Philadelphia selected Mlkvy with a territorial pick of the 1952 NBA draft out of Temple University.

A 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 190 pounds (86 kg) forward, he was nicknamed "the Owl without a Vowel.

"[2] His parents, John and Margaret, migrated to the United States in 1907 from present-day Slovakia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when his father got a job with The New Jersey Zinc Company.

After his rookie season, Warriors general manager and coach Eddie Gottlieb made Mlkvy choose between school and basketball.

Mlkvy initially chose basketball but changed course when he was informed that he would be drafted into the United States Army as a private if he was no longer enrolled in school but, if he finished school, he would be drafted as a dental officer.