1973 ABA draft

Basketball player selection 1973 ABA draft Basketball January 15, 1973 (Special Circumstances Draft)Bradley Robert D. The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts 2013 Scarecrow Press 9780810890695, pp. 198-199April 25, 1973 (Senior Draft & Undergraduate Draft)Bradley Robert D. The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts 2013 Scarecrow Press 9780810890695, pp. 207-211Bradley Robert D. The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts 2013 Scarecrow Press 9780810890695, pp. 211-212May 18, 1973 (Supplemental Draft)Bradley Robert D. The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts 2013 Scarecrow Press 9780810890695, pp. 212-215 New York, New York American Basketball Association 10 (excluding one team relocating and rebranding as another team during the draft process) 212 29 (overall) Mike Bantom, Denver Rockets (Special Circumstances Draft)https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Years/1973-aba-spec.htm 1973 ABA Special Circumstance Draft Pick Transactions Bo Lamar, San Diego Conquistadors (Senior Draft)https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Years/1973-aba-senior.htm 1973 ABA Senior Draft Pick Transactions Pro Sports Transactions Dec 23, 2024Bill Walton, San Diego Conquistadors (Undergraduate Draft)https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Years/1973-aba-undergrad.htm 1973 ABA Undergraduate Draft Pick Transactions Larry Moore, San Diego Conquistadors (Supplemental Draft)https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Years/1973-aba-sup.htm 1973 ABA Supplemental Draft Pick Transactions 1972 1974 The 1973 ABA draft was the seventh draft done by the American Basketball Association (ABA), a rivaling professional basketball league to the National Basketball Association (NBA) that they would eventually merge as a part of the NBA only a few years later despite official merger talks ultimately being dead during these later, more competitive years of the ABA's history. This draft would be the only draft in the league's history where they would experiment with the format by utilizing four different types of drafts from the months of January until May 1973, with the draft that had the most rounds showcasing the least amount of success by comparison to the other drafts in question due to most of the players that were drafted there not even playing professionally at all after being selected in the final draft done in this period of time. The first draft done on January 15 that year was for the Special Circumstances Draft, which focused on players that the ABA saw were eligible for selection early either as college underclassmen or as an early (semi-)professional player of sorts in the case of George Gervin, with the ordering on that two round draft being done around the midway point of sorts for the 1972–73 ABA season and Mike Bantom being the #1 pick of the Denver Rockets (who still kept the team name of Rockets at the time despite no longer having Bill Ringsby owning the team and having it coincide with his "Ringsby Rocket Truck Lines" company) for that draft. It also became the final draft of sorts that the Dallas Chaparrals would participate in under that name, as following the conclusion of that aforementioned season, the team would move from Dallas to San Antonio to become the modern-day San Antonio Spurs going forward (though they did initially try and utilize the San Antonio Gunslingers name at first instead, which they might have used during this draft period in April and May).http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/DallasMaterial/ChaparralsSpursYearly.html Dallas Chaparrals/San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Year-to-Year Notes Robert Bradley Remember the ABA Dec 23, 2024 March 17, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120317112519/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/DallasMaterial/ChaparralsSpursYearly.html live Following that, the ABA did both the ten round Senior Draft and then the two round Undergraduate Draft on April 25 (starting them both one day after the rivaling NBA began their draft period, thus technically marking the first time the NBA draft started before an ABA draft did), with both Bo Lamar and Bill Walton of the San Diego Conquistadors being considered the official #1 picks of those respective drafts. Finally, on May 18, thirteen days after the NBA completed their general draft period (which was technically the first time the NBA completed a draft period of sorts ahead of the ABA as well), the ABA utilized a fifteen round Supplemental Draft that only eight of the ten ABA teams participated in altogether, which saw Larry Moore of the San Diego Conquistadors become the presumed #1 pick of that specific draft, though he was the only #1 pick from an ABA draft to not have a professional career altogether. The first three drafts would see players that had genuine success throughout both the ABA and NBA in their careers (though the drafts with the lowest overall number of picks saw the most success of the lot by comparison to the Senior Draft), but the last draft saw mostly failures there that never played professionally with scant few professional successes like Slick Watts and Harvey Catchings alongside brief professional careers like John Coughran, James Garvin, Billy Harris, and Wayne Pack (the latter two players being the only players from that last draft to even play in