1959 NBA draft

In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players.

Wilt Chamberlain and Bob Ferry were selected before the draft as Philadelphia Warriors' and St. Louis Hawks' territorial picks respectively.

Although Chamberlain played at the University of Kansas, outside the territory of any NBA team, he was selected as the Warriors' territorial pick because the Warriors argued that Chamberlain had grown up in Philadelphia and played high school basketball at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia.

The NBA agreed with the argument, hence making him the first territorial pick based solely on his pre-college roots.

[4][5] Three players from this draft, Wilt Chamberlain, Bailey Howell, and Dick Barnett have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.