Draft Board

1956 NBA Draft Results

1956 NBA Draft results with every pick in order, led by No. 1 pick Si Green to Rochester Royals.

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The 1956 NBA Draft produced 92 selections across 14 rounds, with 8 franchises making at least one pick. Rochester Royals held the first overall selection and took Si Green out of Duquesne.

St. Louis Hawks made the most selections that year with 14. 72 different colleges and programs were represented across the board, led by Kentucky with 3 players drafted.

Pick Team Player College
Round 1
1 Rochester Royals Si Green Duquesne
2 St. Louis Hawks Bill Russell San Francisco
3 Minneapolis Lakers Jim Paxson Dayton
4 New York Knicks Ron Shavlik NC State
5 Syracuse Nationals Joe Holup George Washington
6 Boston Celtics Tom Heinsohn Holy Cross
7 Fort Wayne Pistons Ron Sobie DePaul
8 Philadelphia Warriors Hal Lear Temple
Round 2
9 Rochester Royals Bob Burrow Kentucky
10 St. Louis Hawks Willie Naulls UCLA
11 Minneapolis Lakers Terry Rand Marquette
12 New York Knicks Gary Bergen Utah
13 Syracuse Nationals Paul Judson Illinois
14 Boston Celtics K.C. Jones San Francisco
15 Fort Wayne Pistons Bob Kessler Maryland
16 Philadelphia Warriors Phil Rollins Louisville
Round 3
17 Rochester Royals Dave Piontek Xavier
18 St. Louis Hawks Darrell Floyd Furman University
19 Minneapolis Lakers Jerry Bird Kentucky
20 New York Knicks Jerry Harper Alabama
21 Syracuse Nationals Forest Able Western Kentucky
22 Boston Celtics George Linn Alabama
23 Fort Wayne Pistons Bill Thieben Hofstra
24 Philadelphia Warriors Bevo Francis University of Rio Grande
Round 4
25 Rochester Royals Johnny McCarthy Canisius
26 St. Louis Hawks Robin Freeman Ohio State
27 Minneapolis Lakers Lloyd Aubrey Notre Dame
28 New York Knicks Ronnie Mayer Duke
29 Syracuse Nationals Swede Halbrook Oregon State
30 Boston Celtics Dan Swartz Morehead State University
31 Fort Wayne Pistons Charles Slack Marshall
32 Philadelphia Warriors Phil Wheeler Cincinnati
Round 5
33 Rochester Royals Bill Uhl Dayton
34 St. Louis Hawks Norm Stewart Missouri
35 Minneapolis Lakers Bill Reigel McNeese State University
36 New York Knicks Joe Sexson Purdue
37 Syracuse Nationals Jim Ray Toledo
38 Boston Celtics Bill Logan Iowa
39 Fort Wayne Pistons Joe Liebler Holy Cross
40 Philadelphia Warriors Joe Belmont Duke
Round 6
41 Rochester Royals Kevin Thomas Boston University
42 St. Louis Hawks Dave Plunkett Cincinnati
43 Minneapolis Lakers Phil Jordon Whitworth
44 New York Knicks Pat Dunn Utah State University
45 Syracuse Nationals Jim McLaughlin Saint Louis
46 Boston Celtics Don Boldebuck Houston
47 Fort Wayne Pistons Paul Schlimm John Carroll University
48 Philadelphia Warriors Mickey Winograd Duquesne
Round 7
49 Rochester Royals Carl Cain Iowa
50 St. Louis Hawks Julius McCoy Michigan State
51 Minneapolis Lakers John Barber California State University, Los Angeles
52 New York Knicks Jack Adams Eastern Kentucky University
53 Syracuse Nationals Les Roh Idaho State University
54 Boston Celtics O'Neal Weaver Midwestern State University
55 Fort Wayne Pistons Bruce Harris Tennessee Technological University
56 Philadelphia Warriors John Fannon Notre Dame
Round 8
57 Rochester Royals Clayton Carter Oklahoma State
58 St. Louis Hawks Morris Taft UCLA
59 Minneapolis Lakers Sam Jones NC Central
60 New York Knicks Art Bunte Utah
61 Syracuse Nationals Chester Webb Georgia Southern University
62 Boston Celtics Vic Molodet NC State
63 Philadelphia Warriors Max Anderson Oregon
Round 9
64 Rochester Royals Dan Mannix St. Francis College
65 St. Louis Hawks Jim Reed Texas Tech
66 Minneapolis Lakers Jim Springer Gustavus Adolphus
67 New York Knicks Dick Miller Wisconsin
68 Syracuse Nationals Dick Julio University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
69 Boston Celtics Jim Houston Brandeis University
70 Philadelphia Warriors Ronald Clark Springfield College
Round 10
71 Rochester Royals Jerry Moreman Louisville
72 St. Louis Hawks Herschel Pedersen BYU
73 Minneapolis Lakers Phil Grawemeyer Kentucky
74 New York Knicks Howie Crittenden Murray State
75 Syracuse Nationals Bob Hopkins Grambling State University
76 Boston Celtics Theophilus Lloyd Maryland
Round 11
77 Rochester Royals Gene Carpenter Texas Tech
78 St. Louis Hawks Wally Choice Indiana
79 Minneapolis Lakers Robert Hodgson Wichita State
80 New York Knicks Dick Miani Miami (FL)
81 Syracuse Nationals Willie Bergines West Virginia
Round 12
82 St. Louis Hawks Ed Huse Wyoming
83 Minneapolis Lakers Carl Widseth Tennessee
84 New York Knicks Ed Petrie Seton Hall
85 Syracuse Nationals Dick Kenyon LeMoyne College
Round 13
86 St. Louis Hawks Arthur Helms Houston
87 Minneapolis Lakers John Patzwald Gustavus Adolphus
88 New York Knicks Toby Roybal New Mexico
89 Syracuse Nationals Milt Graham Colgate
Round 14
90 St. Louis Hawks Junior Morgan Duke
91 Minneapolis Lakers Elgin Baylor Seattle University
92 Syracuse Nationals Chuck Rolles Cornell

Selections by franchise

The same 92 selections arranged by the club that made them, using the franchise name as it stood in 1956.

