Draft Board

1959 NBA Draft Results

1959 NBA Draft results with every pick in order, led by No. 1 pick Bob Boozer to Cincinnati Royals.

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The 1959 NBA Draft produced 85 selections across 14 rounds, with 8 franchises making at least one pick. Cincinnati Royals held the first overall selection and took Bob Boozer out of Kansas State.

Minneapolis Lakers made the most selections that year with 13. 68 different colleges and programs were represented across the board, led by Northwestern with 3 players drafted.

Pick Team Player College
Round 1
1 Cincinnati Royals Bob Boozer Kansas State
2 Detroit Pistons Bailey Howell Mississippi State
3 Philadelphia Warriors Wilt Chamberlain Kansas
4 Minneapolis Lakers Tom Hawkins Notre Dame
5 Syracuse Nationals Dick Barnett Tennessee State
6 New York Knicks Johnny Green Michigan State
7 St. Louis Hawks Bob Ferry Saint Louis
8 Boston Celtics John Richter NC State
Round 2
9 Detroit Pistons Tom Robitaille Rice University
10 Detroit Pistons Don Goldstein Louisville
11 Philadelphia Warriors Joe Ruklick Northwestern
12 Minneapolis Lakers Rudy LaRusso Dartmouth College
13 Syracuse Nationals Gene Tormohlen Tennessee
14 St. Louis Hawks Alan Seiden St. John's
15 St. Louis Hawks Cal Ramsey NYU
16 Boston Celtics Gene Guarilia George Washington
Round 3
17 Cincinnati Royals Mike Mendenhall Cincinnati
18 Detroit Pistons Gary Alcorn Fresno State
19 Philadelphia Warriors Jim Hockaday Memphis
20 Minneapolis Lakers Bobby Smith West Virginia
21 Syracuse Nationals Jon Cincebox Syracuse
22 New York Knicks Bob Anderegg Michigan State
23 St. Louis Hawks Hank Stein Xavier
24 Boston Celtics Ralph Crosthwaite Western Kentucky
Round 4
25 Cincinnati Royals Leo Byrd Marshall
26 Detroit Pistons George Lee Michigan
27 Philadelphia Warriors Ron Stevenson TCU
28 Minneapolis Lakers Wilson Eison Purdue
29 Syracuse Nationals Paul Neumann Stanford
30 New York Knicks Johnny Cox Kentucky
31 St. Louis Hawks Lee Harman Oregon State
32 Boston Celtics Ed Kazakavich University of Scranton
Round 5
33 Cincinnati Royals Harry Kirchner TCU
34 Detroit Pistons Tony Windis Wyoming
35 Philadelphia Warriors Bill Telasky George Washington
36 Minneapolis Lakers Bobby Joe Mason Bradley
37 Syracuse Nationals Roger Taylor Illinois
38 New York Knicks Herb Busch Virginia
39 St. Louis Hawks Nick Mantis Northwestern
40 Boston Celtics Roy Lange William & Mary
Round 6
41 Cincinnati Royals Don Hennon Pitt
42 Detroit Pistons Lou Jordan Cornell
43 Philadelphia Warriors Joe Spratt Saint Joseph's
44 Minneapolis Lakers Jim Henry Vanderbilt
45 Syracuse Nationals Bob Dalton California
46 New York Knicks Bucky McDonald George Washington
47 St. Louis Hawks Mike Moran Marquette
48 Boston Celtics Bob Cumings Boston University
Round 7
49 Cincinnati Royals Dale Moore Eastern Kentucky University
50 Detroit Pistons Doug Smart Washington
51 Philadelphia Warriors Joe Ryan Villanova
52 Minneapolis Lakers Charley Grote Georgetown College
53 Syracuse Nationals Darnel Haney Utah State University
54 New York Knicks Russ Robinson Missouri State
55 St. Louis Hawks Orby Arnold Memphis
Round 8
56 Cincinnati Royals Don Matuszak Kansas State
57 Detroit Pistons Chuck Curtis Pacific Lutheran University
58 Philadelphia Warriors Dave Gunther Iowa
59 Minneapolis Lakers Leon Hill Texas Tech
60 New York Knicks Walt Torrence UCLA
61 St. Louis Hawks Willie Merriweather Purdue
Round 9
62 Cincinnati Royals Joe Billy McDade Bradley
63 Detroit Pistons Doyle Edmiston Hardin-Simmons University
64 Philadelphia Warriors Carl Belz Princeton
65 Minneapolis Lakers Jim Mudd University of North Texas
66 New York Knicks Jerry Shipp Southeastern Oklahoma State University
67 St. Louis Hawks Lou Pucillo NC State
Round 10
68 Cincinnati Royals Joe Viviano Xavier
69 Detroit Pistons Bruno Boin Washington
70 Philadelphia Warriors Tommy Sellari Lenoir-Rhyne College
71 Minneapolis Lakers Roger Johnson Minnesota
72 New York Knicks Paul Wilcox Davis & Elkins College
73 St. Louis Hawks Ron Loneski Kansas
Round 11
74 Cincinnati Royals Charlie Brown Seattle University
75 Detroit Pistons M. C. Burton Michigan
76 Philadelphia Warriors Phil Warren Northwestern
77 Minneapolis Lakers Jack Evens Lake Superior State University
78 New York Knicks Paul Benes Hope College
79 St. Louis Hawks John Barnhill Tennessee State
Round 12
80 Cincinnati Royals Roger Wendel Tulsa
81 Minneapolis Lakers Vern Baggenstoss St. Cloud State University
82 New York Knicks Ed Blair Western Michigan
Round 13
83 Minneapolis Lakers Dwayne Smith Gustavus Adolphus
84 New York Knicks John Nicoll BYU
Round 14
85 New York Knicks Jack Israel Missouri State

Selections by franchise

The same 85 selections arranged by the club that made them, using the franchise name as it stood in 1959.

