# 1968 NBA expansion draft

The 1968 NBA expansion draft was the fourth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1968, so that the newly founded Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns could acquire players for the upcoming 1968–69 season. Milwaukee and Phoenix had been awarded the expansion teams on January 22, 1968. In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twelve other NBA teams had protected seven players from their roster. After each round, where each the Suns and the Bucks had selected one player, the existing teams added another player to their protected list. The draft continued until both teams had selected eighteen unprotected players each, while the existing teams had lost three players each.
The Milwaukee Bucks were formed and owned by a group of investors headed by Wesley Pavalon and Marvin Fishman, which called the Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. (Milwaukee Pro). The Bucks were the second NBA team from Milwaukee, after the Milwaukee Hawks, which moved to St. Louis in 1955 and then Atlanta in 1968, becoming the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks' selections included former first overall pick Fred Hetzel, six-time All-Star Larry Costello, five-time All-Star Wayne Embry, four-time All-Star Guy Rodgers and one-time All-Star Len Chappell. Prior to the expansion draft, Costello retired from playing due to injury and was named as the franchise's first head coach. Ten players from the expansion draft joined the Bucks for their inaugural season, but only three played more than one season for the team. Jon McGlocklin, who played eight seasons with the Bucks, was named to the 1969 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Star. He was the only player from the expansion draft that was on the Bucks team that won the NBA championship in 1971. Embry was later inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.
The Phoenix Suns were formed and owned by a group of investors headed by Richard Bloch. Former Chicago Bulls head coach and 1967 Coach of the Year Johnny Kerr was named as the franchise's first head coach. The Suns' selections included former territorial picks Gail Goodrich and George Wilson. Eight players from the expansion draft joined the Suns for their inaugural season, but only five played more than one season for the team. John Wetzel was the ninth player from the expansion draft to play for the Suns. He made his first appearance in 1970 after serving in the military for two years. Goodrich and Dick Van Arsdale were named to the 1969 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Stars. Van Arsdale played nine seasons with the Suns and became the Suns' franchise leader in games played when he retired in 1977, a record which has since been broken by Alvan Adams and Walter Davis. Goodrich played two seasons with the Suns and was later inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player.

## 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 |

## Selections

| Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team | Previous team | Years of NBA experience | Career with the franchise |
| Len Chappell$^+$ | F/C | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Detroit Pistons | 6 | 1968–1970 |
| Larry Costello* | G | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Philadelphia 76ers | 12 | — |
| Johnny Egan | G | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Baltimore Bullets | 7 | — |
| Wayne Embry$^+$ | F/C | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Boston Celtics | 10 | 1968–1969 |
| Dave Gambee | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | San Diego Rockets | 10 | 1968 |
| Gary Gray | G | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Cincinnati Royals | 1 | — |
| Fred Hetzel | F/C | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | San Francisco Warriors | 3 | 1968–1969 |
| Johnny Jones | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Boston Celtics | 1 | — |
| Bob Love* | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Cincinnati Royals | 2 | 1968 |
| Jon McGlocklin$^+$ | G/F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | San Diego Rockets | 3 | 1968–1976 |
| Jay Miller | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Atlanta Hawks | 1 | 1968 |
| Bud Olsen | F/C | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Seattle SuperSonics | 6 | — |
| George Patterson | F/C | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Detroit Pistons | 1 | — |
| Jim Reid | F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Philadelphia 76ers | 1 | — |
| Guy Rodgers^ | G | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Cincinnati Royals | 10 | 1968–1970 |
| Tom Thacker | G/F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Boston Celtics | 4 | — |
| Bob Warlick | G/F | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | San Francisco Warriors | 3 | 1968 |
| Bob Weiss | G | United States | Milwaukee Bucks | Seattle SuperSonics | 3 | 1968 |
| John Barnhill | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | San Diego Rockets | 6 | — |
| Em Bryant | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | New York Knicks | 4 | — |
| Gail Goodrich^ | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Los Angeles Lakers | 3 | 1968–1970 |
| Dennis Hamilton | F | United States | Phoenix Suns | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | — |
| Neil Johnson | F/C | United States | Phoenix Suns | New York Knicks | 2 | 1968–1970 |
| Dave Lattin | F/C | United States | Phoenix Suns | San Francisco Warriors | 1 | 1968–1969 |
| Paul Long | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Detroit Pistons | 1 | — |
| Stan McKenzie | G/F | United States | Phoenix Suns | Baltimore Bullets | 1 | 1968–1970 |
| McCoy McLemore | F/C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Chicago Bulls | 4 | 1968 |
| Bill Melchionni | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Philadelphia 76ers | 1 | — |
| Dave Schellhase | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Chicago Bulls | 2 | — |
| Dick Snyder | G/F | United States | Phoenix Suns | Atlanta Hawks | 2 | 1968–1969 |
| Craig Spitzer | C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Chicago Bulls | 1 | — |
| Bumper Tormohlen | F/C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Atlanta Hawks | 5 | — |
| Dick Van Arsdale$^+$ | G/F | United States | Phoenix Suns | New York Knicks | 3 | 1968–1977 |
| Roland West | G | United States | Phoenix Suns | Baltimore Bullets | 1 | — |
| John Wetzel | G/F | United States | Phoenix Suns | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | 1970–1972; 1975–1976 |
| George Wilson | C | United States | Phoenix Suns | Seattle SuperSonics | 4 | 1968–1969 |