Draft Board

1951 NBA Draft Results

1951 NBA Draft results with every pick in order, led by No. 1 pick Gene Melchiorre to Baltimore Bullets.

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The 1951 NBA Draft produced 87 selections across 12 rounds, with 10 franchises making at least one pick. Baltimore Bullets held the first overall selection and took Gene Melchiorre out of Bradley.

Baltimore Bullets made the most selections that year with 12. 67 different colleges and programs were represented across the board, led by Bradley with 4 players drafted.

Pick Team Player College
Round 1
1 Baltimore Bullets Gene Melchiorre Bradley
2 Tri-Cities Blackhawks Mel Hutchins BYU
3 Indianapolis Olympians Marcus Freiberger Oklahoma
4 Fort Wayne Pistons Zeke Sinicola Niagara University
5 Syracuse Nationals John McConathy Northwestern State University
6 New York Knicks Ed Smith Harvard University
7 Boston Celtics Ernie Barrett Kansas State
8 Rochester Royals Sam Ranzino NC State
9 Philadelphia Warriors Don Sunderlage Illinois
10 Minneapolis Lakers Whitey Skoog Minnesota
Round 2
11 Baltimore Bullets Jack Stone Kansas State
12 Tri-Cities Blackhawks Bill Gossett Colorado State
13 Indianapolis Olympians Scotty Steagall Millikin University
14 Fort Wayne Pistons Jack Kiley Syracuse
15 Syracuse Nationals Don Savage LeMoyne College
16 New York Knicks Roland Minson BYU
17 Boston Celtics Bill Garrett Indiana
18 Rochester Royals Ray Ragelis Northwestern
19 Philadelphia Warriors Mel Payton Tulane
20 Minneapolis Lakers Lew Hitch Kansas State
Round 3
21 Baltimore Bullets Bill Mann Bradley
22 Tri-Cities Blackhawks Ron Bontemps Beloit College
23 Indianapolis Olympians Glenn Kammeyer Central Missouri State University
24 Fort Wayne Pistons Jake Fendley Northwestern
25 Syracuse Nationals Bato Govedarica DePaul
26 New York Knicks Joe Luchi Cincinnati
27 Boston Celtics John Furlong Pepperdine
28 Rochester Royals Fred Diute St. Bonaventure
29 Philadelphia Warriors Bob Schloss Georgia
30 Minneapolis Lakers Bob Payne Oregon State
Round 4
31 Baltimore Bullets Bill Hagler California
32 Tri-Cities Blackhawks Jim Slaughter South Carolina
33 Indianapolis Olympians Bill Tosheff Indiana
34 Fort Wayne Pistons Herb Hargett Mississippi State
35 Syracuse Nationals Paul Horvath NC State
36 New York Knicks Lloyd Sandstrom University of St. Thomas
37 Boston Celtics Bob Barnett University of Evansville
38 Rochester Royals Elmer Behnke Bradley
39 Philadelphia Warriors Jud Milhon Ohio Wesleyan University
40 Minneapolis Lakers Gale McArthur Oklahoma State
Round 5
41 Baltimore Bullets Leroy Ishman American University
42 Tri-Cities Blackhawks Bob Sakel University of Evansville
43 Indianapolis Olympians Bob Pierce Nebraska
44 Fort Wayne Pistons Leo Johnson Arizona
45 Syracuse Nationals Glen Anderson Colorado State
46 New York Knicks Tom Smith Saint Peter's College
47 Boston Celtics Rip Gish Western Kentucky
48 Rochester Royals Dan Bagley Notre Dame
49 Philadelphia Warriors Mike Kearns Princeton
50 Minneapolis Lakers Leo VanderKuy Michigan
Round 6
51 Baltimore Bullets Glen Duggins Utah
52 Tri-Cities Blackhawks John Rennicke Drake University
53 Indianapolis Olympians Marv Johnson Wheaton College
54 Fort Wayne Pistons Frank Calsbeek Iowa
55 Syracuse Nationals Bob Wheeler Idaho
56 New York Knicks Al McGuire St. John's
57 Boston Celtics Jim Luisi St. Francis College
58 Rochester Royals Jim Ove Valparaiso
59 Philadelphia Warriors Dwight Swails University of Indianapolis
60 Minneapolis Lakers Deward Dopson Arkansas Tech University
Round 7
61 Baltimore Bullets Tom Riach USC
62 Tri-Cities Blackhawks Bob Ambler Arkansas
63 Indianapolis Olympians Ted Beach Illinois
64 Fort Wayne Pistons Jim Ramstead Stanford
65 Syracuse Nationals Roy Reardon St. Francis College
66 New York Knicks Sid Ryen Denver
67 Boston Celtics John Azary Columbia University
68 Rochester Royals Jack Brown SMU
69 Philadelphia Warriors George Dempsey King's College
70 Minneapolis Lakers Ed Head Kansas State
Round 8
71 Baltimore Bullets Bill Harper Oregon State
72 Tri-Cities Blackhawks Aaron Preece Bradley
73 Indianapolis Olympians George Kelley Vanderbilt
74 Fort Wayne Pistons John Manning Duquesne
75 Syracuse Nationals Tom Jockle Syracuse
76 Boston Celtics Hugo Kappler NC State
77 Rochester Royals George Davidson Lafayette College
78 Philadelphia Warriors Jim Phelan La Salle
Round 9
79 Baltimore Bullets Bob Crowe San Jose State
80 Tri-Cities Blackhawks Wayne Tucker Colorado
81 Syracuse Nationals Ray Kirkgasser Ithaca College
82 Philadelphia Warriors Hugh Faulkner Pepperdine
Round 10
83 Baltimore Bullets Dan Torrey Oregon State
84 Tri-Cities Blackhawks John DeWitt Texas A&M
85 Philadelphia Warriors Paul Gerwin Cornell
Round 11
86 Baltimore Bullets Clem Pavilonis DePaul
Round 12
87 Baltimore Bullets John Burke Springfield College

Selections by franchise

The same 87 selections arranged by the club that made them, using the franchise name as it stood in 1951.

