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 Royals The Draft Review - The Draft Review
Cincinnati
Utah State

Nate Williams
Guard
6-5/215
Junior

2 Atlanta Hawks The Draft Review - The Draft Review
Atlanta
Minnesota

Tom Payne
Center
7-2/235
Sophomore

3 San Francisco The Draft Review - The Draft Review
San Francisco
Creighton

Cyril Baptiste
Forward
6-9/230
Junior

4 Baltimore Bullets The Draft Review - The Draft Review
Baltimore
Minnesota

Phil Chenier
Guard
6-3/180
Junior

Fourth Round
5 lakers65 91 The Draft Review - The Draft Review
LA Lakers
Allentown (EBL)

Joe Hammond
Guard
6-4/175
1952 Draftee