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Following an anti-trust lawsuit filed by Spencer Haywood the NBA was required by the Supreme Court to grant admission to underclassmen. Accordingly, in 1971 on September the 10th the NBA held a supplementary draft of players declared as “Hardship Cases.” Teams drafted in inverse order of their standing at the end of the 1970-71 season. Any team making a selection in the supplementary phase must 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 then draft.
First Round
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|
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
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