# 1950 NBA draft

The 1950 NBA draft was the first draft following the 1949 merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League that created the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 25, 1950, before the 1950–51 season. In this draft, 12 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 Chicago Stags participated in the draft but folded prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 12 rounds comprising 121 players selected.

## Draft selections and draftee career notes

Chuck Share from Bowling Green State University was selected first overall by the Boston Celtics. Paul Arizin from Villanova University was selected before the draft as Philadelphia Warriors' territorial pick. The sixth pick, Irwin Dambrot, did not play in the NBA and opted for a career as a dentist. Five players from this draft, Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, George Yardley, Bill Sharman and Earl Lloyd have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Chuck Cooper, the 12th pick, and Lloyd, the 100th pick, were the first African Americans to be drafted by an NBA team. Lloyd became the first African American to play in the NBA on October 31, 1950, one day before Cooper made his debut.

## 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 never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game |

## Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | College |
| T | – | Paul Arizin^ | G/F | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Villanova |
| 1 | 1 | Chuck Share | C | United States | Boston Celtics | Bowling Green |
| 1 | 2 | Don Rehfeldt | F | United States | Baltimore Bullets | Wisconsin |
| 1 | 3 | Bob Cousy^ | G | United States | Tri-Cities Blackhawks | Holy Cross |
| 1 | 4 | Dick Schnittker | F | United States | Washington Capitols | Ohio State |
| 1 | 5 | Larry Foust* | F/C | United States | Chicago Stags | La Salle |
| 1 | 6 | Irwin Dambrot$^#$ | F | United States | New York Knicks | CCNY |
| 1 | 7 | George Yardley^ | G/F | United States | Fort Wayne Pistons | Stanford |
| 1 | 8 | Bob Lavoy | F/C | United States | Indianapolis Olympians | Western Kentucky |
| 1 | 9 | Joe McNamee | F/C | United States | Rochester Royals | San Francisco |
| 1 | 10 | Kevin O'Shea | G | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Notre Dame |
| 1 | 11 | Don Lofgran | F/C | United States | Syracuse Nationals | San Francisco |
| 2 | 12 | Chuck Cooper^ | F | United States | Boston Celtics | Duquesne |
| 2 | 13 | John Pilch | F | United States | Baltimore Bullets | Wyoming |
| 2 | 14 | Ed Dahler | F | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Duquesne |
| 2 | 15 | Ed Gayda | G/F | United States | Tri-Cities Blackhawks | Washington State |
| 2 | 16 | Bill Sharman^ | G | United States | Washington Capitols | USC |
| 2 | 17 | Wally Osterkorn | F/C | United States | Chicago Stags | Illinois |
| 2 | 18 | Herb Scherer | C | United States | New York Knicks | Long Island |
| 2 | 19 | Jim Riffey | F | United States | Fort Wayne Pistons | Tulane |
| 2 | 20 | Paul Unruh$^#$ | F | United States | Indianapolis Olympians | Bradley |
| 2 | 21 | George Stanich$^#$ | G/F | United States | Rochester Royals | UCLA |
| 2 | 22 | Hal Haskins$^#$ | G/F | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Hamline |
| 2 | 23 | Gerald Calabrese | G | United States | Syracuse Nationals | St. John's |

## 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 | 24 | Bob Donham | G/F | United States | Boston Celtics | Ohio State |
| 3 | 25 | Dick Dickey | G | United States | Baltimore Bullets | NC State |
| 3 | 28 | Alan Sawyer | F | United States | Washington Capitols | UCLA |
| 3 | 31 | Art Burris | F | United States | Fort Wayne Pistons | Tennessee |
| 3 | 32 | Chuck Mrazovich | F | United States | Indianapolis Olympians | Eastern Kentucky |
| 4 | 40 | Tommy O'Keefe | G | United States | Washington Capitols | Georgetown |
| 4 | 41 | Ken Murray | G/F | United States | Chicago Stags | St. Bonaventure |
| 4 | 46 | Bud Grant | F | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Minnesota |
| 5 | 49 | Norm Mager | F | United States | Baltimore Bullets | CCNY |
| 5 | 50 | Ike Borsavage | F/C | United States | Philadelphia Warriors | Temple |
| 5 | 51 | Cal Christensen | F/C | United States | Tri-Cities Blackhawks | Toledo |
| 5 | 52 | Claude Overton | G | United States | Washington Capitols | East Central State |
| 5 | 58 | Ed Beach | F | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | West Virginia |
| 6 | 60 | Francis Mahoney | F | United States | Boston Celtics | Brown |
| 6 | 68 | Ralph O'Brien | G | United States | Indianapolis Olympians | Butler |
| 7 | 80 | Leon Blevins | G | United States | Indianapolis Olympians | Arizona |
| 7 | 82 | Joe Hutton | G | United States | Minneapolis Lakers | Hamline |
| 8 | 89 | George King | G | United States | Chicago Stags | Morris Harvey |
| 9 | 99 | Nate DeLong | C | United States | Tri-Cities Blackhawks | River Falls State |
| 9 | 100 | Earl Lloyd^ | F/C | United States | Washington Capitols | West Virginia State |

## Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1950 draft, but played at least one game in the NBA.
| Player | Pos. | Nationality | School/club team |
| Ed Earle | F | United States | Loyola (Illinois) |
| Jerry Fowler | C | United States | Missouri |
| Al Masino | G | United States | Canisius |
| Andy O'Donnell | G | United States | Loyola (Maryland) |
| Sherwin Raiken | G | United States | Villanova |
| Bob Wilson | G | United States | West Virginia State |