NBA territorial pick

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

[1][2] In the first 20 years of the BAA/NBA, the league was still trying to gain the support of fans who lived in or near the teams' home markets.

To achieve this, the league introduced the territorial pick rule to help teams acquire popular players from colleges in their area who would presumably have strong local support.

[4] Of the 23 territorial picks, 12 players have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tom Heinsohn, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas are the only four territorial picks who won the Rookie of the Year Award.

Wilt Chamberlain while playing for the Harlem Globetrotters
Wilt Chamberlain was selected as the Philadelphia Warriors ' territorial pick in 1959 .
Tom Heinsohn at the Celtics' title parade
Tom Heinsohn was selected as the Boston Celtics ' territorial pick in 1956 .
Guy Rodgers posing for a photo
Guy Rodgers was selected as the Philadelphia Warriors ' territorial pick in 1958 .
Bill Bradley while playing for the Princeton Tigers
Bill Bradley was selected as the New York Knicks ' territorial pick in 1965 .
Oscar Robertson was selected as the Cincinnati Royals ' territorial pick in 1960 .