  • Minneapolis Lakers 13 No. 4 Tom Hawkins, No. 12 Rudy LaRusso, No. 20 Bobby Smith, No. 28 Wilson Eison, No. 36 Bobby Joe Mason, No. 44 Jim Henry, No. 52 Charley Grote, No. 59 Leon Hill, No. 65 Jim Mudd, No. 71 Roger Johnson, No. 77 Jack Evens, No. 81 Vern Baggenstoss, No. 83 Dwayne Smith
  • New York Knicks 13 No. 6 Johnny Green, No. 22 Bob Anderegg, No. 30 Johnny Cox, No. 38 Herb Busch, No. 46 Bucky McDonald, No. 54 Russ Robinson, No. 60 Walt Torrence, No. 66 Jerry Shipp, No. 72 Paul Wilcox, No. 78 Paul Benes, No. 82 Ed Blair, No. 84 John Nicoll, No. 85 Jack Israel
  • Detroit Pistons 12 No. 2 Bailey Howell, No. 9 Tom Robitaille, No. 10 Don Goldstein, No. 18 Gary Alcorn, No. 26 George Lee, No. 34 Tony Windis, No. 42 Lou Jordan, No. 50 Doug Smart, No. 57 Chuck Curtis, No. 63 Doyle Edmiston, No. 69 Bruno Boin, No. 75 M. C. Burton
  • St. Louis Hawks 12 No. 7 Bob Ferry, No. 14 Alan Seiden, No. 15 Cal Ramsey, No. 23 Hank Stein, No. 31 Lee Harman, No. 39 Nick Mantis, No. 47 Mike Moran, No. 55 Orby Arnold, No. 61 Willie Merriweather, No. 67 Lou Pucillo, No. 73 Ron Loneski, No. 79 John Barnhill
  • Cincinnati Royals 11 No. 1 Bob Boozer, No. 17 Mike Mendenhall, No. 25 Leo Byrd, No. 33 Harry Kirchner, No. 41 Don Hennon, No. 49 Dale Moore, No. 56 Don Matuszak, No. 62 Joe Billy McDade, No. 68 Joe Viviano, No. 74 Charlie Brown, No. 80 Roger Wendel
  • Philadelphia Warriors 11 No. 3 Wilt Chamberlain, No. 11 Joe Ruklick, No. 19 Jim Hockaday, No. 27 Ron Stevenson, No. 35 Bill Telasky, No. 43 Joe Spratt, No. 51 Joe Ryan, No. 58 Dave Gunther, No. 64 Carl Belz, No. 70 Tommy Sellari, No. 76 Phil Warren
  • Syracuse Nationals 7 No. 5 Dick Barnett, No. 13 Gene Tormohlen, No. 21 Jon Cincebox, No. 29 Paul Neumann, No. 37 Roger Taylor, No. 45 Bob Dalton, No. 53 Darnel Haney
  • Boston Celtics 6 No. 8 John Richter, No. 16 Gene Guarilia, No. 24 Ralph Crosthwaite, No. 32 Ed Kazakavich, No. 40 Roy Lange, No. 48 Bob Cumings

Colleges and programs represented

68 programs produced at least one selection in the 1959 draft.

  • George Washington3
  • Northwestern3
  • Bradley2
  • Kansas2
  • Kansas State2
  • Memphis2
  • Michigan2
  • Michigan State2
  • Missouri State2
  • NC State2
  • Purdue2
  • TCU2
  • Tennessee State2
  • Washington2
  • Xavier2
  • Boston University
  • BYU
  • California
  • Cincinnati
  • Cornell
  • Dartmouth College
  • Davis & Elkins College
  • Eastern Kentucky University
  • Fresno State
  • Georgetown College
  • Gustavus Adolphus
  • Hardin-Simmons University
  • Hope College
  • Illinois
  • Iowa
  • Kentucky
  • Lake Superior State University
  • Lenoir-Rhyne College
  • Louisville
  • Marquette
  • Marshall
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi State
  • Notre Dame
  • NYU
  • Oregon State
  • Pacific Lutheran University
  • Pitt
  • Princeton
  • Rice University
  • Saint Joseph's
  • Saint Louis
  • Seattle University
  • Southeastern Oklahoma State University
  • St. Cloud State University
  • St. John's
  • Stanford
  • Syracuse
  • Tennessee
  • Texas Tech
  • Tulsa
  • UCLA
  • University of North Texas
  • University of Scranton
  • Utah State University
  • Vanderbilt
  • Villanova
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Western Kentucky
  • Western Michigan
  • William & Mary
  • Wyoming

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