The Basketball Draft Fact Book
A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
By (author) Robert D. Bradley
Publication date:
02 May 2013Length of book:
656 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressDimensions:
235x162mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9780810890688
On June 2nd, 1947, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) held the first college basketball draft in the history of the sport. The two leagues selected a combined 100 college seniors, including future Hall of Famers Harry Gallatin, Andy Phillip, and Jim Pollard. Since then, over 9,000 draft choices have been made by the major professional basketball leagues. The Basketball Draft Fact Book is the first detailed and comprehensive listing of all professional basketball drafts in the history of the sport, from the first draft in 1947 to the present.
In The Basketball Draft Fact Book, each season’s draft is summarized, noting significant events and circumstances pertinent to that year and providing insight into the unique conditions and notable players involved. Following the summary is a complete list of all players drafted that season. This book includes not only the NBA, but the American Basketball League, American Basketball Association, and the Women’s National Basketball Association, as well. Additional sections cover expansion and dispersal drafts, international players selected in the draft, the processes used to determine the order of the drafts, the impact of trades, and more.
The Basketball Draft Fact Book provides an authoritative history of basketball drafts in the U.S., with more complete and accurate information than any other source. Containing corrections to hundreds of errors in the draft information currently available, this volume is a valuable resource for basketball fans, historians, writers, and researchers.
In The Basketball Draft Fact Book, each season’s draft is summarized, noting significant events and circumstances pertinent to that year and providing insight into the unique conditions and notable players involved. Following the summary is a complete list of all players drafted that season. This book includes not only the NBA, but the American Basketball League, American Basketball Association, and the Women’s National Basketball Association, as well. Additional sections cover expansion and dispersal drafts, international players selected in the draft, the processes used to determine the order of the drafts, the impact of trades, and more.
The Basketball Draft Fact Book provides an authoritative history of basketball drafts in the U.S., with more complete and accurate information than any other source. Containing corrections to hundreds of errors in the draft information currently available, this volume is a valuable resource for basketball fans, historians, writers, and researchers.
Massive book, hefty price, and highly specialized are terms that all describe The Basketball Draft Fact Book. Yet this is an impressive array of research that provides year-by-year listings of professional basketball player drafts of both men and women since 1996. Author Bradley includes all four major men’s leagues and two women’s leagues, and clearly the bulk of the book (over 400 pages) covers the now well-established NBA. Beginning with the initial Basketball Association of America draft in 1947, the volume lists draft rounds, teams, and players selected. Although the now popularly televised NBA draft includes only two rounds, in 1968 the NBA draft went into a twenty-first round with 214 players selected. Especially interesting are the American Basketball Association (ABA) drafts with an intriguing cast of characters who made up the original ABA. Each draft is introduced by a brief synopsis where users will find interesting facts such as only one player from the 200 draft ever made an All-Star team (Michael Redd, the 43d choice). Additional chapters cover draft order, eligibility, draft facts, and the women’s draft. Other features include television draft coverage, site and dates of drafts, a glossary, resources, and an incomplete index. This is an excellent reference volume for academic and larger public libraries.