A territorial pick was a type of special draft choice used in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) draft in 1949 and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) 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.[1][2]
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.[1] Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile (80 km) radius of its home arena.[2][3] As a result of the territorial picks being 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.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6] The Philadelphia Warriors had the most territorial picks, having selected seven 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.
a Although Wilt Chamberlain was playing at the University of Kansas, outside the territory of any NBA team, he was selected as the Philadelphia Warriors' territorial pick. The Warriors argued that because Chamberlain had grown up in Philadelphia and played high school basketball at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, they held his territorial rights. The NBA agreed with the argument, hence making him the first and only territorial pick based solely on his pre-college roots.[22]
b Although Oscar Robertson was drafted as a territorial pick, he was also recognized as the first pick in the first round of the draft as the Cincinnati Royals also held the first overall draft pick.[23][24]
c Although Jerry Lucas was playing at Ohio State University, outside the territory of the Cincinnati Royals, the Royals were the only NBA team in Ohio, so the NBA granted them the rights to pick Lucas as their territorial pick. Lucas also qualified under the same criterion as Chamberlain, as he grew up in Middletown, Ohio and played high school basketball at Middletown High School, which was within Cincinnati's territorial radius.[25]
References
^ a b"Evolution of the Draft and Lottery". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 18, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
^ a b"How the NBA Draft became a lottery". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. May 21, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
^"Lakers Select Baylor In NBA Draft Meeting". The Daily Collegian. Pennsylvania State University. April 23, 1958. p. 11.
^"All-time top 30 draft picks by slot". Sports Illustrated. June 24, 2009. Archived from the original on March 13, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
^"Rookie of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
^"Most Valuable Player". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
^ a b"1949 BAA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^"1950 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^"1951 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^"1952 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^ a b"1953 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^Bradley, Robert D. (2013). The basketball draft fact book: A history of professional basketball's college drafts (E-book ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press (Rowman & Littlefield). p. 30. ISBN 978-0-8108-9069-5.
^ a b"1955 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^"1956 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^"1958 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^ a b"1959 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^"1960 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^ a b"1962 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^"1963 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^ a b"1964 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^ a b c"1965 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^"Wilt Chamberlain Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^"Oscar Robertson Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^Wise, Mike (June 29, 2000). "Clippers Go to High School to Get Miles". The New York Times Company. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
^Pluto, Terry (2000). Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA. University of Nebraska Press. p. 215. ISBN 0-8032-8766-6. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
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