View source for NBA territorial pick

{{Short description|Special draft choice used in the 1949 Basketball Association of America draft}}
[[File:Wilt Chamberlain3.jpg|upright|thumb|alt=Wilt Chamberlain while playing for the Harlem Globetrotters|[[Wilt Chamberlain]] was selected as the [[Philadelphia Warriors]]' territorial pick in [[1959 NBA draft|1959]].]]
A '''territorial pick''' was a type of special [[draft (sports)|draft]] choice used in the [[Basketball Association of America]] (BAA) [[NBA draft|draft]] in [[1949 BAA draft|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.<ref name="draftEvolution">{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/draft_evolution.html|title=Evolution of the Draft and Lottery|access-date=December 19, 2016|work=NBA.com|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318105833/http://www.nba.com/history/draft_evolution.html|archive-date=March 18, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Seattle">{{cite web|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/how-the-nba-draft-became-a-lottery/|title=How the NBA Draft became a lottery|work=The Seattle Times|publisher=The Seattle Times Company|date=May 21, 2007|access-date=December 19, 2016}}</ref>

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.<ref name="draftEvolution"/> Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a {{convert|50|mi|sing=on}} radius of its home arena.<ref name="Seattle"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Lakers Select Baylor In NBA Draft Meeting|newspaper=The Daily Collegian|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|date=April 23, 1958|page=11}}</ref> 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 [[List of first overall NBA draft picks|the first overall pick]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ian_thomsen/06/21/best.picks/|title=All-time top 30 draft picks by slot|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=June 24, 2009|access-date=December 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313150145/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ian_thomsen/06/21/best.picks|archive-date=March 13, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 [[NBA Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/awards_rookieofyear.html|title=Rookie of the Year|access-date=October 2, 2009|work=NBA.com|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329231204/http://www.nba.com/history/awards_rookieofyear.html|archive-date=March 29, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Chamberlain also won the [[NBA Most Valuable Player Award|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 NBA season|1963–64 season]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/awards_mvp.html|title=Most Valuable Player|work=NBA.com|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|access-date=March 16, 2009}}</ref> The [[Philadelphia Warriors]] had the most territorial picks, having selected seven who attended a total of five colleges. The [[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball|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 NBA draft|1953 draft]] also had three territorial picks.  No territorial pick was selected in the [[1954 NBA draft|1954]], [[1957 NBA draft|1957]] and [[1961 NBA draft|1961]] drafts.

==Key==
{| class="wikitable"
|width="50"|'''Pos.'''||width="50"|G||width="50"|F||width="50"|C
|-
|[[Basketball position|Position]]||Guard||Forward||Center
|}
{{NBA Draft legend|1=y|2=y|3=y}}

