1976 NBA Draft

The 1976 NBA Draft produced a remarkable collection of talent. Adrian Dantley, Robert Parish, Alex English and Dennis Johnson were eventually inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, while Lonnie Shelton also became an NBA All-Star.

Houston selected Maryland guard John Lucas first overall after acquiring the No. 1 selection from Atlanta one day before the draft. Chicago selected Indiana star Scott May second, while Kansas City selected UCLA's Richard Washington third.

Some of the greatest value came later in the draft. Milwaukee selected future Hall of Famer Alex English 23rd overall in the second round, Seattle selected Dennis Johnson 29th, Cleveland selected Abdul Jeelani 50th and Philadelphia selected future NBA player and coach Mike Dunleavy 99th.

The draft took place just before the NBA-ABA merger. Denver, Indiana, the New York Nets and San Antonio were still ABA franchises and therefore did not participate in this regular NBA Draft. They joined the NBA later that month and participated in the separate ABA dispersal draft later in the summer.

John Lucas and the No. 1 pick: Atlanta originally owned the first overall selection after winning the pre-draft coin flip. On June 7, one day before the draft, the Hawks traded Dwight Jones and the No. 1 pick to Houston for Gus Bailey, Joe Meriweather and Houston's No. 9 selection. Houston used the top pick on Maryland guard John Lucas, while Atlanta selected Armond Hill ninth.

Adrian Dantley: Buffalo selected Notre Dame forward Adrian Dantley sixth overall. Dantley immediately won the 1976-77 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and eventually became a six-time All-Star and one of the most efficient scorers of his era. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

Robert Parish: Golden State selected Centenary center Robert Parish eighth overall with a pick the Warriors had acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers as compensation for the Lakers' signing of free agent Cazzie Russell. Parish later became a cornerstone of the Boston Celtics dynasty of the 1980s, won four NBA championships and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Alex English: Milwaukee selected South Carolina forward Alex English 23rd overall in the second round. English eventually became an eight-time NBA All-Star and one of the greatest scorers of the 1980s. He led the NBA in scoring in 1982-83 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.

Dennis Johnson: Seattle selected Pepperdine guard Dennis Johnson 29th overall in the second round. Johnson became a five-time All-Star, nine-time All-Defensive selection and three-time NBA champion. He was the 1979 NBA Finals MVP with Seattle and later became an essential part of Boston's championship teams in 1984 and 1986.

Five NBA All-Stars: Adrian Dantley, Alex English, Dennis Johnson, Robert Parish and Lonnie Shelton became NBA All-Stars. Dantley, English, Johnson and Parish were later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Quinn Buckner: Milwaukee selected Indiana guard Quinn Buckner seventh overall. Buckner had just captained Indiana's undefeated 1975-76 NCAA championship team and later became a member of Boston's 1984 NBA championship team.

Mitch Kupchak: Washington selected North Carolina forward Mitch Kupchak 13th overall. Kupchak was named to the 1977 NBA All-Rookie Team and later won championships as a player with Washington and the Los Angeles Lakers before beginning a long career as an NBA executive.

Mike Dunleavy: Philadelphia selected South Carolina guard Mike Dunleavy 99th overall in the sixth round. Dunleavy played 11 NBA seasons and later became an NBA head coach and executive.

Dave Logan: Kansas City selected Colorado's Dave Logan 143rd overall in the ninth round. Logan was also drafted in professional football and went on to play nine seasons as an NFL wide receiver.

Marcos Leite: Portland selected Brazilian center Marcos "Marquinhos" Leite 162nd overall in the tenth round. Leite never played in the NBA but had a long international career and represented Brazil in multiple Olympic Games.

Hugo Cabrera: Milwaukee selected Dominican forward Hugo Cabrera 165th overall. Cabrera was one of the leading figures in Dominican basketball history, although he never appeared in an NBA regular-season game.

The Knicks' forfeited pick: New York lost its first-round selection by order of the NBA commissioner as a penalty connected to the Knicks' illegal signing of George McGinnis, whose NBA rights belonged to Philadelphia. Because no player was selected with the forfeited opportunity, it is not assigned an artificial overall pick number in this table.

Final pre-merger draft: The June 8 draft occurred before the NBA-ABA merger. Denver, Indiana, the New York Nets and San Antonio were therefore absent from the regular NBA Draft. Those four ABA franchises joined the NBA later in June.

1976 ABA dispersal draft: After the merger, the NBA held a separate dispersal draft for players from the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis. That process was separate from the 173-player NBA Draft listed on this page and included players such as Artis Gilmore, Maurice Lucas and Moses Malone.

173 selections: The 1976 NBA Draft contained 173 official player selections across 10 rounds. Basketball-Reference records 53 of those players as eventually appearing in an NBA regular-season or playoff game.