1966 NBA Draft

Complete results from the 1966 NBA Draft, featuring all 112 selections across 19 rounds. Rounds 1 through 8 were held May 11, 1966, with Rounds 9 through 19 completed May 12 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The New York Knicks selected Michigan star Cazzie Russell with the first overall pick.

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Round 10 Round 11 Round 12 Round 13 Round 14 Round 15 Round 16 Round 17 Round 18 Round 19 Draft Notes

The 1966 NBA Draft marked a major change in league history. The NBA eliminated its territorial draft system and introduced a coin flip between the last-place teams in each division to determine which club would receive the first overall selection. The New York Knicks won the first coin flip over the Detroit Pistons and selected Michigan star Cazzie Russell.

Detroit followed by selecting Syracuse guard Dave Bing second overall. Bing became the 1967 NBA Rookie of the Year, a seven-time NBA All-Star and eventually a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Minnesota star Lou Hudson, selected fourth by the St. Louis Hawks, also became a Hall of Famer.

The class produced seven NBA All-Stars: Dave Bing, Cazzie Russell, Clyde Lee, Lou Hudson, Jack Marin, John Block and Archie Clark. Other notable selections included ABA stars Freddie Lewis, John Beasley, Donnie Freeman and Red Robbins.

The expansion Chicago Bulls participated in the NBA Draft for the first time. Chicago was assigned the final selection in each round while it continued drafting.

1966 NBA Draft - First Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
1	New York Knicks	Cazzie Russell	Michigan
2	Detroit Pistons	Dave Bing	Syracuse
3	San Francisco Warriors	Clyde Lee	Vanderbilt
4	St. Louis Hawks	Lou Hudson	Minnesota
5	Baltimore Bullets	Jack Marin	Duke
6	Cincinnati Royals	Walt Wesley	Kansas
7	Los Angeles Lakers	Jerry Chambers	Utah
8	Boston Celtics	Jim Barnett	Oregon
9	Philadelphia 76ers	Matt Guokas	St. Joseph's (PA)
10	Chicago Bulls	Dave Schellhase	Purdue

1966 NBA Draft - Second Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
11	New York Knicks	Henry Akin	Morehead State
12	Detroit Pistons	Dorie Murrey	Detroit
13	San Francisco Warriors	Joe Ellis	San Francisco
14	St. Louis Hawks	Dick Snyder	Davidson
15	Baltimore Bullets	Neil Johnson	Creighton
16	Cincinnati Royals	Jerry Lee Wells	Oklahoma City
17	Los Angeles Lakers	Hank Finkel	Dayton
18	Boston Celtics	Leon Clark	Wyoming
19	Philadelphia 76ers	Bill Melchionni	Villanova
20	Chicago Bulls	Erwin Mueller	San Francisco

1966 NBA Draft - Third Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
21	New York Knicks	Stew Johnson	Murray State
22	Detroit Pistons	Ollie Darden	Michigan
23	San Francisco Warriors	Steve Chubin	Rhode Island
24	St. Louis Hawks	Tommy Kron	Kentucky
25	Baltimore Bullets	Dave Wagnon	Idaho State
26	Cincinnati Royals	Jim Ware	Oklahoma City
27	Los Angeles Lakers	John Block	USC
28	Boston Celtics	Gary Turner	TCU
29	Philadelphia 76ers	Donnie Freeman	Illinois
30	Chicago Bulls	Ed Bodkin	Eastern Kentucky

1966 NBA Draft - Fourth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
31	New York Knicks	Lee DeFore	Auburn
32	Detroit Pistons	Jeff Congdon	BYU
33	San Francisco Warriors	Steve Vacendak	Duke
34	St. Louis Hawks	Bob McIntyre	St. John's
35	Baltimore Bullets	George Peeples	Iowa
36	Cincinnati Royals	Charles Schmaus	Virginia Military Institute
37	Los Angeles Lakers	Archie Clark	Minnesota
38	Boston Celtics	Johnny Austin	Boston College
39	Philadelphia 76ers	Ken Wilburn	Central State (OH)
40	Chicago Bulls	Jim Williams	Temple

