mychal thompson was the first player ever drafted in the nba.
mychal thompson was the first player ever drafted in the nba.
who was the first player ever drafted in the nba?
mychal thompson
mcneely was selected with the first pick of the inaugural 1947 baa draft by the pittsburgh ironmen, becoming the first player ever drafted in the national basketball association. the ironmen had earned the first pick in the draft after attaining a 14–45 record in the first season of the basketball association of america. however, mcneely was not interested in signing with the team, and ultimately never played a game of professional basketball. mcneely and gene melchiorre of the 1951 nba draft are the only two number-one draft picks in nba history to never play basketball professionally. the pittsburgh ironmen ended up folding before the start of the 1947–48 season.
clifton mcneely
this was the only draft to have nine rounds; the number increased to ten for the 1937 draft. the first player ever drafted, jay berwanger, who had previously been awarded the initial heisman trophy, never played in the nfl. his rights were traded by the philadelphia eagles to the chicago bears, as the eagles felt they would be unable to meet berwanger's reported demand of $1000 per game. the eagles received tackle art buss from the bears in exchange for berwanger's rights. george halas was unable to convince berwanger to sign with the bears. riley smith, the second pick, was the first player drafted to play in the nfl.
1936 nfl draft