Draft Board

1961 NBA Draft Results

1961 NBA Draft results with every pick in order, led by No. 1 pick Walt Bellamy to Chicago Packers.

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The 1961 NBA Draft produced 107 selections across 15 rounds, with 9 franchises making at least one pick. Chicago Packers held the first overall selection and took Walt Bellamy out of Indiana.

Chicago Packers made the most selections that year with 15. 84 different colleges and programs were represented across the board, led by Tennessee State with 3 players drafted.

Pick Team Player College
Round 1
1 Chicago Packers Walt Bellamy Indiana
2 New York Knicks Tom Stith St. Bonaventure
3 Cincinnati Royals Larry Siegfried Ohio State
4 Detroit Pistons Ray Scott University of Portland
5 Los Angeles Lakers Wayne Yates Memphis
6 Syracuse Nationals Ben Warley Tennessee State
7 Philadelphia Warriors Tom Meschery Saint Mary's
8 St. Louis Hawks Cleo Hill Winston-Salem State
9 Boston Celtics Gary Phillips Houston
Round 2
10 Chicago Packers Jack Turner Louisville
11 Chicago Packers Jerry Graves Mississippi State
12 Chicago Packers York Larese UNC
13 Chicago Packers Don Kojis Marquette
14 Chicago Packers Doug Moe UNC
15 New York Knicks Whitey Martin St. Bonaventure
16 Cincinnati Royals Bob Wiesenhahn Cincinnati
17 Detroit Pistons Johnny Egan Providence
18 Los Angeles Lakers Fred Sawyer Louisville
19 Syracuse Nationals Chris Smith Virginia Tech
20 Philadelphia Warriors Ted Luckenbill Houston
21 St. Louis Hawks Ron Horn Indiana
22 Boston Celtics Al Butler Niagara University
23 Chicago Packers Jeff Cohen William & Mary
Round 3
24 New York Knicks Tony Jackson St. John's
25 Cincinnati Royals Bevo Nordmann Saint Louis
26 Detroit Pistons Doug Kistler Duke
27 Los Angeles Lakers Frank Burgess Gonzaga
28 Syracuse Nationals Chuck Osborne Western Kentucky
29 Philadelphia Warriors Jack Egan Saint Joseph's
30 St. Louis Hawks Tom Chilton East Tennessee State University
31 Boston Celtics Bill Depp Vanderbilt
32 Chicago Packers Bill Bridges Kansas
Round 4
33 New York Knicks George Blaney Holy Cross
34 Cincinnati Royals Lowery Kirk Memphis
35 Detroit Pistons George Finley Tennessee State
36 Los Angeles Lakers Charles Henke Missouri
37 Syracuse Nationals Hank Whitney Iowa State
38 Philadelphia Warriors John Tidwell Michigan
39 St. Louis Hawks Gus Guydon Drake University
40 Boston Celtics Carl Cole Eastern Kentucky University
41 Chicago Packers Roger Kaiser Georgia Tech
Round 5
42 New York Knicks Bill Smith Saint Peter's College
43 Cincinnati Royals Rossie Johnson Tennessee State
44 Detroit Pistons Danny Doyle Belmont Abbey College
45 Los Angeles Lakers Bill Lickert Kentucky
46 Syracuse Nationals Don Jacobsen South Dakota State
47 Philadelphia Warriors Bruce Spraggins Virginia Union University
48 St. Louis Hawks John Berberich UCLA
49 Boston Celtics Bob DiStefano NC State