==List of territorial picks==
{{stack|
[[File:Tom heinsohn Celt.JPG|right|thumb|150px|alt=Tom Heinsohn at the Celtics' title parade|[[Tom Heinsohn]] was selected as the [[Boston Celtics]]' territorial pick in [[1956 NBA draft|1956]].]]
[[File:Guy Rodgers (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|150px|alt=Guy Rodgers posing for a photo|[[Guy Rodgers]] was selected as the [[Philadelphia Warriors]]' territorial pick in [[1958 NBA draft|1958]].]]
[[File:Bill Bradley NYWTS (cropped2).jpg|upright|thumb|150px|alt=Bill Bradley while playing for the Princeton Tigers|[[Bill Bradley]] was selected as the [[New York Knicks]]' territorial pick in [[1965 NBA draft|1965]].]]
[[File:Oscar Robertson 1960s.jpeg|right|thumb|150px|[[Oscar Robertson]] was selected as the [[Cincinnati Royals]]' territorial pick in [[1960 NBA draft|1960]].]]
}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! width="1%"| Year
! width="19%"| Player
! width="1%"| &nbsp;Pos.
! width="16%"| Nationality
! width="20%"| Team
! width="45%"| College (city)
! class="unsortable" width="1%"| Ref.
|-
|align=center rowspan=2| [[1949 BAA draft|1949]]
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Ed|Macauley}}^
| F/C
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[St. Louis Bombers (NBA)|St. Louis Bombers]]
| {{sort|Saint Louis|[[Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball|Saint Louis University]]}} ([[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]])
|align=center| <ref name="1949 draft"/>
|-
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Vern|Mikkelsen}}^
| F/C
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Minneapolis Lakers]]
| {{sort|Hamline|[[Hamline University]]}} ([[Saint Paul, Minnesota]])
|align=center| <ref name="1949 draft">{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/BAA_1949.html|title=1949 BAA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center| [[1950 NBA draft|1950]]
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Paul|Arizin}}^
| G/F
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Philadelphia Warriors]]
| {{sort|Villanova|[[Villanova Wildcats men's basketball|Villanova University]]}} ([[Philadelphia]])
|align=center| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1950.html|title=1950 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center| [[1951 NBA draft|1951]]
| {{sortname|Whitey|Skoog}}
| G
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Minneapolis Lakers]]
| {{sort|Minnesota|[[Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball|University of Minnesota]]}} ([[Minneapolis]])
|align=center| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1951.html|title=1951 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center| [[1952 NBA draft|1952]]
| {{sortname|Bill|Mlkvy}}
| F
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Philadelphia Warriors]]
| {{sort|Temple|[[Temple Owls men's basketball|Temple University]]}} ([[Philadelphia]])
|align=center| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1952.html|title=1952 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center rowspan=3| [[1953 NBA draft|1953]]
| {{sortname|Ernie|Beck}}
| G/F
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Philadelphia Warriors]]
| {{sort|Pennsylvania|[[Penn Quakers men's basketball|University of Pennsylvania]]}} ([[Philadelphia]])
|align=center| <ref name="1953 draft"/>
|-
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"| {{sortname|Walter|Dukes}}<sup>+</sup>
| C
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[New York Knicks]]
| {{sort|Seton Hall|[[Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball|Seton Hall University]]}} ([[South Orange, New Jersey]])
|align=center| <ref name="1953 draft">{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1953.html|title=1953 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
| {{sortname|Larry|Hennessy}}
| G
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Philadelphia Warriors]]
| {{sort|Villanova|[[Villanova Wildcats men's basketball|Villanova University]]}} ([[Philadelphia]])
|align=center|<ref name=bradley>{{cite book|last=Bradley|first=Robert D.|title=The basketball draft fact book: A history of professional basketball's college drafts|date=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press ([[Rowman & Littlefield]])|location=[[Lanham, Maryland]]|isbn=978-0-8108-9069-5|page=30|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0810890690|edition=E-book}}</ref> 
|-
|align=center rowspan=2| [[1955 NBA draft|1955]]
| bgcolor="#FBCEB1"| {{sortname|Dick|Garmaker}}*
| G/F
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Minneapolis Lakers]]
| {{sort|Minnesota|[[Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball|University of Minnesota]]}} ([[Minneapolis]])
|align=center| <ref name="1955 draft">{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1955.html|title=1955 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Tom|Gola}}^
| G/F
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Philadelphia Warriors]]
| {{sort|La Salle|[[La Salle Explorers men's basketball|La Salle University]]}} ([[Philadelphia]])
|align=center| <ref name="1955 draft"/>
|-
|align=center| [[1956 NBA draft|1956]]
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Tom|Heinsohn}}^
| F/C
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Boston Celtics]]
| {{sort|Holy Cross|[[Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball|College of the Holy Cross]]}} ([[Worcester, Massachusetts]])
|align=center| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1956.html|title=1956 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center| [[1958 NBA draft|1958]]
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Guy|Rodgers}}^
| G
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Philadelphia Warriors]]
| {{sort|Temple|[[Temple Owls men's basketball|Temple University]]}} ([[Philadelphia]])
|align=center| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1958.html|title=1958 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center rowspan=2| [[1959 NBA draft|1959]]
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Wilt|Chamberlain}}^
| C
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[Philadelphia Warriors]]{{ref label|Note1|a|a}}
| {{sort|Kansas|[[Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball|University of Kansas]]}} ([[Lawrence, Kansas]])
|align=center| <ref name="1959 draft">{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1959.html|title=1959 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
| [[Bob Ferry]]
| F/C
| {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| [[St. Louis Hawks]]
| {{sort|Saint Louis|[[Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball|Saint Louis University]]}} ([[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]])
|align=center| <ref name="1959 draft"/>
|-
|align=center| [[1960 NBA draft|1960]]
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Oscar|Robertson}}^{{ref label|Note2|b|b}}
| G/F
| {{flagu|United States|1959}}
| [[Cincinnati Royals]]
| {{sort|Cincinnati|[[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball|University of Cincinnati]]}} ([[Cincinnati]])
|align=center| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1960.html|title=1960 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center rowspan=2| [[1962 NBA draft|1962]]
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Dave|DeBusschere}}^
| G/F
| {{flagu|United States}}
| [[Detroit Pistons]]
| {{sort|Detroit|[[Detroit Titans men's basketball|University of Detroit]]}} ([[Detroit]])
|align=center| <ref name="1962 draft"/>
|-
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Jerry|Lucas}}^
| F/C
| {{flagu|United States}}
| [[Cincinnati Royals]]{{ref label|Note3|c|c}}
| {{sort|Ohio State|[[Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball|Ohio State University]]}} ([[Columbus, Ohio]])
|align=center| <ref name="1962 draft">{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1962.html|title=1962 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center| [[1963 NBA draft|1963]]
| {{sortname|Tom|Thacker|Tom Thacker (basketball)}}
| G/F
| {{flagu|United States}}
| [[Cincinnati Royals]]
| {{sort|Cincinnati|[[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball|University of Cincinnati]]}} ([[Cincinnati]])
|align=center| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1963.html|title=1963 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center rowspan=2| [[1964 NBA draft|1964]]
| bgcolor="#FFCC00"| {{sortname|Walt|Hazzard}}<sup>+</sup>
| G
| {{flagu|United States}}
| [[Los Angeles Lakers]]
| {{sort|UCLA|[[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]]}} ([[Los Angeles]])
|align=center| <ref name="1964 draft"/>
|-
| {{sortname|George|Wilson|dab=basketball, born 1942}}
| C
| {{flagu|United States}}
| [[Cincinnati Royals]]
| {{sort|Cincinnati|[[Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball|University of Cincinnati]]}} ([[Cincinnati]])
|align=center| <ref name="1964 draft">{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1964.html|title=1964 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center rowspan=3| [[1965 NBA draft|1965]]
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Bill|Bradley}}^
| G/F
| {{flagu|United States}}
| [[New York Knicks]]
| {{sort|Princeton|[[Princeton Tigers men's basketball|Princeton University]]}} ([[Princeton, New Jersey]])
|align=center| <ref name="1965 draft"/>
|-
| {{sortname|Bill|Buntin}}
| F/C
| {{flagu|United States}}
| [[Detroit Pistons]]
| {{sort|Michigan|[[Michigan Wolverines men's basketball|University of Michigan]]}} ([[Ann Arbor, Michigan]])
|align=center| <ref name="1965 draft">{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1965.html|title=1965 NBA Draft|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
|-
| bgcolor="#FFFF99"| {{sortname|Gail|Goodrich}}^
| G
| {{flagu|United States}}
| [[Los Angeles Lakers]]
| {{sort|UCLA|[[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]]}} ([[Los Angeles]])
|align=center| <ref name="1965 draft"/>
|}

