Draft Selections and Draftee Career Notes
David Thompson from North Carolina State University was selected first overall by the Atlanta Hawks. He was also drafted first overall in the 1975 ABA Draft by the Virginia Squires, before the Squires traded his draft rights to the Denver Nuggets. He opted to join the ABA with the Nuggets before moving to the NBA in 1976 after both leagues merged. During his first and only season in the ABA, he won the ABA All-Star Game MVP and ABA Rookie of the Year, as well as selected to the ABA All-Star Game and All-ABA Team. His NBA achievements include two All-NBA Team selections and four NBA All-Star Game selections. For his achievements, he has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Marvin Webster, the 3rd pick, also opted to join the ABA with the Nuggets before moving to the NBA in 1976. Thompson and Webster were the only first-round picks from the draft who declined to play in the NBA and opted to play in the ABA. Coincidentally, Webster was also drafted by the Hawks, which means that both the Hawks' first-round picks did not play with them. Instead, both signed to play for the Nuggets in the ABA.
Gus Williams, the 20th pick, joined the Seattle SuperSonics after two seasons with the Golden State Warriors. He then won the NBA championship with the Sonics in 1979. He was also selected to two All-NBA Team and two All-Star Games. World B. Free (then known as Lloyd Free), the 23rd pick, played for five teams in his 13 year career and was selected to one All-NBA Team and one All-Star Game. Dan Roundfield, the 28th pick, was also drafted in the 1975 ABA Draft. He opted to joined the ABA with the Indiana Pacers before moving to the NBA in 1976. His achievements include include one All-NBA Team selection, three NBA All-Star Game selections, three NBA All-Star Game selections and four NBA All-Defensive Team selections. Alvan Adams from the University of Oklahoma, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, was selected 4th by the Phoenix Suns. Adams and 6th pick Lionel Hollins are the only other players from this draft who was selected to an All-Star Game. After retiring as a player, Hollins went on to have a coaching career. He was twice named as the interim head coach for the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies in 1999 and 2004 before becoming a permanent head coach in 2009.
Darryl Dawkins, the 5th pick, and Bill Willoughby, the 19th pick, became the first two high school players to directly enter the NBA after their high school graduation. They also became the second and third players to go directly from high school basketball to professional league, after Moses Malone in the 1974 ABA Draft. They also became the second and third high school players ever drafted in the NBA, after Reggie Harding in the 1962 Draft. However, because the rules prevented Harding from playing in the league until one year after his high school class graduated, he had to wait a year before entering the league in 1963. Dawkins played 14 seasons in the NBA with four different NBA teams, while Willoughby played 8 seasons with six teams.
In the tenth round, the New Orleans Jazz selected a Soviet basketball player Alexander Belov with the 161st pick. Belov, who was playing with Spartak Leningrad before the draft, stayed with the club until the end of his career. He had a successful career, winning two European Cup Winners' Cup and one Soviet Union championship, as well as four gold medals with the Soviet Union national team. For his achievements, he has been inducted by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to the FIBA Hall of Fame.
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