In 1971, the NBA was required by the Supreme Court to admit underclassmen following an anti-trust lawsuit filed by Spencer Haywood. As a result, on September 10th of that year, the NBA held a supplementary draft for players declared as "Hardship Cases." Teams drafted in reverse order of their standings at the end of the 1970-71 season, with any team making a selection in the supplemental phase required to surrender its corresponding draft choice in the 1972 NBA Draft. After this supplemental draft, all future "Hardship Cases" were included in the regular NBA Draft. In 1976, the hardship requirement was eliminated, and the current early-entry procedure was adopted, whereby any athlete wishing to enter the NBA Draft may do so by making themselves available in a letter submitted to the league office postmarked 45 days before the draft.
First Round
|
|
Team |
School |
Selection |
1 |
Cincinnati |
Utah State |
Nate Williams Guard 6-5/215 Junior
|
2 |
Atlanta |
Minnesota |
Tom Payne Center 7-2/235 Sophomore
|
3 |
San Francisco |
Creighton |
Cyril Baptiste Forward 6-9/230 Junior
|
4 |
Baltimore |
Minnesota |
Phil Chenier Guard 6-3/180 Junior
|
Fourth Round
|
5 |
LA Lakers |
Allentown (EBL) |
Joe Hammond Guard 6-4/175 1952 Draftee
|
|