The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated.
The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip.[1] The Milwaukee Bucks won the coin flip in the commissioner's New York office on March 19 and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Phoenix Suns went second.[2][3][4] The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. The Los Angeles Lakers were awarded an extra first-round draft pick as settlement of the Rudy LaRusso trade to the San Francisco Warriors.[5] The draft consisted of twenty rounds and selected 218 players.[6][7]
Jo Jo White, the ninth pick, won two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976. He was named as the Finals Most Valuable Player in the latter. He was selected to two All-NBA Teams and seven All-Star Games.[14] 45th pick Bob Dandridge won two NBA championships with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 and with the Washington Bullets in the 1978. He was selected to one All-NBA Team and four All-Star Games.[15]Norm Van Lier, the 34th pick, was selected to both the All-NBA Team and the All-Star Game. He was also selected to eight All-Defensive Teams.[16] Two other players from this draft, 10th pick Butch Beard and 61st pick Steve Mix, was also selected to an All-Star Game.[17][18] Beard became a head coach after his playing career, he coached the New Jersey Nets for two seasons in the 1990s.[19] Three other players drafted also went on to have a coaching career: 43rd pick Fred Carter, 68th pick Gene Littles and 187th pick Mack Calvin.[20][21][22]
b On August 27, 1968, the Phoenix Suns acquired a second-round pick from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Em Bryant.[31] The Suns used the pick to draft Gene Williams.
c On December 17, 1968, the Phoenix Suns acquired Jim Fox and a third-round pick from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for McCoy McLemore.[32][33] The Suns used the pick to draft Lamar Green.
Notes
^1: Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971.[11] ^2: The Los Angeles Lakers were awarded an extra first-round draft pick as settlement of the Rudy LaRusso trade to the San Francisco Warriors on August 31, 1967.[5][34]
^Kim, Randy (June 19, 2003). "Draft Oddities". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
