The 1968 NBA expansion draft was the fourth
expansion draft of the
National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1968, so that the newly founded
Milwaukee Bucks and
Phoenix Suns could acquire players for the upcoming
1968–69 season.
Milwaukee and
Phoenix had been awarded the
expansion teams on January 22, 1968.[1] 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. In this draft, each of the twelve other NBA teams had protected seven players from their roster. After each round, where each the Suns and the Bucks had selected one player, the existing teams added another player to their protected list.[2] The draft continued until both teams had selected eighteen unprotected players each, while the existing teams had lost three players each.
The Milwaukee Bucks were formed and owned by a group of investors headed by Wesley Pavalon and Marvin Fishman, which called the Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. (Milwaukee Pro).[3] The Bucks were the second NBA team from Milwaukee, after the Milwaukee Hawks, which moved to
St. Louis in 1955 and then
Atlanta in 1968, becoming the
Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks' selections included former
first overall pickFred Hetzel, six-time
All-StarLarry Costello, five-time All-Star
Wayne Embry, four-time All-Star
Guy Rodgers and one-time All-Star
Len Chappell. Prior to the expansion draft, Costello retired from playing due to injury and was named as
the franchise's first head coach.[4][5] Ten players from the expansion draft joined the Bucks for their inaugural season, but only three played more than one season for the team.
Jon McGlocklin, who played eight seasons with the Bucks, was named to the
1969 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Star.[6] He was the only player from the expansion draft that was on the Bucks team that won the
NBA championship in
1971.[7] Embry was later inducted to the
Basketball Hall of Fame as
a contributor.[8]
The Phoenix Suns were formed and owned by a group of investors headed by Richard Bloch.[9] Former
Chicago Bulls head coach and
1967Coach of the YearJohnny Kerr was named as
the franchise's first head coach.[10] The Suns' selections included former
territorial picksGail Goodrich and
George Wilson. Eight players from the expansion draft joined the Suns for their inaugural season, but only five played more than one season for the team.
John Wetzel was the ninth player from the expansion draft to play for the Suns. He made his first appearance in
1970 after serving in the military for two years.[11] Goodrich and
Dick Van Arsdale were named to the 1969 All-Star Game, becoming the franchise's first All-Stars.[6] Van Arsdale played nine seasons with the Suns and became the Suns' franchise leader in games played when he retired in 1977, a record which has since been broken by
Alvan Adams and
Walter Davis.[12] Goodrich played two seasons with the Suns and was later inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as
a player.[13]