# 1956 NBA draft

The 1956 NBA draft was the tenth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 30, 1956, before the 1956–57 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, except for the defending champion and runner-up, who were assigned the last two picks on each round. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising 92 players selected.

## Draft selections and draftee career notes

Si Green from Duquesne University was selected first overall by the Rochester Royals. Tom Heinsohn from the College of the Holy Cross was selected before the draft as Boston Celtics' territorial pick. Heinsohn went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season. Bill Russell from the University of San Francisco was selected second overall by the St. Louis Hawks and immediately traded to the Boston Celtics for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan. Three players from this draft, Tom Heinsohn, Bill Russell, and K. C. Jones, have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame after championship careers with the Boston Celtics. Elgin Baylor and Sam Jones, who were selected by the Minneapolis Lakers in the later rounds, have also been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame, although they did not enter the league immediately after the draft. In the 1957 draft, Sam Jones was selected in the first round by the Boston Celtics, with whom he played for in his whole career. In the 1958 draft, Elgin Baylor was selected first overall by the Lakers, with whom he played for in his whole career.

## Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | College |
| T | – | Tom Heinsohn^ | F/C | United States | Boston Celtics | Holy Cross |
| 1 | 1 | Si Green | G/F | United States | Rochester Royals | Duquesne |
| 1 | 2 | Bill Russell^ | C | United States | St. Louis Hawks (traded to Boston) | San Francisco |
| 1 | 3 | Jim Paxson | G/F | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Dayton |
| 1 | 4 | Ronnie Shavlik | F | United States | New York Knicks | NC State |
| 1 | 5 | Joe Holup | F | United States | Syracuse Nationals | George Washington |
| 1 | 6 | Ron Sobieszczyk | G | United States | Fort Wayne Pistons (traded to New York) | DePaul |
| 1 | 7 | Hal Lear | G | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Temple |
| 2 | 8 | Bob Burrow | F/C | United States | Rochester Royals | Kentucky |
| 2 | 9 | Willie Naulls$^+$ | F/C | United States | St. Louis Hawks | UCLA |
| 2 | 10 | Terry Rand$^#$ | C | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Marquette |
| 2 | 11 | Gary Bergen | C | United States | New York Knicks | Utah |
| 2 | 12 | Paul Judson$^#$ | F | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Illinois |
| 2 | 13 | K. C. Jones^ | G | United States | Boston Celtics | San Francisco |
| 2 | 14 | Bob Kessler$^#$ | F | United States | Fort Wayne Pistons | Maryland |
| 2 | 15 | Phil Rollins | G | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Louisville |

## 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 | Dave Piontek | F/C | United States | Rochester Royals | Xavier (OH) |
| 3 | 18 | Jerry Bird | F | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Kentucky |
| 3 | 20 | Forest Able | G | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Western Kentucky |
| 3 | 22 | Bill Thieben | F/C | United States | Fort Wayne Pistons | Hofstra |
| 4 | 24 | Johnny McCarthy | G | United States | Rochester Royals | Canisius |
| 4 | 28 | Swede Halbrook | C | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Wichita Vickers (NIBL) |
| 4 | 29 | Dan Swartz | F | United States | Boston Celtics | Morehead State |
| 5 | 33 | Norm Stewart | F | United States | St. Louis Hawks | Missouri |
| 5 | 36 | Jim Ray | G | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Toledo |
| 6 | 42 | Phil Jordon | F/C | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Whitworth |
| 6 | 43 | Pat Dunn | G | United States | New York Knicks | Utah State |
| 7 | 50 | John Barber | F | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Cal State L.A. |
| 10 | 74 | Bob Hopkins | F/C | United States | Syracuse Nationals | Grambling |
| 14 | 90 | Elgin Baylor^ | F | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Seattle |

## Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1956 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
| Rich Eichhorst | G | United States | Southeast Missouri State |

## Trades

* $^a$ On draft-day, the Boston Celtics acquired the draft rights to second pick Bill Russell from the St. Louis Hawks in exchange for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan.
* $^b$ On draft-day, the New York Knicks acquired the draft rights to sixth pick Ron Sobieszczyk from the Fort Wayne Pistons in exchange for Gene Shue.
* $^c$ Baylor would not play for the Minneapolis Lakers until he was drafted by them again 1st overall in the 1958 NBA draft.