the ABA altogether) instead. Draftee career notes Due to the unique circumstances relating to this draft, it can be accurate to say that the ABA had four different #1 picks for the different drafts they utilized instead of just one standardized #1 pick like the NBA did for the 1973 NBA draft (which was also the former fourth round (presumed #30) ABA pick Doug Collins from Illinois State University from the 1972 ABA draft alongside the fourth pick of the Senior Draft for this year's ABA draft). For the #1 pick of the Special Circumstances Draft, Mike Bantom from St. Joseph's University was selected as the first pick of that draft by the Denver Rockets due to them having the worst record by that period of time (with him also being the 8th pick of the 1973 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns). Meanwhile, the #1 pick that's considered the consensus #1 pick of the 1973 ABA draft due to him being that for the ABA's senior draft was Bo Lamar of the newly created San Diego Conquistadors expansion franchise (who was drafted 44th in the 1973 NBA draft by comparison). For the undergraduate draft that came right after the senior draft, that particular draft's #1 pick (which officially is referred to as the 101st pick of that particular day's draft since the senior and undergraduate drafts were back to back with each other) was Bill Walton (who was previously selected by the Dallas Chaparrals in the fourth round as the presumed 33rd pick of the 1972 ABA draft) from UCLA by the San Diego Conquistadors. Finally, for the Supplemental Draft that came by in May, the presumed #1 pick of that specific draft was Larry Moore from the University of Texas in Arlington by the San Diego Conquistadors due to them being the holders of the #1 pick in the previous two drafts, though he not only wouldn't be drafted by the NBA, but none of the players selected in the first round from that specific draft would play professionally at all whatsoever (though Craig Littlepage from the University of Pennsylvania by the San Antonio Spurs would eventually be a college basketball head coach and later athletic director after being a long-time assistant coach following his draft selection). Meanwhile, Bo Lamar would be named a member of the All-ABA Rookie Team in his first season in the ABA before fizzling out of his professional basketball career, Mike Bantom would be a part of the All-NBA Rookie Team in his career before having a more sustainable professional basketball career by comparison to Bo Lamar, Doug Collins would later become a four-time NBA All-Star before coaching in the NBA later in his career, and Bill Walton ultimately would make it to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for his overall career. From the Special Circumstances Draft, three players from that specific draft would be a part of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Freshman #8 pick Robert Parish from Centenary College, former Eastern Michigan University sophomore (and at the time original Continental Basketball Association's Pontiac Chaparrals (no relation to the Dallas Chaparrals franchise that later became the San Antonio Spurs)) #10 pick George Gervin, and junior #11 pick Bobby Jones from the University of North Carolina would all make it to the Hall of Fame, with Gervin and Jones both playing in the ABA during their careers. For the Senior Draft, it'd also recently see three players inducted into the Hall of Fame by as recently as 2026 in #3 pick Mike D'Antoni from Marshall University (as a contributor), #40 pick Krešimir Ćosić from Brigham Young University (as a foreign player), and #51 pick George Karl from the University of North Carolina (as a head coach), with only D'Antoni playing in the ABA from that group. The only other interesting notable player from the senior draft was #58 pick Dave Winfield, who was the only player to get drafted in all four of the ABA, NBA, NFL, and MLB, with Winfield choosing to play in the MLB's San Diego Padres and later went into the Baseball Hall of Fame for his efforts with that league. Finally, the Undergraduate Draft would not just see the aforementioned #101 pick in junior Bill Walton from UCLA, but also sophomore #102 pick David Thompson from North Carolina State University make it to the Hall of Fame for their professional careers at hand. After that point, the Supplemental Draft would see nobody from this specific draft make it to the Hall of Fame (with this particular draft seeing scant few successes playing either in the ABA or NBA altogether), though the last pick from that draft in junior Harvey Catchings from Hardin–Simmons University (who was also drafted by the Utah Stars in the previous year's draft) would be the father of Hall of Fame WNBA star player Tamika Catchings. A few of the Hall of Famers from this year's draft would also play in the ABA All-Star Game at least once as well. Of the 92 overall ABA All-Stars, only eight total players would make it to at least one ABA All-Star Game during the league's final seasons of existence, with two of them making it to all three of the league's final All-Star Games (none of them being from the Supplemental Draft). From the Special Circumstances Draft, four players from this specific draft would be in the ABA All-Star Game, with #2 pick Mike Green being an All-Star in 1975 after being a member of the ABA All-Rookie Team in 1974, #4 pick Larry Kenon being one of two three-time ABA All-Stars