==See also==
*[[KHL territorial pick]]
*[[CFL draft#History|CFL territorial pick]]

==Notes==
{{refbegin}}
* {{note label|Note1|a|a}} Although [[Wilt Chamberlain]] was playing at the [[Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball|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 (Philadelphia)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/players/chamberlain_bio.html|title=Wilt Chamberlain Bio|work=NBA.com|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
* {{note label|Note2|b|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/players/robertson_bio.html|title=Oscar Robertson Bio|work=NBA.com|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/29/sports/pro-basketball-clippers-go-to-high-school-to-get-miles.html|title=Clippers Go to High School to Get Miles|first=Mike|last=Wise|work=The New York Times Company|date=June 29, 2000|access-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref>
* {{note label|Note3|c|c}} Although [[Jerry Lucas]] was playing at [[Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball|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 (Ohio)|Middletown High School]], which was within Cincinnati's territorial radius.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pluto|first=Terry|title=Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|year=2000|page=215|isbn=0-8032-8766-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9BaqPfGcI84C|access-date=September 29, 2009}}</ref>
{{refend}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090315112610/http://www.nba.com/history/draft_index.html NBA.com: NBA Draft History]

{{NBA Drafts}}
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{{featured list}}

[[Category:NBA draft|Territorial pick]]
[[Category:NBA lists|Territorial pick]]