1966 NBA Draft - Fifth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
41	New York Knicks	Ron Jackson	Clark
42	Detroit Pistons	William Pickens	Georgia Southern
43	San Francisco Warriors	Tom Kerwin	Centenary
44	St. Louis Hawks	Dick Nemelka	BYU
45	Baltimore Bullets	John Beasley	Texas A&M
46	Baltimore Bullets	Johnny Jones	Cal State Los Angeles
47	Cincinnati Royals	Rich Parks	Saint Louis
48	Los Angeles Lakers	Stan Washington	Michigan State
49	Philadelphia 76ers	Tom Duff	St. Joseph's (PA)
50	Chicago Bulls	Larry Humes	Evansville

1966 NBA Draft - Sixth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
51	New York Knicks	George Fisher	Utah
52	Detroit Pistons	Carroll Hooser	SMU
53	San Francisco Warriors	Jim Pitts	Northwestern
54	St. Louis Hawks	Lonnie Wright	Colorado State
55	Baltimore Bullets	Jeff Neuman	Penn
56	Cincinnati Royals	Steve Cunningham	Western Kentucky
57	Los Angeles Lakers	Keith Thomas	Vanderbilt
58	Boston Celtics	Charlie Hunter	Oklahoma City
59	Philadelphia 76ers	Red Robbins	Tennessee

1966 NBA Draft - Seventh Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
60	New York Knicks	Mike Dabich	New Mexico State
61	Detroit Pistons	Ted Manning	North Carolina College
62	San Francisco Warriors	Lon Hughey	Fresno State
63	St. Louis Hawks	Jay Neary	UNC Wilmington
64	Baltimore Bullets	Dave Mills	DePaul
65	Cincinnati Royals	Gary Schull	Florida State
66	Los Angeles Lakers	Taft Jackson	College of Idaho
67	Boston Celtics	Gary Ward	Maryland
68	Chicago Bulls	John Comeaux	Grambling

1966 NBA Draft - Eighth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
69	New York Knicks	Mike Silliman	Army
70	Detroit Pistons	George McNeil	Southern Illinois
71	San Francisco Warriors	Ken Washington	UCLA
72	St. Louis Hawks	Bryan Williams	Xavier (OH)
73	Baltimore Bullets	Roland West	Cincinnati
74	Cincinnati Royals	Ron Krick	Cincinnati
75	Los Angeles Lakers	John Wetzel	Virginia Tech
76	Boston Celtics	Russ Gumina	San Francisco
77	Chicago Bulls	Stan Curtis	Michigan State

1966 NBA Draft - Ninth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
78	New York Knicks	Bill Turner	Akron
79	St. Louis Hawks	Al Grant	Long Island
80	Baltimore Bullets	Chuck Gardner	Colorado
81	Cincinnati Royals	Billy Smith	Loyola (IL)
82	Los Angeles Lakers	Julian Hammond	Tulsa
83	Philadelphia 76ers	Pat Caldwell	Rockhurst
84	Chicago Bulls	Gene Summers	Northern Michigan

1966 NBA Draft - Tenth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
85	New York Knicks	Richie Moore	Hiram Scott
86	St. Louis Hawks	Don Yates	Minnesota
87	Baltimore Bullets	Guy Manning	Prairie View A&M
88	Cincinnati Royals	Freddie Lewis	Arizona State
89	Los Angeles Lakers	Mike Rooney	Oklahoma
90	Philadelphia 76ers	Bob Bedell	Stanford
91	Chicago Bulls	Don Swanson	DePaul

1966 NBA Draft - Eleventh Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
92	New York Knicks	Rich Dyer	New York University
93	St. Louis Hawks	Curt Gammell	Pacific Lutheran
94	Baltimore Bullets	Stan McKenzie	New York University
95	Cincinnati Royals	R.B. Lynam	Oklahoma Baptist
96	Los Angeles Lakers	George Grams	Purdue
97	Chicago Bulls	Carver Clinton	Penn State

1966 NBA Draft - Twelfth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
98	New York Knicks	Dave Deutsch	Rochester
99	St. Louis Hawks	Lonnie Lynn	Wilberforce
100	Baltimore Bullets	Grant Simmons	Nebraska

1966 NBA Draft - Thirteenth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
101	New York Knicks	Bob Bennett	North Carolina
102	St. Louis Hawks	Nick Aloi	Bowling Green
103	Baltimore Bullets	Al Lopes	Kansas

1966 NBA Draft - Fourteenth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
104	St. Louis Hawks	Ollie Carter	San Francisco
105	Baltimore Bullets	Jim Harter	Pan American

1966 NBA Draft - Fifteenth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
106	St. Louis Hawks	Paul Long	Wake Forest
107	Baltimore Bullets	Howard Bayne	Tennessee

1966 NBA Draft - Sixteenth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
108	St. Louis Hawks	Eddie Jackson	Bradley
109	Baltimore Bullets	Ken Barnes	Wisconsin

1966 NBA Draft - Seventeenth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
110	Baltimore Bullets	Chris Pervall	Iowa

1966 NBA Draft - Eighteenth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
111	Baltimore Bullets	Jerry Trice	Weber State

1966 NBA Draft - Nineteenth Round

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
112	Baltimore Bullets	Gene Visscher	Weber State

1966 NBA Draft Notes

112 selections: Ten NBA franchises combined to make 112 selections over 19 rounds. Basketball-Reference records 34 members of the draft class as eventually appearing in an NBA regular-season or playoff game.

A new draft system: The 1966 draft marked the end of the NBA's territorial-pick system. Beginning this year, the teams with the worst records in the Eastern and Western divisions used a coin flip to determine which club received the first overall pick.

The first NBA draft coin flip: New York and Detroit participated in the first coin flip for the No. 1 selection. The Knicks won and selected Michigan star Cazzie Russell, while Detroit received the second selection and drafted Dave Bing.

Cazzie Russell: New York selected Michigan forward Cazzie Russell first overall. Russell became an NBA All-Star and was a member of the Knicks' 1970 NBA championship team.

Dave Bing: Detroit selected Syracuse guard Dave Bing second overall. Bing won the 1967 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, became a seven-time NBA All-Star and was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Lou Hudson: St. Louis selected Minnesota star Lou Hudson fourth overall. Hudson became a six-time NBA All-Star and one of the leading scorers of his era. He was later inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Seven NBA All-Stars: Dave Bing, Clyde Lee, Lou Hudson, Jack Marin, John Block, Archie Clark and Cazzie Russell all eventually appeared in an NBA All-Star Game.

Archie Clark: The Lakers found one of the draft's best values in the fourth round, selecting Minnesota guard Archie Clark 37th overall. Clark became a two-time NBA All-Star and was later part of the trade that brought Wilt Chamberlain to Los Angeles.

John Block: Los Angeles selected USC forward-center John Block 27th overall in the third round. Block played 10 NBA seasons and was selected to the 1973 NBA All-Star Game as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Donnie Freeman: Philadelphia selected Illinois guard Donnie Freeman 29th overall. Freeman instead began his professional career in the ABA, where he became a five-time All-Star and one of the league's most productive guards.

John Beasley: Baltimore selected Texas A&M forward John Beasley 45th overall. Beasley chose the ABA and became a three-time ABA All-Star with the Dallas Chaparrals.

Freddie Lewis: Cincinnati selected Arizona State guard Freddie Lewis 88th overall in the tenth round. Lewis became one of the greatest late-round selections of the era, starring in the ABA and winning three championships with the Indiana Pacers. He was named MVP of the 1972 ABA Playoffs.

Red Robbins: Philadelphia selected Tennessee center Red Robbins 59th overall. Robbins became a four-time ABA All-Star and won the 1971 ABA championship with the Utah Stars.

Bill Melchionni: Philadelphia selected Villanova guard Bill Melchionni 19th overall. He won an NBA championship with the 76ers as a rookie in 1967 before becoming a three-time ABA All-Star and winning two ABA championships with the New York Nets.

Matt Guokas: Philadelphia selected St. Joseph's guard Matt Guokas ninth overall. Guokas won the NBA championship with the 76ers during his rookie season in 1966-67 and later became an NBA head coach.

Chicago Bulls: The 1966 draft was the first in Chicago Bulls history. The expansion Bulls selected Purdue star Dave Schellhase with the 10th overall pick.

Historic franchise names: The Warriors were still known as the San Francisco Warriors, while the Hawks were based in St. Louis. The Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968, and the Warriors adopted the Golden State name in 1971.

Long draft format: Although the draft officially lasted 19 rounds, teams were permitted to stop selecting players. Only Baltimore continued through the final three rounds, selecting Chris Pervall in Round 17, Jerry Trice in Round 18 and Weber State's Gene Visscher with the 112th and final pick in Round 19.