NBA territorial pick


A territorial pick was a type of special draft choice used in the Basketball Association of America draft in 1949 and in the National Basketball Association draft after the 1950 season, the year in which the BAA was renamed the NBA. In the draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. Territorial picks were eliminated when the draft system was revamped in 1966.
In the first 20 years of the BAA/NBA, the league was still trying to gain the support of fans who lived in or near the teams' home markets. To achieve this, the league introduced the territorial pick rule to help teams acquire popular players from colleges in their area who would presumably have strong local support. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a radius of its home arena. Although the territorial picks were selected before the draft, these picks were not factored into the overall selection count of the draft; therefore, the first non-territorial pick of the draft was considered the first overall pick.
Of the 23 territorial picks, 12 players have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Tom Heinsohn, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas are the only four territorial picks who won the Rookie of the Year Award. Chamberlain also won the Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season. He went on to win the Most Valuable Player Award three more times in his career. Oscar Robertson is the only other territorial pick who has won the Most Valuable Player Award; he won it in the 1963–64 season. The Philadelphia Warriors had the most territorial picks, having selected six who attended a total of five colleges. The University of Cincinnati had the most players taken as a territorial pick; three Cincinnati players were selected using this method by the Cincinnati Royals. The 1965 NBA draft, the last draft in which the rule remained in effect, had the most territorial picks in a single draft with three. The 1953 draft also had three territorial picks. No territorial pick was selected in the 1954, 1957 and 1961 drafts.

Key

List of territorial picks

draftPlayer Pos.NationalityTeamCollege Ref.
1949^F/CSt. Louis Bombers
1949^F/CMinneapolis Lakers
1950^G/FPhiladelphia Warriors
1951GMinneapolis Lakers
1952FPhiladelphia Warriors
1953G/FPhiladelphia Warriors
1953+CNew York Knicks
1953GPhiladelphia Warriors
1955*G/FMinneapolis Lakers
1955^G/FPhiladelphia Warriors
1956^F/CBoston Celtics
1958^GPhiladelphia Warriors
1959^CPhiladelphia Warriors
1959Bob FerryF/CSt. Louis Hawks
1960^G/FCincinnati Royals
1962^G/FUnited StatesDetroit Pistons
1962^F/CUnited StatesCincinnati Royals
1963G/FUnited StatesCincinnati Royals
1964+GUnited StatesLos Angeles Lakers
1964CUnited StatesCincinnati Royals
1965^G/FUnited StatesNew York Knicks
1965F/CUnited StatesDetroit Pistons
1965^GUnited StatesLos Angeles Lakers