The
1970 NBA Draft was the 24th annual
draft of the
National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970 before the
1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S.
college basketball players and other
eligible players, including international players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each division, with the order determined by a
coin flip. The
Detroit Pistons won the coin flip and were awarded the
first overall pick, while the
San Diego Rockets were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the
previous season. Three expansion franchises, the
Buffalo Braves, the
Cleveland Cavaliers and the
Portland Trail Blazers, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the seventh, the eighth and the ninth pick in each round. In the first round, the Cavaliers had the seventh pick, while the Blazers and the Braves had the eighth and the ninth pick respectively. In the subsequent rounds, the Cavaliers and the Braves exchanged their order of selection, while the Blazers had the eighth pick throughout the draft. The draft consisted of 19 rounds...
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