The 1961 NBA Expansion Draft was the inaugural

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansio ...

of 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 St ...

(NBA). The draft was held on April 26, 1961, so that the newly founded

Chicago Packers The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

could acquire players for the upcoming 1961–62 season. The Packers were the second NBA team from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, after the

Chicago Stags The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago from 1946 to 1950. History 1946–47 season In the BAA's inaugural year, the Chicago Stags were placed in the Western Division, and after 60 games were tied with the ...

, which folded in 1950. The Packers later underwent several name changes and relocations before moving to Washington, D.C.. They are currently known as the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. 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 Packers appointed four-times All-Star and former

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

head coach Jim Pollard as the franchise's first head coach. The Packers selected eight unprotected players, one from each of the other NBA teams. Their selections included former second overall pick Archie Dees from the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. However, he and Barney Cable only played briefly for the Packers before he was traded to the

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

in exchange for former first overall pick Sihugo Green, one-time All-Star

Woody Sauldsberry Woodrow Sauldsberry Jr. (July 11, 1934 – September 3, 2007) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Sauldsberry was born in Winnsboro, Louisiana and graduated from Compton Union High School, where he was the star of his ...

and

Joe Graboski Joseph W. Graboski (January 15, 1930 – July 2, 1998) was an American professional basketball player. He spent 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the third player to enter the NBA without having played in college: ( T ...

. Dave Budd, who was selected from the New York Knicks, was traded back to the Knicks without playing any games for the Packers. He was traded in exchange for former second overall pick

Charlie Tyra Charles E. Tyra ( ; August 16, 1935 – December 29, 2006) was an American basketball player who is best known as the first Louisville Cardinal All-American. He played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Kn ...

and Bob McNeill. Six players from the expansion draft joined the Packers for their inaugural season, but only two played more than one season for the team.

Bobby Leonard William Robert "Slick" Leonard (July 17, 1932April 13, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach and color commentator. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where he was a two-time All-American and a member ...

would later go on to become the team's head coach.

Key

Selections

Notes

* Number of years played in the NBA prior to the draft * Includes career with the Chicago Zephyrs (1962–1963) and Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) * Never played a game for the franchise

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

NBA.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1961 Nba Expansion Draft Expansion Washington Wizards lists National Basketball Association expansion draft National Basketball Association lists NBA expansion draft