1961 NBA draft

Draft selections and draftee career notes

Walt Bellamy from the Indiana University was selected first overall by the Chicago Packers. Bellamy went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season and was also selected to the All-Star Game. In his rookie season, he averaged 31.6 points per game, the second highest scoring average for a rookie, and 19.0 rebounds per game, the third highest rebounding average for a rookie. He was selected to four consecutive All-Star Games during his stint with the Packers, which later became the Chicago Zephyrs and Baltimore Bullets. He then played for three other NBA teams during his 14-year career. For his achievements, he has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Three other players from this draft, 7th pick Tom Meschery, 21st pick Don Kojis and 32nd pick Bill Bridges, have also been selected to at least one All-Star Game. Doug Moe, the 22nd pick, never played in the NBA. His contract with the Packers was voided due to his suspected involvement in the college basketball point shaving scandal. He eventually played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for five years. He won the ABA championship in 1969 and was selected to three ABA All-Star Games and two All-ABA Teams. After his playing career, he became a head coach. He coached four NBA teams and won the Coach of the Year Award in 1988 with the Denver Nuggets. Ray Scott, the 4th pick, played for the Detroit Pistons for five and a half seasons before he moved on to play with two other teams in the NBA and ABA. After retiring as a player in 1972, he immediately became a head coach. He coached the Pistons for three and a half seasons and won the Coach of the Year Award in 1974. Two other players drafted also went on to have a coaching career: 12th pick Johnny Egan and 60th pick Donnie Butcher.

Similar to the 1951 draft, this draft would also be marked by a significant number of players being permanently banned in the NBA before even playing a single game due to their participation in a significant college scandal, in this case a gambling scandal. While none of the players selected this year were considered to have been as high profile of players as Gene Melchiorre, the #1 pick of the 1951 NBA draft was, a significant amount of players drafted during this time were still permanently banned due to their participation in the event all the same. Players from this draft who were selected by teams there, but were later permanently banned by the NBA (at least in terms of playing there) included the likes of Leroy Wright (the 16th pick of the draft), Jerry Graves (the 19th pick of the draft), Doug Moe (the 22nd pick of the draft), Tony Jackson (the 24th pick of the draft), Jack Egan (the 29th pick of the draft), and Vincent Kempton (the 107th and final pick of the draft). Many other players that went undrafted following this scandal would also be permanently banned by extension also, including two college freshmen at the time who would since become Hall of Famers following the case.

Key

Draft

Other picks

The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1961 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.

Notes

References

;General

;Specific

References

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8. "Player Season Finder: Rebounds per game in rookie season". basketball-reference.com.
9. "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees". basketball-reference.com.
10. "Tom Meschery Statistics". basketball-reference.com.
11. "Don Kojis Statistics". basketball-reference.com.
12. "Bill Bridges Statistics". basketball-reference.com.
13. Goldstein, Joe. (November 19, 2003). "Explosion II: The Molinas period". ESPN.com.
14. Newman, Bruce. (November 7, 1988). "This Joker Is Wild". Time Warner Company.
15. "Doug Moe Statistics". basketball-reference.com.
16. "Doug Moe Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com.
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18. "Ray Scott Statistics". basketball-reference.com.
19. "Ray Scott Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com.
20. "Johnny Egan Coaching Statistics". basketball-reference.com.
21. "Donnie Butcher Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com.
22. (April 15, 1961). "Archie!". The Milwaukee Journal.
23. (March 28, 1961). "National Basketball Draft Brings Smiles". The Nevada Daily Mail.
24. "1961 NBA draft".
25. "NBA Past Drafts - RealGM".
26. Crowe, Jerry. (November 9, 2009). "Former NBA tough guy Tom Meschery a man of rhyme, reason". Los Angeles Times.
27. "International Timeline". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.