1978 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.
[8][9] A college underclassman from Indiana State University, Larry Bird, was selected sixth by the Boston Celtics.
[11] Bird was also named to the list of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.
However, he was eligible to be drafted without applying for "hardship" because his original college class at Indiana University had graduated.
He could reenter the draft in 1979 and sign with the other team that drafted him, and in negotiations with Red Auerbach Bird's agent Bob Woolf bluntly dismissed Red's lowball salary offers (he said that he would not offer Bird a contract that paid him more than the $400,000 annual salary of the team's highest-paid player at the time, Dave Cowens) and made it clear that Bird would enter the 1979 Draft without any regrets if Boston didn't change its plans.
Nevertheless, in April 1979, he signed a five-year, US$3.25-million contract with the Celtics, which made him the highest-paid rookie in the history of team sport at that time.
[20] After retiring as a player, he coached the Portland Trail Blazers and the Philadelphia 76ers for four and a half seasons each.
[22][23][24] Michael Cooper, the 60th pick, won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1987 and was selected to eight consecutive All-Defensive Teams.
[53] ^ 1: Even though Larry Bird was a junior, he was eligible to be drafted because he was already four years out of high school and therefore he did not need to apply for early entry.
