1967 NBA expansion draft

The 1967 NBA Expansion Draft was the third expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 1, 1967, so that the newly founded San Diego Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics could acquire players for the upcoming 1967–68 season. Seattle and San Diego had been awarded the expansion teams on December 20, 1966, and January 11, 1967, respectively.[1][2] The Rockets moved to Houston, Texas, in 1971 and are currently known as the Houston Rockets.[3] The SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City, in 2008 and are currently known as the Oklahoma City Thunder.[4] In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. The Rockets and the Sonics selected fifteen unprotected players each, while the ten other NBA teams lost three players each.

1967 NBA Expansion draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)May 1, 1967
Overview
LeagueNBA
Expansion teamsSan Diego Rockets
Seattle SuperSonics

The Rockets, the 12th franchise in the NBA, were founded by Robert Breitbard. The Rockets name was chosen because it reflects the growth of the space-age industries in the city as well as the city's theme of "a city in motion".[3] Former Cincinnati Royals and Chicago Zephyrs head coach Jack McMahon was named as the franchise's first head coach and general manager.[5] The Rockets' selections included three-time All-Star Johnny Green. Ten players from the expansion draft joined the Rockets for their inaugural season, but only five played more than one season for the team. Don Kojis, who played three seasons with the Rockets, was named to the 1968 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Star.[6]

The SuperSonics, the 11th franchise in the NBA, were founded by a group of investors led by Sam Schulman and Eugene Klein.[7] Schulman then served as president of the team and head of operations. He hired former Chicago Bulls assistant coach Al Bianchi to become the franchise's first head coach.[8] The Sonics' selections included six-time All-Star Richie Guerin and one-time All-Star Tom Meschery. Guerin, who was serving as the St. Louis Hawks' player-coach when the Sonics selected him, decided to retire from playing and became a full-time head coach for the Hawks. He never played for the Sonics, even though he later came back from retirement to play with the Hawks.[9] Nine players from the expansion draft joined the Sonics for their inaugural season, but only four played more than one season for the team. Walt Hazzard, who only played one season with the Sonics, was named to the 1968 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Star.[6]

Key
Pos.GFC
PositionGuardForwardCenter
* Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-NBA Team
+ Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game

Selections
Player Pos. Nationality Team Previous team Years of NBA experience[a] Career with the franchise[b] Ref.
Jim Barnett G/F  United States San Diego Rockets Boston Celtics 1 1967–1970 [10]
John Barnhill G  United States San Diego Rockets Baltimore Bullets 5 1967–1968 [11]
John Block+ F/C  United States San Diego Rockets Los Angeles Lakers 1 1967–1971 [12]
Hank Finkel C  United States San Diego Rockets Los Angeles Lakers 1 1967–1969 [13]
Dave Gambee F  United States San Diego Rockets Philadelphia 76ers 9 1967–1968 [14]
Johnny Green+ F/C  United States San Diego Rockets Baltimore Bullets 8 1967–1968 [15]
Toby Kimball F/C  United States San Diego Rockets Boston Celtics 1 1967–1971 [16]
Don Kojis+ F  United States San Diego Rockets Chicago Bulls 4 1967–1970 [17]
Freddie Lewis G  United States San Diego Rockets Cincinnati Royals 1 —[c] [18]
Jon McGlocklin+ G/F  United States San Diego Rockets Cincinnati Royals 2 1967–1968 [19]
Wayne Molis F  United States San Diego Rockets New York Knicks 1 —[c] [20]
Paul Neumann G  United States San Diego Rockets San Francisco Warriors 6 —[c] [21]
Chico Vaughn G  United States San Diego Rockets Detroit Pistons 5 —[c] [22]
Gerry Ward G  United States San Diego Rockets Chicago Bulls 4 —[c] [23]
Jim Ware F  United States San Diego Rockets Cincinnati Royals 1 1967–1968 [24]
Henry Akin F/C  United States Seattle SuperSonics New York Knicks 1 1967–1968 [25]
Nate Bowman C  United States Seattle SuperSonics Philadelphia 76ers 1 —[c] [26]
Dave Deutsch G  United States Seattle SuperSonics New York Knicks 1 —[c] [27]
Richie Guerin* G  United States Seattle SuperSonics St. Louis Hawks 11 —[c] [28]
Walt Hazzard+ G  United States Seattle SuperSonics Los Angeles Lakers 3 1967–1968 [29]
Tommy Kron G  United States Seattle SuperSonics St. Louis Hawks 1 1967–1969 [30]
Tom Meschery+ F  United States[d] Seattle SuperSonics San Francisco Warriors 6 1967–1971 [31]
Dorie Murrey F/C  United States Seattle SuperSonics Detroit Pistons 1 1967–1970 [32]
Bud Olsen F/C  United States Seattle SuperSonics San Francisco Warriors 1 1967–1968 [33]
Ron Reed F  United States Seattle SuperSonics Detroit Pistons 2 —[c] [34]
Rod Thorn G  United States Seattle SuperSonics St. Louis Hawks 4 1967–1971 [35]
Ben Warley G/F  United States Seattle SuperSonics Baltimore Bullets 5 —[c] [36]
Ron Watts F  United States Seattle SuperSonics Boston Celtics 2 —[c] [37]
Bob Weiss G  United States Seattle SuperSonics Philadelphia 76ers 2 1967–1968 [38]
George Wilson C  United States Seattle SuperSonics Chicago Bulls 3 1967–1968 [39]