from this draft alongside an ABA All-Rookie Team member and champion in 1974, #10 pick George Gervin being the other three-time ABA All-Star from this draft that was a late ABA All-Rookie Team member for 1973 due to his prior semi-professional status at the original Continental Basketball Association making him eligible for early ABA play and a two-time All-ABA Second Team member in the league's final two seasons of play for a worthwhile ABA All-Time Team spot and a later number retirement for the San Antonio Spurs, and #11 pick Bobby Jones being an ABA All-Star and an All-ABA Second Team member in the league's final season of play after being named a member of the ABA All-Rookie Team in 1975 due to him joining the ABA during the following season instead, as well as one of seven ABA players to join the ABA All-Defensive Team only two times throughout one's playing career there. For the Senior Draft, only #25 pick Caldwell Jones would play well enough to make it to the ABA All-Star Game out of everyone that was from that specific draft, with him making it in 1975 due in part to leading the league in blocks for two straight seasons in a row in both 1974 and 1975. Finally, with regards to the Undergraduate Draft that came right after the Senior Draft, that draft saw three players selected that would be ABA All-Stars, with the technical #102 pick David Thompson being a part of the ABA All-Time Team despite only one season of play in the ABA's final season of existence with him earning not just the final year's All-Star Game spot, but also the final ABA All-Star Game MVP Award; the final ABA Rookie of the Year Award alongside one of the final ABA All-Rookie Team spots, and even one of the final All-ABA Second Team spots in his only season of play with the ABA; the technical #106 pick Marvin Barnes also being a part of the ABA All-Time Team in only two seasons of play with two ABA All-Star Game appearances alongside him winning the ABA's Rookie of the Year Award in 1975 and appearing in both the ABA All-Rookie Team and All-ABA Second Team in that same first year of ABA play; and the technical #110 pick Maurice Lucas was the fourth overall player from this year's draft (third player from this specific draft in question) to also be named a member of the ABA All-Time Team while playing in only two seasons despite having only one ABA All-Star appearance in the league's final season of play (being named as such by replacing one of three players representing the Denver Nuggets, the modern-day rendition of the Denver Rockets that year, with most of his notable achievements as a player coming from after the ABA-NBA merger). Due in part to the high amount of drafted players the ABA had this season combined with the overall amount of seasons the ABA had left to actually play, there would actually be no undrafted ABA All-Stars for the first time ever (at least, if you exclude Swen Nater as a previously drafted player that returned to college for his senior year, especially since he already had his player rights acquired by the Virginia Squires at the time). Historic draft notes After mostly taking on the linear NBA draft stylized formatting for their previous two drafts, partially due to anticipation from the ABA thinking they were going to have the ABA-NBA merger planned out and settled on earlier than it actually was, the ABA decided to experiment with their formatting once again for the 1973 draft. With their experimentation, they allowed themselves to work with the return of the "Special Circumstances Draft" under a more improved model from what they first tried back in 1971 (allowing themselves to draft college underclassmen or the equivalent of such players early in the season instead of months before starting their upcoming season), which allowed for the Virginia Squires to sign George Gervin onto their team during their 1972–73 season after that draft ended in January due to his semi-professional status at the time. It also allowed the ABA to separate the seniors and the rest of the college underclassmen in their bigger draft night later in April, which gave them more of an opportunity to lure away underclassmen that wanted to play professional basketball early in their careers instead. Finally, the "Supplemental Draft" that was done in May was done with a purpose of likely finding more underrated basketball gems that were overlooked by the NBA elsewhere, though with scant few exceptions in mind for the eight out of ten ABA teams that participated in said draft during that month, that particular draft was overall deemed a failure by comparison to the other drafts done that year. If one were to combine the total rounds from all four of those drafts into one whole draft properly, this year's draft would have officially lasted for a massive 29 total rounds with the most number of players drafted by the ABA for a grand total of 212 players selected for officially recorded data. However, to simplify the process a bit in this case, this year's draft coverage will have the four drafts separated as they originally were presented at the time. Outside of the Dallas Chaparrals moving to San Antonio in order to essentially become the modern-day San Antonio Spurs that currently exist in the NBA to this day (after briefly flirting with the idea of using the San Antonio Gunslingers name early on) following the end of the regular season months after the special circumstances draft ended, no other