1956 NBA draft

Basketball player selection August 2023 1956 NBA draft Basketball April 30, 1956 New York City, New York NBA 92 14 Si Green, Rochester Royals Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics 4 F Tom Heinsohn C Bill Russell G K. C. Jones F Elgin Baylor 1955 1957 The 1956 NBA draft was the tenth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 30, 1956, before the 1956–57 season. In this draft, eight 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, except for the defending champion and runner-up, who were assigned the last two picks in each round. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising 92 players selected. Draft selections and draftee career notes Si Green from Duquesne University was selected first overall by the Rochester Royals. Tom Heinsohn from the College of the Holy Cross was selected before the draft as Boston Celtics' territorial pick. Heinsohn went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season.http://www.nba.com/history/awards_rookieofyear.html Rookie of the Year NBA.com Turner Sports Interactive, Inc October 28, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20100329231204/http://www.nba.com/history/awards_rookieofyear.html March 29, 2010 dead Bill Russell from the University of San Francisco was selected second overall by the St. Louis Hawks and immediately traded to the Boston Celtics for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan.http://www.nba.com/history/players/russell_bio.html Bill Russell Bio NBA.com Turner Sports Interactive, Inc December 28, 2009 Three players from this draft, Tom Heinsohn, Bill Russell, and K. C. Jones, have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame after championship careers with the Boston Celtics.https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/hof.html Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees basketball-reference.com October 28, 2009 Elgin Baylor and Sam Jones, who were selected by the Minneapolis Lakers in the later rounds, have also been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame, although they did not enter the league immediately after the draft. In the 1957 draft, Sam Jones was selected in the first round by the Boston Celtics, with whom he played for in his whole career.http://www.nba.com/history/players/sjones_bio.html Sam Jones Bio NBA.com Turner Sports Interactive, Inc March 9, 2010 In the 1958 draft, Elgin Baylor was selected first overall by the Lakers, with whom he played for in his whole career.http://www.nba.com/history/players/baylor_bio.html Elgin Baylor Bio NBA.com Turner Sports Interactive, Inc March 9, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100317143237/http://www.nba.com/history/players/baylor_bio.html 17 March 2010 live During this draft, the St. Louis Hawks became the second team to select a high school senior for a future draft as a conditional territorial pick under a new rule that was implemented at the time, with this new rule for the selection of a high school senior that was within the team's territorial rights at the time leading to the Hawks selecting small forward Jack Pirrie from Maplewood Richmond Heights High School from that rule.https://www.thedraftreview.com/nba-draft-regulations/nba-draft-notes/1956-jack-pirrie-territorial-rights-draft-notes 1956 Jack Pirrie Territorial Rights - Draft Notes - The Draft Review Matthew Maurer February 28, 2021 The Draft Review However, unlike the previous player that was selected like that in the previous year's draft, Wilt Chamberlain for the Philadelphia Warriors, Pirrie would eventually go undrafted in 1960 despite the Hawks giving him the initial territorial draft rights for that year's draft due to a decrease in production in college at Vanderbilt University after previously being considered "one of the greatest high school talents" that was ever seen according to Hawks coach Red Holzman.Jack Pirrie - The Draft Review https://www.thedraftreview.com/?option=com_content&view=article&id=12807 https://web.archive.org/web/20250816005510/https://www.thedraftreview.com/?option=com_content&view=article&id=12807 2026-08-29 2025-08-16 Key Pos.GFCPositionGuardForwardCenter y y y y Draft right|thumb|150px|Tom Heinsohn was selected as the Boston Celtics' territorial pick. right|thumb|150px|Bill Russell was selected 2nd overall by the St. Louis Hawks and traded to the Boston Celtics. right|thumb|150px|Willie Naulls was selected 9th overall by the St. Louis Hawks. right|thumb|150px|K. C. Jones was selected 13th overall by the Boston Celtics. Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team College0T00– Tom Heinsohn^~ F/C United States Boston Celtics Holy Cross101 Si Green G/F United States Rochester Royals Duquesne102 Bill Russell^ C United States St. Louis Hawks (traded to Boston)Note1 a a San Francisco103 Jim Paxson Jim Paxson, Sr. G/F United States Minneapolis Lakers Dayton104 Ronnie Shavlik F United States New York Knicks NC State105 Joe Holup F United States Syracuse Nationals George Washington106 Ron Sobieszczyk G United States Fort Wayne Pistons (traded to New York)Note2 b b DePaul107 Hal Lear G United States Philadelphia Warriors Temple208 Bob Burrow F/C United States Rochester Royals Kentucky209 Willie Naulls+ F/C United States St. Louis Hawks UCLA210 Terry Rand# C United States Minneapolis Lakers Marquette211 Gary Bergen C United States New York Knicks Utah212 Paul Judson# F United States Syracuse Nationals Illinois213 K. C. Jones^ G United States Boston Celtics San Francisco214 Bob Kessler# F United States Fort Wayne Pistons Maryland215 Phil Rollins G United States Philadelphia Warriors Louisville Other picks The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1956.html 1956 NBA drafthttp://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/past_drafts/1956 NBA Past Drafts - RealGM Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team College316 Dave Piontek F/C United States Rochester Royals Xavier (OH)318 Jerry Bird F United States Minneapolis Lakers Kentucky320 Forest Able G United States Syracuse Nationals Western Kentucky322 Bill Thieben F/C United States Fort Wayne Pistons Hofstra424 Johnny McCarthy G United States Rochester Royals Canisius428 Swede Halbrook C United States Syracuse Nationals Wichita Vickers (NIBL)429 Dan Swartz F United States Boston Celtics Morehead State533 Norm Stewart F United States St. Louis Hawks Missouri536 Jim Ray Jim Ray (basketball) G United States Syracuse Nationals Toledo642 Phil Jordon F/C United States Minneapolis Lakers Whitworth643 Pat Dunn Pat Dunn (basketball) G United States New York Knicks Utah State750 John Barber John Barber (basketball) F United States Minneapolis Lakers Cal State L.A. 1074 Bob Hopkins F/C United States Syracuse Nationals Grambling1490 Elgin Baylor^~ F United States Minneapolis LakersNote3 c c Seattle Notable undrafted players List of undrafted NBA players These players were not selected in the 1956 draft but played at least one game in the NBA. Player Pos. Nationality School/club team Rich Eichhorst G United States Southeast Missouri State Trades Note1 a a On draft-day, the Boston Celtics acquired the draft rights to second pick Bill Russell from the St. Louis Hawks in exchange for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan. Note2 b b On draft-day, the New York Knicks acquired the draft rights to sixth pick Ron Sobieszczyk from the Fort Wayne Pistons in exchange for Gene Shue.http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/oct/25/sports/chi-obit-sobieszczyk-25oct25 Ron Sobieszczyk, 1934-2009: Former DePaul basketball standout, played in NBA Kim Janssen Chicago Tribune October 25, 2009 December 28, 2009 March 3, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120303001126/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/ dead Note3 c c Baylor would not play for the Minneapolis Lakers until he was drafted by them again 1st overall in the 1958 NBA draft. See also List of first overall NBA draft picks References General https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1956.html 1956 NBA Draft basketball-reference.com October 28, 2009 http://www.apbr.org/5256drft.html 1952–1956 NBA Drafts The Association for Professional Basketball Research September 26, 2009 http://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2585&Itemid=103 1956 NBA Draft The Draft Review October 30, 2009 Specific External links NBA.com NBA.com: NBA Draft History Draft Category:NBA draft NBA draft NBA draft Category:Basketball in New York City Category:Sporting events in New York City