50 Chicago Packers Howie Carl DePaul
Round 6
51 New York Knicks Cleveland Buckner Jackson State University
52 Cincinnati Royals Bob Slobodnik Duquesne
53 Detroit Pistons Lee Patrone West Virginia
54 Los Angeles Lakers Bill McClintock California
55 Syracuse Nationals Billy Joe Price New Mexico State
56 Philadelphia Warriors Dick Goldberg Southern Miss
57 St. Louis Hawks Bob McDonald Maryland
58 Boston Celtics Ned Twyman Duquesne
59 Chicago Packers Dave Voss Tulsa
Round 7
60 New York Knicks Donnie Butcher Pikeville College
61 Cincinnati Royals Dave Zeller Miami University
62 Detroit Pistons Bert Price Wittenberg University
63 Los Angeles Lakers Albert Almanza Texas
64 Syracuse Nationals Roger Newman Kentucky
65 Philadelphia Warriors Charley McNeil Maryland
66 St. Louis Hawks Charles Riley Winston-Salem State
67 Boston Celtics Mel Klein Northern State University
68 Chicago Packers Ron Heller Wichita State
Round 8
69 New York Knicks Cedric Price Kansas State
70 Cincinnati Royals Gerry Thelen Thomas More College
71 Detroit Pistons Walter Ward Hampton
72 Los Angeles Lakers Bill Ellis UCLA
73 Syracuse Nationals Dave Mills Seattle University
74 Philadelphia Warriors Larry Swift Truman State University
75 St. Louis Hawks Gene Velloff Doane University
76 Chicago Packers John Wessels Illinois
Round 9
77 New York Knicks Charlie Bowerman Wabash College
78 Cincinnati Royals Larry Kruger Ohio University
79 Detroit Pistons Peter Baltic Penn State
80 Los Angeles Lakers Karl Anderson Oregon State
81 Syracuse Nationals Rex Tippitt Grambling State University
82 St. Louis Hawks Herbert Gray North Carolina A&T
83 Chicago Packers Steve Strange SMU
Round 10
84 New York Knicks Ron Dibelius UW-Milwaukee
85 Cincinnati Royals Jack Waters Ole Miss
86 Detroit Pistons Wayne Monson Northern Michigan University
87 Los Angeles Lakers Fred Williams Allan Hancock College
88 Syracuse Nationals Pete Chudy Syracuse
89 Philadelphia Warriors Leo Hill UCLA
90 St. Louis Hawks Tom Faszholz Concordia Seminary
91 Chicago Packers Larry Comley Kansas State
Round 11
92 New York Knicks Kevin Loughery St. John's
93 Cincinnati Royals Carl Short Newberry College
94 Detroit Pistons Richard Kraft State University of New York at Brockport
95 Los Angeles Lakers Howard Hurt Duke
96 Syracuse Nationals Charles Sammons LeMoyne College
97 Philadelphia Warriors Corky Withrow Georgetown College
98 St. Louis Hawks Dick Kepley UNC
Round 12
99 New York Knicks Earl Shultz California
100 Cincinnati Royals George Patterson Toledo
101 St. Louis Hawks Jackie Crawford Centenary (LA)
Round 13
102 New York Knicks Ned Jennings Kentucky
103 Cincinnati Royals Clair McRoberts Monmouth University
104 St. Louis Hawks Howard Stacey Louisville
Round 14
105 New York Knicks Bill Engesser USC
106 Cincinnati Royals Carl Bouldin Cincinnati
Round 15
107 New York Knicks Vince Kempton Saint Joseph's