team movement changes occurred following the conclusions of the rest of these draft events, (though the Memphis Tams were dangerously close to either relocating elsewhere themselves or otherwise folding operations entirely similar to "The Floridians" and the Pittsburgh Condors did the previous year in the ABA during the offseason period) thus tying 1971 as the most stable draft year period for the ABA's teams due to no one outside of the Chaparrals franchise moving or changing team names once again. Key Pos.GFCPositionGuardForwardCenter + Accomplishments keySymbol Meaning Symbol Meaning ^ Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ‡ Denotes player that was selected to the ABA All-Time Team * Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-ABA Team + Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game ~ Denotes a player that won the ABA Rookie of the Year Award # Denotes player who has never appeared in either an ABA or NBA regular season or playoff game Drafts Unlike the other draft years done by the ABA, this year's draft in particular would be done in four separate areas of interest. As such, each specific draft for this year will have its own section to work with instead. 1973 ABA special circumstances draft This specific draft would technically be considered the last draft event that the Dallas Chaparrals would participate in under that name, as well as become the first official draft that the San Diego Conquistadors would participate in outside of the previous year's expansion draft.http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/SanDiegoMaterial/ConquistadorsSailsYearly.html San Diego Conquistadors/San Diego Sails Year-to-Year Notes Remember the ABA Dec 23, 2024 Bradley Robert December 25, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081225005001/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/SanDiegoMaterial/ConquistadorsSailsYearly.html live Following the end of the 1972–73 ABA season, the Chaparrals franchise would move to San Antonio, Texas to initially be called the San Antonio Gunslingers before later entering the upcoming season onward as the San Antonio Spurs properly. As such, the San Antonio franchise would claim all of the Chaparrals franchise's assets, including franchise history and draft rights from not just this draft, but also the other drafts held later in the year. That being said, every player selected in this particular draft except for George Gervin were selected as players that the ABA had deemed necessary to be drafted early via special circumstances coming out of college or university, regardless of whether they were already close toward graduating from said college or university before this special draft began or not. In the case of George Gervin, he had actually left his college he was going to during his sophomore year in order to play minor league basketball of sorts in the originally named Continental Basketball Association for the unrelated named Pontiac Chaparrals in Pontiac, Michigan before that league was about to go defunct a year later and that league's named would be hijacked by the Eastern Basketball Association a few years after that to become that new name for the rest of its life cycle. thumb|right|150px|Robert Parish was the eighth pick of the 1973 ABA special circumstances draft by the Utah Stars. thumb|right|150px|George Gervin was the tenth pick of the 1973 ABA special circumstances draft by the Virginia Squires. thumb|right|150px|Bobby Jones (left) was the eleventh pick in the 1973 ABA special circumstances draft by the Carolina Cougars. thumb|right|150px|Mike D'Antoni was the third pick in the 1973 ABA senior draft by the team that originally was meant to become the San Antonio Gunslingers before they got renamed into the San Antonio Spurs properly by the start of their first season under that new team name of theirs after previously entering the 1973 ABA special circumstances draft while under their original Dallas Chaparrals team name. thumb|right|150px|Caldwell Jones was the 25th pick in the 1973 ABA senior draft by the Virginia Squires. thumb|right|150px|Krešimir Ćosić was the 40th pick in the 1973 ABA senior draft by the Carolina Cougars. He would later be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame despite never playing either in the ABA or rivaling NBA due to his time spent playing overseas in Yugoslavia. thumb|right|150px|George Karl was the 51st pick of the 1973 ABA senior draft by the Memphis Tams. thumb|right|150px|Dave Winfield was the 58th pick in the 1973 ABA senior draft by the Utah Stars. He ultimately went to the Baseball Hall of Fame due to him choosing to play in the MLB. Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Team School/Club team11 Mike Bantom PF/SF Denver Rockets St. Joseph's (Sr.)12 Mike Green basketball, born 1951+ C/PF United States Indiana Pacers Louisiana Tech (Sr.)13 Ernie DiGregorio PG United States Kentucky Colonels Providence (Sr.)14 Larry Kenon+ PF United States Memphis Tams Memphis State (Jr.)15 Jim Brewer basketball PF United States New York Nets Minnesota (Sr.)16 Kevin Kunnert C United States Dallas Chaparrals Iowa (Sr.)17 David Vaughn Jr. C United States San Diego Conquistadors Oral Roberts (So.)18 Robert Parish^ C United States Utah Stars Centenary (Fr.)19 Jimmie Baker basketball PF United States Utah Stars UNLV (So.)110 George Gervin^‡ SG/SF United States Virginia Squires Pontiac Chaparrals (CBA)211 Bobby Jones basketball, born 1951^+ PF United States Carolina Cougars North Carolina (Jr.)212 Tommy Burleson C United States Carolina Cougars NC State (Jr.)213 Clyde Turner 1# F United States Denver Rockets Minnesota (Jr.)214 Dave Cowens 1# SF United States Indiana Pacers Houston (So.)215 Raymond Lewis# G United States Memphis Tams Cal State Los Angeles (So.)216 Billy Schaeffer SF United States New York Nets St. John's (Sr.)217 John Brown basketball, born 1951 SF United StatesWest Germany Dallas Chaparrals Missouri (Sr.)218 Bird Averitt SG United States San Diego Conquistadors Pepperdine (Jr.)219 Alvan Adams PF/C United States Utah Stars Oklahoma (So.)220 Barry Parkhill SG United States Virginia Squires Virginia (Sr.) 1973 ABA senior draft For these next three draft events, the San Antonio Spurs were potentially drafting under their initial team name of the San Antonio Gunslingers at the time. They would only change their team name to the Spurs some time before the 1973–74 ABA season officially began either due to a "Name That Team" contest (though it's unknown when that contest in 1973 was officially done during that time) or by the insistence of Red McCombs, one of the new team owners, naming it after his birth place of Spur, Texas. This means this year's senior draft may or may not be the official draft debut period of the San Antonio Spurs franchise (though it retroactively is considered that officially). As for this particular draft, the focus involved would have teams draft only senior eligible players from colleges and universities for teams to potentially sign onto their teams over the rivaling NBA's teams. Ironically, a few of these players selected in this wouldn't technically be considered proper seniors for one reason or another. Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Team School11 Bo Lamar PG San Diego Conquistadors Southwestern Louisiana (Sr.)12 Larry Finch SG United States Memphis Tams Memphis State (Sr.)13Mike D'Antoni^ PG United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Marshall (Sr.)14 Doug Collins basketball SG United States New York Nets Illinois State (Sr.)15 Allan Bristow SF United States Virginia Squires Virginia Tech (Sr.)16 Ed Ratleff SG/SF United States Denver Rockets Long Beach State (Sr.)17 Steve Downing C United States Indiana Pacers Indiana (Sr.)18 Ronnie Robinson basketball PF United States Utah Stars Memphis State (Sr.)19 Louie Nelson PG/SG United States Kentucky Colonels Washington (Sr.)110 Mel Davis PF United States Carolina Cougars St. John's (Sr.)211 Wendell Hudson# F United States Memphis Tams Alabama (Sr.)212 Kevin Joyce Kevin Joyce (basketball) PG/SG United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs South Carolina (Sr.)213 Tim Bassett PF/C United States San Diego Conquistadors Georgia (Sr.)214 Derrek Dickey PF United States Kentucky Colonels (from New York via Utah) Cincinnati (Sr.)215 Allie McGuire SG United States Virginia Squires Marquette (Sr.)216 Steve Mitchell basketball, born 1951# F United States Denver Rockets Kansas State (Sr.)217 Jim O'Brien basketball, born 1951 SF/SG United States Indiana Pacers Maryland (Sr.)218 Leonard Gray PF United States Utah Stars Long Beach State (Sr.)219 Ron King basketball SG United States Kentucky Colonels Florida State (Sr.)220 Nick Weatherspoon SF United States Carolina Cougars Illinois (Sr.)321 Dave Langston 1# G United States Memphis Tams Drake (Sr.)322 Tom Kozelko PF United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Toledo (Sr.)323 Tom Ingelsby PG United States San Diego Conquistadors Villanova (Sr.)324 James Lister basketball# C United States New York Nets Sam Houston State (Sr.)325 Caldwell Jones+ C/PF United States Virginia Squires Albany State (Sr.)326 Kevin Stacom SG United States Denver Rockets Providence (Sr.)327 Jim Resteck 1# F United States Indiana Pacers Auburn (Sr.)328 Steve Newsome 1# F United States Utah Stars Houston (Sr.)329 M. L. Carr SG/SF United States Kentucky Colonels Guilford (Sr.)330 Ted Manakas SG United States Utah Stars (from Carolina) Princeton (Sr.)431 Harry Rogers basketball PF United States Memphis Tams Saint Louis (Sr.)432 Phil Hankinson PF United States New York Nets (from San Antonio) Pennsylvania (Sr.)433 Darryl Minniefield 1# C United States San Diego Conquistadors New Mexico (Sr.)434 Kermit Washington PF United States New York Nets American (Sr.)435 Bob Lauriski 1# F United States Virginia Squires Utah State (Sr.)436 Patrick McFarland SG United States Denver Rockets Saint Joseph's (Sr.)437 John Ritter 1# F United States Indiana Pacers Indiana (Sr.)438 Martin Terry# F United States Utah Stars Arkansas (Sr.)439 Ron Behagen PF/C United States Kentucky Colonels Minnesota (Sr.)440 Krešimir Ćosić#^ C Carolina Cougars BYU (Sr.)541 Dennis Bell basketball SF United States Memphis Tams Drake (Sr.)542 Luke Witte C United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Ohio State (Sr.)543 Reggie Royals C United States San Diego Conquistadors Florida State (Sr.)544 Ken Brady 1# C United States New York Nets Michigan (Sr.)545 Pete Perry basketball# C United States Virginia Squires Pan American (Sr.)546 Larry Farmer basketball# F United States Denver Rockets UCLA (Sr.)547 Allan Hornyak# SG United States Indiana Pacers Ohio State (Sr.)548 Pete Harris 1# F United States Utah Stars Stephen F. Austin (Sr.)549 William Harris 1# G United States Kentucky Colonels North Carolina A&T (Sr.)https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/william-harris-2.html