NBA Eliminates Draft Trade Rule

April 30, 1963

NEW YORK -- The National Basketball Association voted out the territorial draft of college players at the first session of its annual meeting Monday.

The move will take effect with the 1966 draft.

NBA sources said the decision to eliminate a team's right to claim players at colleges within a 50-mile radius was clearly aimed at the five-time champion Boston Celtics, and their great star Bob Cousy.

Cousy retired after the Celts took their fifth straight NBA title this year and will coach Boston College next season. There were fears in the league that Cousy might be able to recruit and develop talent at BC that would go the already powerful Celtics in the territorial draft.

"We just followed the law of survival." one source said. Another added, "If they hadn't abolished the territorial draft the colleges in our area would have started to get some pretty good talent. We would have had to see to that."

Commissioner Maurice Podoloff, who is reported to be retiring, said the vote on territorial draft was 6-3. Boston, New York and Cincinnati favored keeping the plan.

Podoloff said the draft vote was the only major measure considered by officials of the nine-team league in the first session.

Source: Associated Press,