1972 NBA draft

The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip.

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.

Bob McAdoo, a college junior from the University of North Carolina, was selected second by the Buffalo Braves, and went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season.

[9] Erving had left college in 1971 to play professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA) with the Virginia Squires.

[10][11] Paul Westphal, the 10th pick, was named All-NBA four times, an All-Star five, and on the 1974 NBA championship Boston Celtics.

[22] Martin and eight other first-round picks all had insignificant contributions to the league; none of them had career scoring averages above 9 points per game and only one of them lasted more than six seasons in the NBA.

[10][18] In the tenth round, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Krešimir Ćosić from Brigham Young University with the 144th pick.

Ćosić, who was also selected in the fifth round of the 1973 draft, had a successful career in Europe, winning numerous league and club titles, as well as six gold medals with the Yugoslavian national team.

LaRue Martin was the first overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers .
Bob McAdoo was selected 2nd overall by the Buffalo Braves .
A man with long hair wearing a basketball jersey smiles.
Paul Westphal was selected 10th overall by the Boston Celtics .
A basketball player, wearing a red jersey with the word "SIXERS" on the front, is looking to his right side.
Julius Erving was selected 12th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks .
A man, wearing a black jacket with blue shirt, is standing in the middle of a classroom.
Brian Taylor was selected 23rd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics .