1971 NBA Draft

The 1971 NBA Draft was one of the deepest drafts of the league's long-round era. Seventeen teams combined to select 237 players over 19 rounds. Cleveland won the coin flip with Portland for the first selection and chose Notre Dame scoring star Austin Carr.

The class included seven future NBA All-Stars: Austin Carr, Sidney Wicks, Fred Brown, Curtis Rowe, Randy Smith, Spencer Haywood and Artis Gilmore. Haywood and Gilmore were later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Several important players lasted far beyond the first round. Spencer Haywood was selected 30th overall, Clifford Ray 40th, Randy Smith 104th and Artis Gilmore 117th. Gilmore was already headed to the ABA, where he immediately became one of professional basketball's biggest stars.

The year was also a turning point in NBA draft eligibility. Spencer Haywood's legal battle with the league helped open the NBA to underclassmen who could demonstrate financial hardship. The league held its first special Hardship Draft later in 1971.

The NBA conducted a separate supplemental Hardship Draft in September 1971 after the Spencer Haywood case helped open the league to players whose college classes had not yet graduated. Teams selecting a player were required to surrender the corresponding selection in the 1972 NBA Draft.

Austin Carr: Cleveland won the coin flip with Portland and used the first overall selection on Notre Dame guard Austin Carr. Carr became the first No. 1 draft pick in Cavaliers history and later earned an NBA All-Star selection.

Sidney Wicks: Portland selected UCLA forward Sidney Wicks second overall. Wicks immediately won the 1971-72 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and was selected to four consecutive All-Star Games to begin his career.

Fred Brown: Seattle selected Iowa guard Fred Brown sixth overall. "Downtown Freddie" spent his entire 13-year NBA career with the SuperSonics, became an All-Star and helped Seattle win the 1979 NBA championship.

Spencer Haywood: Buffalo selected Spencer Haywood 30th overall even though Haywood had already challenged the NBA's eligibility rules and was playing for Seattle. The Supreme Court case involving Haywood became one of the most important eligibility cases in professional basketball history.

Artis Gilmore: Chicago selected Jacksonville center Artis Gilmore 117th overall in the seventh round. Gilmore instead joined the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA and immediately won both ABA Rookie of the Year and ABA MVP honors. He later became a six-time NBA All-Star and Basketball Hall of Famer.

Randy Smith: Buffalo found one of the greatest late-round steals in NBA Draft history with Randy Smith at No. 104. The seventh-round selection became a two-time NBA All-Star and won the 1978 All-Star Game MVP Award.

Clifford Ray: Chicago selected Oklahoma center Clifford Ray 40th overall. Ray later became an important member of the Golden State Warriors' 1975 NBA championship team.

Jim Cleamons: The Lakers selected Ohio State guard Jim Cleamons 13th overall. Cleamons later became a member of the 1972 Lakers championship team and spent decades in the NBA as a player and coach.

Jim Larrañaga: Detroit selected Providence guard Jim Larrañaga 96th overall. He never played in the NBA but became one of college basketball's best-known coaches, leading George Mason to the 2006 Final Four and later coaching Miami.

San Diego Rockets: The Rockets were still based in San Diego when the March 1971 draft was held. The franchise moved to Houston later that year, making San Diego Rockets the historically correct name for the team's regular-draft selections.

San Francisco Warriors: The Warriors were still the San Francisco Warriors on draft day. The franchise adopted the Golden State Warriors name later in 1971.

1971 Hardship Draft: Following the Spencer Haywood case, the NBA created a special draft for underclassmen who could demonstrate financial hardship. Cincinnati selected Nate Williams, Atlanta selected Tom Payne, San Francisco selected Cyril Baptiste, Baltimore selected Phil Chenier and the Lakers selected Joe Hammond.

Phil Chenier: Baltimore's hardship selection of California guard Phil Chenier proved especially successful. Chenier became a three-time NBA All-Star with the Bullets and later won the 1978 NBA championship with Washington.

Seven NBA All-Stars: Austin Carr, Sidney Wicks, Fred Brown, Curtis Rowe, Spencer Haywood, Randy Smith and Artis Gilmore were the seven members of the regular 1971 draft class who later appeared in an NBA All-Star Game.

237 selections: The regular draft contained 237 selections over 19 rounds. Only 54 of the selected players eventually appeared in an NBA regular-season or playoff game, illustrating how different the enormous drafts of this era were from today's two-round NBA Draft.