# 1953 NBA draft

The 1953 NBA draft was the seventh annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24, 1953, before the 1953–54 season. In this draft, nine remaining 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 19 rounds comprising 122 players selected.

## Draft selections and draftee career notes

Ray Felix from Long Island University was selected first overall by the Baltimore Bullets and went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season. Ernie Beck and Walter Dukes were selected before the draft as Philadelphia Warriors' and New York Knicks' territorial picks respectively. Three players from this draft, Bob Houbregs, Frank Ramsey and Cliff Hagan, 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 and All-NBA Team |
| $^+$ | 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 | – | Ernie Beck | G/F | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Pennsylvania |
| T | – | Walter Dukes$^+$ | C | United States | New York Knicks | Seton Hall |
| T | – | Larry Hennessy | G | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Villanova |
| 1 | 1 | Ray Felix$^+$ | C | United States | Baltimore Bullets | Long Island |
| 1 | 2 | Bob Houbregs^ | F/C | Canada | Milwaukee Hawks | Washington |
| 1 | 3 | Jack Molinas$^+$ | F | United States | Fort Wayne Pistons | Columbia |
| 1 | 4 | Richie Regan$^+$ | G | United States | Rochester Royals | Seton Hall |
| 1 | 5 | Frank Ramsey^ | G/F | United States | Boston Celtics | Kentucky |
| 1 | 6 | Jim Neal | C | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Wofford |
| 1 | 7 | Jim Fritsche | F/C | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Hamline |
| 2 | 8 | Don Ackerman | G | United States | New York Knicks (from Baltimore) | Manchester British-Americans (American Basketball League) |
| 2 | 9 | Bobby Speight$^#$ | F/C | United States | Baltimore Bullets (from Milwaukee) | NC State |
| 2 | 10 | George Glasgow$^#$ | G | United States | Fort Wayne Pistons | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| 2 | 11 | Norm Swanson | F | United States | Rochester Royals | Detroit |
| 2 | 12 | Chet Noe$^#$ | F/C | United States | Boston Celtics | Oregon |
| 2 | 13 | Dick Knostman | C | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Kansas State |
| 2 | 14 | Nield Gordon$^#$ | F | United States | New York Knicks | Furman |
| 2 | 15 | Ron Feiereisel | G | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | DePaul |

## Other picks

The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | College |
| 3 | 16 | Norm Grekin | F | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | La Salle |
| 3 | 17 | Bob Peterson | F | United States | Baltimore Bullets | Oregon |
| 3 | 18 | Irv Bemoras | G/F | United States | Milwaukee Hawks | Illinois |
| 3 | 20 | Frank Reddout | F | United States | Rochester Royals | Syracuse |
| 3 | 21 | Cliff Hagan^ | G/F | United States | Boston Celtics | Kentucky |
| 3 | 22 | Billy Kenville | G/F | United States | Syracuse Nationals | St. Bonaventure |
| 5 | 35 | Paul Nolen | C | United States | Baltimore Bullets | Texas Tech |
| 5 | 36 | Gene Dyker | F | United States | Milwaukee Hawks | DePaul |
| 5 | 41 | Bob Santini | F | United States | New York Knicks | Iona |
| 6 | 50 | Richard Atha | G | United States | New York Knicks | Indiana State |
| 7 | 58 | Lou Tsioropoulos | F | United States | Boston Celtics | Kentucky |
| 8 | 63 | Connie Rea | G/F | United States | Baltimore Bullets | Centenary |
| 9 | 77 | Joe Smyth | F | United States | New York Knicks | Niagara |
| 11 | 89 | Bill Bolger | F | United States | Milwaukee Hawks | Georgetown |
| 13 | 102 | Jack George* | G | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | La Salle |
| 14 | 108 | Ken Sears$^+$ | F | United States | Rochester Royals | Santa Clara |

## Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1953 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
| Andy Johnson | F | United States | Portland |
| Jim Mooney | F | United States | Villanova |
| Hal Uplinger | G | United States | LIU Brooklyn |