Supplementary Draft
On December 9, 1975, the NBA planned to host a supplementary draft to settle negotiating rights to five ABA players who had never been eligible for the NBA draft because their college classes had not graduated and they had not apply for hardship. The teams selected in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. The team that made a selection must withdraw their equivalent selection in the 1976 Draft. The teams were allowed to not exercise their rights on this hardship draft and thus retained their full selection in the 1976 Draft. The draft itself attracted strong opposition from the ABA who accuse the NBA trying to reduce confidence in the stability of their league. Despite the initial postponement of the draft, the draft was finally held on December 30, 1975.
The New Orleans Jazz used the first pick to select Moses Malone, a former high school player who went directly to professional basketball after he was drafted in the 1974 ABA Draft. The Los Angeles Lakers used the second pick to select Mark Olberding, a college freshman who was drafted in the 1974 ABA Draft. Because the Jazz and the Lakers had traded their first round picks in the 1976 Draft, they had to forfeit their first-round pick in the 1977 Draft. The other players selected were Mel Bennett, Skip Wise and Charles Jordan in the second, third and fourth-round respectively. All players, except Wise, were under contract with their ABA team at the time of the draft. They remained with their team until the end of the season. After the Virginia Squires folding before the ABA–NBA merger in June 1976, Bennett joined the team that drafted him, the Philadelphia 76ers. Under the merger agreement, the Jazz and the Lakers had to yield their rights to Malone and Olberding and they regained their 1977 first-round picks. Malone was later drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the ABA Dispersal Draft, while Olberding remained with the Spurs who joined the NBA. Two other draftees, Wise and Jordan never played in the NBA.
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team | ABA team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Malone, MosesMoses Malone^ | F/C | United States | New Orleans Jazz | Spirits of St. Louis |
| 1 | 2 | Olberding, MarkMark Olberding | F | United States | Los Angeles Lakers | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2 | 3 | Bennett, MelMel Bennett | F | United States | Philadelphia 76ers | Virginia Squires |
| 3 | 4 | Wise, SkipSkip Wise# | G | United States | Golden State Warriors | San Antonio Spurs |
| 4 | 5 | Jordan, CharlesCharles Jordan# | F | United States | Buffalo Braves | Indiana Pacers |
Read more about this topic: 1975 NBA Draft
Famous quotes containing the word draft:
“Why not draft executive and management brains to prepare and produce the equipment the $21-a-month draftee must use and forget this dollar-a-year tommyrot? Would we send an army into the field under a dollar-a-year General who had to be home Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)