William Harris SRCBB Dec 23, 2024 June 13, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170613092313/http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/william-harris-2.html live 550 Larry Hollyfield# SG/SF United States Carolina Cougars UCLA (Sr.)651 George Karl^ PG United States Memphis Tams North Carolina (Sr.)652 Gary Melchionni PG United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Duke (Sr.)653 Jim Owens basketball, born 1950 SF United States San Diego Conquistadors Arizona State (Sr.)654 Neal Jurgensen 1# F United States New York Nets Oregon State (Sr.)655 Aron Stewart# G United States Virginia Squires Richmond (Sr.)656 Martinez Denmon 1# G United States Denver Rockets Iowa State (Sr.)657 Joe Wallace 1# SF United States Indiana Pacers Denver (Sr.)658 Dave Winfield# F United States Utah Stars Minnesota (Sr.)659 Mike Boylan 1# F United States Kentucky Colonels Assumption College (Sr.)660 Joe Reaves SF United States Carolina Cougars Bethel College (Tennessee) (Sr.)761 E. C. Coleman PF United States Memphis Tams Houston Baptist (Sr.)762 Rich Fuqua# SG United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Oral Roberts (Sr.)763 Ken Charles SG San Diego Conquistadors Fordham (Sr.)764 Nate Stephens 1# C United States New York Nets Long Beach State (Sr.)765 Ruben Montanez 1# G Virginia Squires Duquesne (Sr.)766 James Brown 1# F United States Denver Rockets Harvard (Sr.)767 Jim Andrews 1# C United States Indiana Pacers Kentucky (Sr.)768 B. G. Brosterhous 1# F United States Utah Stars Texas (Sr.)769 Les Taylor basketball# SF United States Kentucky Colonels Murray State (Sr.)770 Ozie Edwards 1# G United States Carolina Cougars Oklahoma City (Sr.)871 Rod Freeman SF United States Memphis Tams Vanderbilt (Sr.)872 Henry Wilmore 1# SG/SF United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Michigan (Sr.)873 Chris McMurray 1# F United States San Diego Conquistadors San Diego State (Sr.)874 Gene Doyle 1# F United States New York Nets Holy Cross (Sr.)875 Walt McGrary 1# F United States Virginia Squires Chattanooga (Sr.)876 Gary Rhoades 1# G United States Denver Rockets Colorado State (Sr.)877 Mike Edwards basketball# SG United States Indiana Pacers Tennessee (Sr.)878 Mike Williams 1# G United States Utah Stars Kentucky Wesleyan (Sr.)879 James Greene 1# F United States Kentucky Colonels Kentucky Wesleyan (Sr.)880 Steve Becker 1# G United States Carolina Cougars Yankton (Sr.)981 Charles Mitchell 1# F United States Memphis Tams Eastern Kentucky (Sr.)982 Mark Sibley PG United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Northwestern (Sr.)983 Russ Hunt# C United States San Diego Conquistadors Furman (Sr.)984 Clinton Harris 1# F United States New York Nets Iowa State (Sr.)985 Phil Chenier SG United States Virginia Squires California (Sr.)986 Connie Warren 1# F United States Denver Rockets Xavier (Sr.)987 Bobby Wilson 1# G United States Indiana Pacers Wichita State (Sr.)https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/bobby-wilson-2.html Bobby Wilson SRCBB Dec 23, 2024988 Roy McPipe SG United States Utah Stars Eastern Montana (Sr.)989 John Johnson 1# F United States Kentucky Colonels Denver (Sr.)https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/john-johnson-11.html John Johnson SRCBB December 23, 2024 June 12, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170612224403/http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/john-johnson-11.html live 990 Abe Steward 1# F United States Carolina Cougars Jacksonville (Sr.)1091 Chuck Iverson 1# F United States Memphis Tams South Dakota (Sr.)1092 Lawrence Lilly 1# C United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Alabama State (Sr.)1093 Nick Connor 1# F United States San Diego Conquistadors Illinois (Sr.)1094 Gene Armstead 1# C/PF United States New York Nets Rutgers (Sr.)1095 Joe Caffeyky 1# G United States Virginia Squires NC State (Sr.)1096 Jeff Dawson 1# G United States Denver Rockets Illinois (Sr.)https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/jeff-dawson-1.html Jeff Dawson SRCBB Dec 23, 2024 June 13, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170613020921/http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/jeff-dawson-1.html live 1097 Byron Jones basketball# F United States Indiana Pacers San Francisco (Sr.)1098 Melvin Russell 1# PG United States Utah Stars Centenary (Sr.)1099 Mike Macaluso SG United States Kentucky Colonels Canisius (Sr.)10100 Gerald Smith 1# C United States Carolina Cougars Detroit (Sr.) 1973 ABA undergraduate draft The ABA undergraduate draft would be considered a continuation of the official ABA draft (known for this year as the ABA senior draft properly), with ABA teams selecting undergraduate prospects from various colleges and universities early on that weren't previously selected in the prior "special circumstances draft" in the hopes that they would play for them in the ABA, similar to what they had done with some prospects in the past or with what's currently going on in the present day with some players in more modern NBA drafts. As such, this draft's round and pick orders will be listed with the official round and pick numbers as it normally would be, followed by what the ABA considered the official round and pick numbers in parentheses due to the loose structure at hand for this year's ABA draft and only this year's ABA draft. thumb|right|150px|Bill Walton was the first pick of the 1973 ABA undergraduate draft (101st overall draft pick) by the San Diego Conquistadors. thumb|right|150px|David Thompson was the second pick in the 1973 ABA undergraduate draft (102nd overall draft pick) by the Memphis Tams. thumb|right|150px|Maurice Lucas was the tenth pick in the 1973 ABA undergraduate draft (110th overall draft pick) by the Carolina Cougars. Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Team School11 (1)101 (1) Bill Walton^ C San Diego Conquistadors UCLA (Jr.)11 (1)102 (2) David Thompson basketball^‡ SG United States Memphis Tams NC State (So.)11 (1)103 (3) Dwight Jones basketball PF/C United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Houston (Jr.)11 (1)104 (4) Henry Williams 1# F United States New York Nets Jacksonville (So.)11 (1)105 (5) Phil Smith basketball SG United States Virginia Squires San Francisco (Jr.)11 (1)106 (6) Marvin Barnes~+‡ PF/C United States Denver Rockets Providence (Jr.)11 (1)107 (7) Len Elmore C/PF United States Indiana Pacers Maryland (Jr.)11 (1)108 (8) Bruce Seals PF/SF United States Utah Stars Xavier (Louisiana) (Jr.)11 (1)109 (9) Don Smith basketball, born 1951 PG United States Kentucky Colonels Dayton (Jr.)11 (1)110 (10) Maurice Lucas+‡ PF United States Carolina Cougars Marquette (Jr.)12 (2)111 (11) Larry Robinson 1# F United States Memphis Tams Texas (Jr.)12 (2)112 (12) Tom Henderson basketball PG United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Hawaii (Jr.)12 (2)113 (13) Jim Bradley basketball F United States San Diego Conquistadors Northern Illinois (Jr.)12 (2)114 (14) Campy Russell SF United States New York Nets Michigan (Jr.)12 (2)115 (15) John Shumate PF/C United States Virginia Squires Notre Dame (Jr.)12 (2)116 (16) Dennis DuVal G United States Denver Rockets Syracuse (Jr.)12 (2)117 (17) Rudy Jackson 1# C United States Indiana Pacers Hutchinson Community Junior College (Fr.)Goldaper Sam Forged Transcript Puts Focus on College Recruiting Abuses https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/24/archives/forged-transcript-puts-focus-on-college-recruiting-abuses-forged.html 23 December 2024 New York Times October 24, 1973 enhttps://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5274:rudy-jackson&Itemid=342 Rudy Jackson May 14, 2009 The Draft Review Dec 23, 202412 (2)118 (18) Marvin Webster C United States Utah Stars Morgan State (So.)12 (2)119 (19) Jim Forbes 1# F United States Kentucky Colonels UTEP (Jr.)12 (2)120 (20) Kevin Restani PF/C United States Carolina Cougars San Francisco (Jr.) 1973 ABA supplemental draft Interestingly, the only two teams to decline participation in entering the supplemental draft for the ABA this year entirely were the Indiana Pacers and New York Nets. All the other teams involved in this draft would use multiple selections within multiple rounds in order to take whoever was available within this particular draft. Unlike the other drafts at hand for the ABA, however, this particular draft would see scant few successes, with most of these players never even playing professionally altogether, while the few that did mostly had success playing professionally in the rivaling NBA instead. The best successes in terms of players that were drafted there were Slick Watts, Wayne Pack, Billy Harris (the only two players to actually go and play in the ABA from this specific draft), and Harvey Catchings, the very last pick of this entire ABA draft period. Round Pick Player Pos. Nationality Team School11 Larry Moore 1# C San Diego Conquistadors UT-Arlington (Sr.)12 Wardell Jeffries 1# G United States Memphis Tams Oklahoma Baptist (Sr.)13 Craig Littlepage# C United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Pennsylvania (Sr.)14 Lamont King 1# G United States Denver Rockets Long Beach State (Sr.)15 Dennis Johnson 1# G United States Utah Stars Ferris State (Sr.)16 Steve Rowell 1# G United States Kentucky Colonels Rhode Island (Sr.)17 Willie Calvert 1# C United States Virginia Squires Abilene Christian (Sr.)18 Cal Tatum 1# PG United States Carolina Cougars Southern Colorado State (Sr.)29 Slick Watts PG United States Memphis Tams Xavier (Louisiana) (Sr.)210 John Coughran F United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs California (Sr.)211 Mike Contreras 1# G United States San Diego Conquistadors Arizona State (Sr.)212 Tom Peck 1# F United States Denver Rockets Wisconsin–Eau Claire (Sr.)213 Bill McCoy 1# G United States Utah Stars Northern Iowa (Sr.)214 James Garvin basketball PF United States Kentucky Colonels Boston University (Sr.)215 Don Johnson 1# F United States Virginia Squires Lebanon Valley College (Sr.)216 Steve Smith 1# F United States Carolina Cougars Loyola Los Angeles (Sr.)317 Roy Simpson 1# F United States Memphis Tams Furman (Sr.)318 Bob Fullarton 1# C United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Xavier (Sr.)319 Doug Little 1# G United States San Diego Conquistadors Oregon (Sr.)320 Lindell Reason 1# G United States Denver Rockets Eastern Michigan (Sr.)321 James Floyd 1# F United States Utah Stars Shaw University (Sr.)322 Chuck Witt 1# F United States Kentucky Colonels Western Kentucky (Sr.)323 Greg Hawkins 1#https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/greg-hawkins-2.html Greg Hawkins SRCBB Dec 23, 2024 F United States Virginia Squires North Carolina State (Jr.)324 Bill Bailey 1# F United States Carolina Cougars Catawba College (Sr.)425 Norman Russell 1# C United States Memphis Tams Oklahoma City (Sr.)https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/norm-russell-1.html Norm Russell SRCBB Dec 23, 2024 July 27, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210727174537/https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/norm-russell-1.html live 426 Bill Kilgore 1# C United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Michigan State (Sr.)427 Ernie Kusnyer 1# F United States San Diego Conquistadors Kansas State (Sr.)428 Charles Golson 1# C United States Utah Stars College of Emporia (Sr.)429 Fran Costello 1# F United States Kentucky Colonels Providence (Sr.)430 Mike Allocco 1# F United States Virginia Squires Stonehill College (Sr.)431 Dave Angel 1# C United States Carolina Cougars Clemson (Sr.)532 Aaron Covington 1# G United States Memphis Tams Canisius (Sr.)533 Ronnie Hogue 1# G United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Georgia (Sr.)534 Mike Quick 1# G United States Utah Stars San Francisco (Sr.)535 Eddie Childress 1# F United States Kentucky Colonels Austin Peay (Sr.)536 Alan Shaw 1#https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/alan-shaw-1.html Alan Shaw SRCBB Dec 23, 2024 April 27, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230427155236/https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/alan-shaw-1.html live C United States Virginia Squires Duke (Sr.)537 Carl Jackson 1# F United States Carolina Cougars St. Bonaventure (Sr.)638 Fred Lavaroni 1# F United States Memphis Tams Santa Clara (Sr.)639 John Laing 1# C United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Augustana College (Illinois) (Sr.)640 Jerry Bisbano 1# F United States San Diego Conquistadors Southwestern Louisiana (Sr.)641 Lee Colburn 1# F United States Utah Stars South Dakota State (Sr.)642 Jerry Clark 1# G United States Kentucky Colonels Skagit Valley College (So.)643 Howard White 1# G United States Virginia Squires Maryland (Sr.)644 Lynn Greer 1# C United States Carolina Cougars Virginia State (Sr.)745 John Wolfenberg 1# F United States Memphis Tams Valparaiso (Sr.)746 Jeff Overhouse 1# F United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Texas A&M (Sr.)747 Mark Beckwith 1# C United States San Diego Conquistadors Montana State (Sr.)748 Robert White 1# F United States Utah Stars Sam Houston State (Sr.)749 Darrell Brown 1#https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/darrell-brown-2.html Darrell Brown SRCBB Dec 23, 2024 June 19, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210619224755/https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/darrell-brown-2.html live F United States Virginia Squires Maryland (Sr.)750 Dale Adams 1# F United States Carolina Cougars St. Mary's College of Maryland (Sr.)https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/adamsda01.html Dale Adams Stats Basketball Reference Dec 23, 2024851 Jim Crawford 1# F United States Memphis Tams La Salle (Sr.)852 Tim Dominey 1# G United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Valdosta State (Sr.)853 Wayne Pack PG United States San Diego Conquistadors Tennessee Tech (Sr.)854 Gary Watson 1# F United States Utah Stars Wisconsin (Sr.)855 Linwood Johnson 1# PF/C United States Virginia Squires Virginia State (Sr.)856 Terrence Murchison 1# F United States Carolina Cougars Fayetteville State (Sr.)957 Rick Williams 1# G United States Memphis Tams Iowa (Sr.)958 Billy Harris basketball G United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Northern Illinois (Sr.)959 Fred DeVaughn 1# F United States San Diego Conquistadors Westmont College (Sr.)960 Larry Davis 1# F United States Utah Stars Centenary College (Sr.)1061 Joe Wise 1# G United States Memphis Tams Bridgewater State (Sr.)1062 Bob Bodell 1# G United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Maryland (Sr.)1063 Ben Kelso 1# G United States Utah Stars Central Michigan (Sr.)1164 Reed Johnson 1# G United States Memphis Tams Oklahoma Christian College (So.)1165 Leon Howard 1# F United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Wisconsin (Sr.)1166 Nate Hawthorne 1# F United States Utah Stars Southern Illinois (Sr.)1267 Greg Jurcisin 1# C United States Memphis Tams Connecticut (Sr.)1268 Mark Jellison 1# G United States San Antonio Gunslingers/Spurs Northeastern (Sr.)1269 John Thomas 1# F United States Utah Stars Joplin Junior College (Sr.)https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thomajo03.html John Thomas Basketball Reference Dec 23, 20241370 Gary Black 1# G United States Utah Stars Rocky Mountain College (Sr.)1471 Sam Whitehead 1# F United States Utah Stars Oregon State (Sr.)1572 Harvey Catchings PF/C United States Utah Stars Hardin–Simmons (Jr.) Notable undrafted players These players were officially considered draft eligible for the 1973 ABA draft and went undrafted in all four of the league's special circumstances, senior, undergraduate, and supplementary drafts throughout this year, yet still played at least one regular season or playoff game for the ABA before the ABA-NBA merger commenced three years later. Player Pos. Nationality School Roy Ebron C Southwestern Louisiana (Jr.) Billy James basketball PG United States Marshall (Sr.) John Williamson basketball, born 1951 SG United States New Mexico State (Jr.) References External links 1973 ABA Draft on databaseBasketball.com 1973-74 ABA Rookies Draft Draft Draft ABA draft ABA draft ABA draft ABA draft ABA draft Category:Basketball in New York City Category:Sporting events in New York City