  • Baltimore Bullets 12 No. 1 Gene Melchiorre, No. 11 Jack Stone, No. 21 Bill Mann, No. 31 Bill Hagler, No. 41 Leroy Ishman, No. 51 Glen Duggins, No. 61 Tom Riach, No. 71 Bill Harper, No. 79 Bob Crowe, No. 83 Dan Torrey, No. 86 Clem Pavilonis, No. 87 John Burke
  • Philadelphia Warriors 10 No. 9 Don Sunderlage, No. 19 Mel Payton, No. 29 Bob Schloss, No. 39 Jud Milhon, No. 49 Mike Kearns, No. 59 Dwight Swails, No. 69 George Dempsey, No. 78 Jim Phelan, No. 82 Hugh Faulkner, No. 85 Paul Gerwin
  • Tri-Cities Blackhawks 10 No. 2 Mel Hutchins, No. 12 Bill Gossett, No. 22 Ron Bontemps, No. 32 Jim Slaughter, No. 42 Bob Sakel, No. 52 John Rennicke, No. 62 Bob Ambler, No. 72 Aaron Preece, No. 80 Wayne Tucker, No. 84 John DeWitt
  • Syracuse Nationals 9 No. 5 John McConathy, No. 15 Don Savage, No. 25 Bato Govedarica, No. 35 Paul Horvath, No. 45 Glen Anderson, No. 55 Bob Wheeler, No. 65 Roy Reardon, No. 75 Tom Jockle, No. 81 Ray Kirkgasser
  • Boston Celtics 8 No. 7 Ernie Barrett, No. 17 Bill Garrett, No. 27 John Furlong, No. 37 Bob Barnett, No. 47 Rip Gish, No. 57 Jim Luisi, No. 67 John Azary, No. 76 Hugo Kappler
  • Fort Wayne Pistons 8 No. 4 Zeke Sinicola, No. 14 Jack Kiley, No. 24 Jake Fendley, No. 34 Herb Hargett, No. 44 Leo Johnson, No. 54 Frank Calsbeek, No. 64 Jim Ramstead, No. 74 John Manning
  • Indianapolis Olympians 8 No. 3 Marcus Freiberger, No. 13 Scotty Steagall, No. 23 Glenn Kammeyer, No. 33 Bill Tosheff, No. 43 Bob Pierce, No. 53 Marv Johnson, No. 63 Ted Beach, No. 73 George Kelley
  • Rochester Royals 8 No. 8 Sam Ranzino, No. 18 Ray Ragelis, No. 28 Fred Diute, No. 38 Elmer Behnke, No. 48 Dan Bagley, No. 58 Jim Ove, No. 68 Jack Brown, No. 77 George Davidson
  • Minneapolis Lakers 7 No. 10 Whitey Skoog, No. 20 Lew Hitch, No. 30 Bob Payne, No. 40 Gale McArthur, No. 50 Leo VanderKuy, No. 60 Deward Dopson, No. 70 Ed Head
  • New York Knicks 7 No. 6 Ed Smith, No. 16 Roland Minson, No. 26 Joe Luchi, No. 36 Lloyd Sandstrom, No. 46 Tom Smith, No. 56 Al McGuire, No. 66 Sid Ryen

Colleges and programs represented

67 programs produced at least one selection in the 1951 draft.

  • Bradley4
  • Kansas State4
  • NC State3
  • Oregon State3
  • BYU2
  • Colorado State2
  • DePaul2
  • Illinois2
  • Indiana2
  • Northwestern2
  • Pepperdine2
  • St. Francis College2
  • Syracuse2
  • University of Evansville2
  • American University
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Arkansas Tech University
  • Beloit College
  • California
  • Central Missouri State University
  • Cincinnati
  • Colorado
  • Columbia University
  • Cornell
  • Denver
  • Drake University
  • Duquesne
  • Georgia
  • Harvard University
  • Idaho
  • Iowa
  • Ithaca College
  • King's College
  • La Salle
  • Lafayette College
  • LeMoyne College
  • Michigan
  • Millikin University
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi State
  • Nebraska
  • Niagara University
  • Northwestern State University
  • Notre Dame
  • Ohio Wesleyan University
  • Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma State
  • Princeton
  • Saint Peter's College
  • San Jose State
  • SMU
  • South Carolina
  • Springfield College
  • St. Bonaventure
  • St. John's
  • Stanford
  • Texas A&M
  • Tulane
  • University of Indianapolis
  • University of St. Thomas
  • USC
  • Utah
  • Valparaiso
  • Vanderbilt
  • Western Kentucky
  • Wheaton College

Compiled and maintained by . Data via published league records. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will check it against the source.