Selections by franchise

The same 107 selections arranged by the club that made them, using the franchise name as it stood in 1961.

  • Chicago Packers 15 No. 1 Walt Bellamy, No. 10 Jack Turner, No. 11 Jerry Graves, No. 12 York Larese, No. 13 Don Kojis, No. 14 Doug Moe, No. 23 Jeff Cohen, No. 32 Bill Bridges, No. 41 Roger Kaiser, No. 50 Howie Carl, No. 59 Dave Voss, No. 68 Ron Heller, No. 76 John Wessels, No. 83 Steve Strange, No. 91 Larry Comley
  • New York Knicks 15 No. 2 Tom Stith, No. 15 Whitey Martin, No. 24 Tony Jackson, No. 33 George Blaney, No. 42 Bill Smith, No. 51 Cleveland Buckner, No. 60 Donnie Butcher, No. 69 Cedric Price, No. 77 Charlie Bowerman, No. 84 Ron Dibelius, No. 92 Kevin Loughery, No. 99 Earl Shultz, No. 102 Ned Jennings, No. 105 Bill Engesser, No. 107 Vince Kempton
  • Cincinnati Royals 14 No. 3 Larry Siegfried, No. 16 Bob Wiesenhahn, No. 25 Bevo Nordmann, No. 34 Lowery Kirk, No. 43 Rossie Johnson, No. 52 Bob Slobodnik, No. 61 Dave Zeller, No. 70 Gerry Thelen, No. 78 Larry Kruger, No. 85 Jack Waters, No. 93 Carl Short, No. 100 George Patterson, No. 103 Clair McRoberts, No. 106 Carl Bouldin
  • St. Louis Hawks 13 No. 8 Cleo Hill, No. 21 Ron Horn, No. 30 Tom Chilton, No. 39 Gus Guydon, No. 48 John Berberich, No. 57 Bob McDonald, No. 66 Charles Riley, No. 75 Gene Velloff, No. 82 Herbert Gray, No. 90 Tom Faszholz, No. 98 Dick Kepley, No. 101 Jackie Crawford, No. 104 Howard Stacey
  • Detroit Pistons 11 No. 4 Ray Scott, No. 17 Johnny Egan, No. 26 Doug Kistler, No. 35 George Finley, No. 44 Danny Doyle, No. 53 Lee Patrone, No. 62 Bert Price, No. 71 Walter Ward, No. 79 Peter Baltic, No. 86 Wayne Monson, No. 94 Richard Kraft
  • Los Angeles Lakers 11 No. 5 Wayne Yates, No. 18 Fred Sawyer, No. 27 Frank Burgess, No. 36 Charles Henke, No. 45 Bill Lickert, No. 54 Bill McClintock, No. 63 Albert Almanza, No. 72 Bill Ellis, No. 80 Karl Anderson, No. 87 Fred Williams, No. 95 Howard Hurt
  • Syracuse Nationals 11 No. 6 Ben Warley, No. 19 Chris Smith, No. 28 Chuck Osborne, No. 37 Hank Whitney, No. 46 Don Jacobsen, No. 55 Billy Joe Price, No. 64 Roger Newman, No. 73 Dave Mills, No. 81 Rex Tippitt, No. 88 Pete Chudy, No. 96 Charles Sammons
  • Philadelphia Warriors 10 No. 7 Tom Meschery, No. 20 Ted Luckenbill, No. 29 Jack Egan, No. 38 John Tidwell, No. 47 Bruce Spraggins, No. 56 Dick Goldberg, No. 65 Charley McNeil, No. 74 Larry Swift, No. 89 Leo Hill, No. 97 Corky Withrow
  • Boston Celtics 7 No. 9 Gary Phillips, No. 22 Al Butler, No. 31 Bill Depp, No. 40 Carl Cole, No. 49 Bob DiStefano, No. 58 Ned Twyman, No. 67 Mel Klein

Colleges and programs represented

84 programs produced at least one selection in the 1961 draft.

  • Kentucky3
  • Louisville3
  • Tennessee State3
  • UCLA3
  • UNC3
  • California2
  • Cincinnati2
  • Duke2
  • Duquesne2
  • Houston2
  • Indiana2
  • Kansas State2
  • Maryland2
  • Memphis2
  • Saint Joseph's2
  • St. Bonaventure2
  • St. John's2
  • Winston-Salem State2
  • Allan Hancock College
  • Belmont Abbey College
  • Centenary (LA)
  • Concordia Seminary
  • DePaul
  • Doane University
  • Drake University
  • East Tennessee State University
  • Eastern Kentucky University
  • Georgetown College
  • Georgia Tech
  • Gonzaga
  • Grambling State University
  • Hampton
  • Holy Cross
  • Illinois
  • Iowa State
  • Jackson State University
  • Kansas
  • LeMoyne College
  • Marquette
  • Miami University
  • Michigan
  • Mississippi State
  • Missouri
  • Monmouth University
  • NC State
  • New Mexico State
  • Newberry College
  • Niagara University
  • North Carolina A&T
  • Northern Michigan University
  • Northern State University
  • Ohio State
  • Ohio University
  • Ole Miss
  • Oregon State
  • Penn State
  • Pikeville College
  • Providence
  • Saint Louis
  • Saint Mary's
  • Saint Peter's College
  • Seattle University
  • SMU
  • South Dakota State
  • Southern Miss
  • State University of New York at Brockport
  • Syracuse
  • Texas
  • Thomas More College
  • Toledo
  • Truman State University
  • Tulsa
  • University of Portland
  • USC
  • UW-Milwaukee
  • Vanderbilt
  • Virginia Tech
  • Virginia Union University
  • Wabash College
  • West Virginia
  • Western Kentucky
  • Wichita State
  • William & Mary
  • Wittenberg University

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