the fifth round. Attles spent his entire playing career with the Warriors organization and later coached the Golden State Warriors to the 1975 NBA championship.

Doug Moe: Detroit selected North Carolina forward Doug Moe in the seventh round. Moe later became an ABA star and had a long NBA coaching career, winning the 1988 NBA Coach of the Year Award with Denver.

George Raveling: Philadelphia selected Villanova forward George Raveling in the eighth round. Raveling did not play in the NBA but became a prominent college basketball coach and was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.

Jean-Claude Lefebvre: Minneapolis selected French center Jean-Claude Lefebvre in the ninth round. The 7-foot-3 Lefebvre was one of the earliest international players selected in an NBA Draft.

Draft-day trade: New York owned the second-round selection used on Dave Budd after acquiring the pick from the Lakers in the January 1960 trade that sent Ray Felix to Los Angeles. The Lakers received New York's fourth-round selection and used it on Ben Warley.

Minneapolis Lakers: The Lakers were still based in Minneapolis when the draft was held and are therefore listed as the Minneapolis Lakers throughout this page. The franchise relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960-61 season.

Late-round passing: NBA drafts of this era continued until teams no longer wished to make selections. Boston began passing in the seventh round, and the field gradually narrowed until Cincinnati was the only franchise still selecting players in the final three rounds.

21 rounds: The 1960 draft extended all the way to a 21st round, illustrating how dramatically different the early NBA Draft was from today's two-round format.

Final selection: Cincinnati made the final selection of the draft, choosing Jim McDonald of West Virginia Wesleyan with pick No. 101 in the 21st round.