Notes
  • a Number of years played in the NBA prior to the draft
  • b Career with the expansion franchise that drafted the player
  • c Never played a game for the franchise
  • d Tom Meschery (formerly Tomislav Mescheryakov) was born in Harbin, Manchuria (now part of China) to Russian parents. He moved to the United States at the age of 8 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen.[40][41]

References
General
  • "NBA Expansion Drafts: Results". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  • "All-Time NBA Expansion Draft Results". NBA.com/Bobcats. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  • "1967 NBA Expansion Draft". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
Specific
  1. "Seattle SuperSonics History". NBA.com/Thunder. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 2010-02-23. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  2. "This Date in History–January". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 21 March 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  3. "Owners, fans waited years before Rockets took off". The Houston Chronicle. September 20, 2001. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  4. "SuperSonics, Seattle reach last-minute settlement". ESPN.com. July 3, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  5. "2009-10 Houston Rockets Media Guide" (PDF). NBA.com/Rockets. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  6. "1968 NBA All-Star Game". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  7. O'Neil, Danny (June 14, 2003). "Sam Schulman, 1910–2003: He ushered Seattle into big-time sports". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  8. "Suns Add Al Bianchi to Coaching Staff". NBA.com/Suns. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 18, 2002. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  9. "Richie Guerin Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  10. "Jim Barnett Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  11. "John Barnhill Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  12. "John Block Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  13. "Hank Finkel Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  14. "Dave Gambee Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  15. "Johnny Green Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  16. "Toby Kimball Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  17. "Don Kojis Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  18. "Freddie Lewis Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  19. "Jon McGlocklin Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  20. "Wayne Molis Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  21. "Paul Neumann Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  22. "Chico Vaughn Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  23. "Gerry Ward Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  24. "Jim Ware Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  25. "Henry Akin Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  26. "Nate Bowman Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  27. "Dave Deutsch Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  28. "Richie Guerin Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  29. "Walt Hazzard Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  30. "Tommy Kron Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  31. "Tom Meschery Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  32. "Dorie Murrey Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  33. "Bud Olsen Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  34. "Ron Reed Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  35. "Rod Thorn Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  36. "Ben Warley Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  37. "Ron Watts Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  38. "Bob Weiss Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  39. "George Wilson Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  40. Crowe, Jerry (November 9, 2009). "Former NBA tough guy Tom Meschery a man of rhyme, reason". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  41. "International Timeline". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
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