The 1948 BAA draft was the second annual

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

(BAA), which later became the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). The draft was held on May 10, 1948, before the 1948–49 season. In this

, eight BAA teams along with four teams who moved from the National Basketball League, took turns selecting amateur U.S.

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

players.

Draft selections and draftee career notes

Andy Tonkovich Andrew Edward Tonkovich (November 1, 1922 – September 2, 2006) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was selected as the first overall pick in the 1948 BAA draft by the Providence Steamrollers. He played college basketba ...

from

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

was selected first overall by the

Providence Steamrollers The Providence Steamrollers were a Basketball Association of America team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2022, the Steamrollers were the last professional sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island. ...

. Four of the first round picks,

George Kok George William Kok Sr. (March 18, 1922 – October 5, 2013) was an American basketball player. At the University of Arkansas in the 1940s, he was one of the first true big men to dominate the game. He was the second overall pick in the 1948 BAA d ...

, George Hauptfuhrer,

Bob Gale Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film ''Back to the Future'' with his writing partner Robert Zemec ...

and

Chuck Hanger Charles E. Hanger (February 23, 1924 – July 23, 1995) was an American basketball player, known for his career as a collegian at the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) and as an All-American player in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) in th ...

, never played in the BAA. Four players from this draft,

Harry Gallatin Harry Junior "The Horse" Gallatin (April 26, 1927 – October 7, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Gallatin played nine seasons for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1948 to 1957 ...

Dolph Schayes Adolph Schayes (May 19, 1928 – December 10, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a 12-time All-NBA selection ...

, Bobby Wanzer and

Alex Hannum Alexander Murray Hannum (July 19, 1923 – January 18, 2002) was a professional basketball player and coach. Hannum coached two National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and one American Basketball Association (ABA) team to league championships. ...

have been inducted into the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

Draft

Other picks

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

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 1948 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.

Notes

References

;General * * ;Specific

External links

NBA.com
{{1948–49 BAA season by team

Draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

Basketball Association of America draft BAA draft BAA draft 1940s in Chicago Basketball in Chicago Events in Chicago