  • Minneapolis Lakers 14 No. 3 Jim Paxson, No. 11 Terry Rand, No. 19 Jerry Bird, No. 27 Lloyd Aubrey, No. 35 Bill Reigel, No. 43 Phil Jordon, No. 51 John Barber, No. 59 Sam Jones, No. 66 Jim Springer, No. 73 Phil Grawemeyer, No. 79 Robert Hodgson, No. 83 Carl Widseth, No. 87 John Patzwald, No. 91 Elgin Baylor
  • St. Louis Hawks 14 No. 2 Bill Russell, No. 10 Willie Naulls, No. 18 Darrell Floyd, No. 26 Robin Freeman, No. 34 Norm Stewart, No. 42 Dave Plunkett, No. 50 Julius McCoy, No. 58 Morris Taft, No. 65 Jim Reed, No. 72 Herschel Pedersen, No. 78 Wally Choice, No. 82 Ed Huse, No. 86 Arthur Helms, No. 90 Junior Morgan
  • Syracuse Nationals 14 No. 5 Joe Holup, No. 13 Paul Judson, No. 21 Forest Able, No. 29 Swede Halbrook, No. 37 Jim Ray, No. 45 Jim McLaughlin, No. 53 Les Roh, No. 61 Chester Webb, No. 68 Dick Julio, No. 75 Bob Hopkins, No. 81 Willie Bergines, No. 85 Dick Kenyon, No. 89 Milt Graham, No. 92 Chuck Rolles
  • New York Knicks 13 No. 4 Ron Shavlik, No. 12 Gary Bergen, No. 20 Jerry Harper, No. 28 Ronnie Mayer, No. 36 Joe Sexson, No. 44 Pat Dunn, No. 52 Jack Adams, No. 60 Art Bunte, No. 67 Dick Miller, No. 74 Howie Crittenden, No. 80 Dick Miani, No. 84 Ed Petrie, No. 88 Toby Roybal
  • Rochester Royals 11 No. 1 Si Green, No. 9 Bob Burrow, No. 17 Dave Piontek, No. 25 Johnny McCarthy, No. 33 Bill Uhl, No. 41 Kevin Thomas, No. 49 Carl Cain, No. 57 Clayton Carter, No. 64 Dan Mannix, No. 71 Jerry Moreman, No. 77 Gene Carpenter
  • Boston Celtics 10 No. 6 Tom Heinsohn, No. 14 K.C. Jones, No. 22 George Linn, No. 30 Dan Swartz, No. 38 Bill Logan, No. 46 Don Boldebuck, No. 54 O'Neal Weaver, No. 62 Vic Molodet, No. 69 Jim Houston, No. 76 Theophilus Lloyd
  • Philadelphia Warriors 9 No. 8 Hal Lear, No. 16 Phil Rollins, No. 24 Bevo Francis, No. 32 Phil Wheeler, No. 40 Joe Belmont, No. 48 Mickey Winograd, No. 56 John Fannon, No. 63 Max Anderson, No. 70 Ronald Clark
  • Fort Wayne Pistons 7 No. 7 Ron Sobie, No. 15 Bob Kessler, No. 23 Bill Thieben, No. 31 Charles Slack, No. 39 Joe Liebler, No. 47 Paul Schlimm, No. 55 Bruce Harris

Colleges and programs represented

72 programs produced at least one selection in the 1956 draft.

  • Duke3
  • Kentucky3
  • Alabama2
  • Cincinnati2
  • Dayton2
  • Duquesne2
  • Gustavus Adolphus2
  • Holy Cross2
  • Houston2
  • Iowa2
  • Louisville2
  • Maryland2
  • NC State2
  • Notre Dame2
  • San Francisco2
  • Texas Tech2
  • UCLA2
  • Utah2
  • Boston University
  • Brandeis University
  • BYU
  • California State University, Los Angeles
  • Canisius
  • Colgate
  • Cornell
  • DePaul
  • Eastern Kentucky University
  • Furman University
  • George Washington
  • Georgia Southern University
  • Grambling State University
  • Hofstra
  • Idaho State University
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • John Carroll University
  • LeMoyne College
  • Marquette
  • Marshall
  • McNeese State University
  • Miami (FL)
  • Michigan State
  • Midwestern State University
  • Missouri
  • Morehead State University
  • Murray State
  • NC Central
  • New Mexico
  • Ohio State
  • Oklahoma State
  • Oregon
  • Oregon State
  • Purdue
  • Saint Louis
  • Seattle University
  • Seton Hall
  • Springfield College
  • St. Francis College
  • Temple
  • Tennessee
  • Tennessee Technological University
  • Toledo
  • University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
  • University of Rio Grande
  • Utah State University
  • West Virginia
  • Western Kentucky
  • Whitworth
  • Wichita State
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • Xavier

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