# 1959 NBA draft

The 1959 NBA draft was the 13th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 31, 1959, before the 1959–60 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. The draft consisted of 14 rounds comprising 85 players selected.

## Draft selections and draftee career notes

Bob Boozer from Kansas State University was selected first overall by the Cincinnati Royals. Wilt Chamberlain and Bob Ferry were selected before the draft as Philadelphia Warriors' and St. Louis Hawks' territorial picks respectively. Although Chamberlain played at the University of Kansas, outside the territory of any NBA team, he was selected as the Warriors' territorial pick because the Warriors argued that Chamberlain had grown up in Philadelphia and played high school basketball at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. The NBA agreed with the argument, hence making him the first territorial pick based solely on his pre-college roots. Chamberlain went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award and the Most Valuable Player Award in his first season. Three players from this draft, Wilt Chamberlain, Bailey Howell, and Dick Barnett have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

## Key

| Pos. | G | F | C |
| Position | Guard | Forward | Center |
| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| $^+$ | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game |
| $^#$ | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game |

## Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | College |
| T | – | Wilt Chamberlain^ | C | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Harlem Globetrotters |
| T | – | Bob Ferry | F/C | United States | St. Louis Hawks | Saint Louis |
| 1 | 1 | Bob Boozer+ | F | United States | Cincinnati Royals | Kansas State |
| 1 | 2 | Bailey Howell^ | F | United States | Detroit Pistons | Mississippi State |
| 1 | 3 | Tom Hawkins | F | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Notre Dame |
| 1 | 4 | Dick Barnett^ | G/F | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Tennessee State |
| 1 | 5 | Johnny Green$^+$ | F/C | United States | New York Knicks | Michigan State |
| 1 | 6 | John Richter | F | United States | Boston Celtics | NC State |
| 2 | 7 | Tom Robitaille$^#$ | F/C | United States | Detroit Pistons (from Cincinnati) | Rice |
| 2 | 8 | Don Goldstein$^#$ | F | United States | Detroit Pistons | Louisville |
| 2 | 9 | Joe Ruklick | F/C | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Northwestern |
| 2 | 10 | Rudy LaRusso$^+$ | F/C | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Dartmouth |
| 2 | 11 | Bumper Tormohlen | F/C | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Tennessee |
| 2 | 12 | Al Seiden$^#$ | G | United States | St. Louis Hawks (from New York) | St. John's |
| 2 | 13 | Cal Ramsey | F | United States | St. Louis Hawks | NYU |
| 2 | 14 | Gene Guarilia | F | United States | Boston Celtics | George Washington |
| 3 | 15 | Mike Mendenhall$^#$ | G | United States | Cincinnati Royals | Cincinnati |
| 3 | 16 | Gary Alcorn | C | United States | Detroit Pistons | Fresno State |
| 3 | 17 | Jim Hockaday$^#$ | F | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Memphis |
| 3 | 18 | Bobby Smith | G | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | West Virginia |
| 3 | 19 | Jon Cincebox | F | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Syracuse |
| 3 | 20 | Bob Anderegg | G/F | United States | New York Knicks | Michigan State |
| 3 | 21 | Hank Stein$^#$ | G | United States | St. Louis Hawks | Xavier |
| 3 | 22 | Ralph Crosthwaite$^#$ | C | United States | Boston Celtics | Western Kentucky |
| 4 | 23 | Leo Byrd$^#$ | G | United States | Cincinnati Royals | Marshall |
| 4 | 24 | George Lee | G/F | United States | Detroit Pistons | Michigan |
| 4 | 25 | Ron Stevenson | F | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | TCU |
| 4 | 26 | Wilson Eison | F | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Purdue |
| 4 | 27 | Paul Neumann | G | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Stanford |
| 4 | 28 | Johnny Cox | G | United States | New York Knicks | Kentucky |
| 4 | 29 | Lee Harman | G | United States | St. Louis Hawks | Oregon State |
| 4 | 30 | Ed Kazakavich | F | United States | Boston Celtics | Scranton |
| 5 | 31 | Harry Kirchner | G/F | United States | Detroit Pistons | TCU |
| 5 | 32 | Tony Windis | G | United States | Detroit Pistons | Wyoming |
| 5 | 37 | Nick Mantis | G | United States | St. Louis Hawks | Northwestern |
| 8 | 56 | Dave Gunther | F | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Iowa |
| 8 | 58 | Walt Torrence$^#$ | G | United States | New York Knicks | UCLA |
| 8 | 59 | Willie Merriweather | F | United States | St. Louis Hawks | Purdue |
| 11 | 77 | John Barnhill | G | United States | St. Louis Hawks | Tennessee State |
| 14 | 83 | Jack Israel | G/F | United States | New York Knicks | Missouri State |

## Trades

* $^a$ Prior to the draft, the Detroit Pistons acquired Archie Dees along with the Cincinnati Royals' second-round pick, which was used to select Tom Robitaille, from the Royals in exchange for Phil Jordon.
* $^b$ Prior to the draft, the St. Louis Hawks acquired the New York Knicks' second-round pick, which was used to select Alan Seiden, from the Knicks in exchange for Frank Selvy.