1965 NBA draft

Bill Bradley, Bill Buntin and Gail Goodrich were selected before the draft as New York Knicks', Detroit Pistons' and Los Angeles Lakers' territorial picks respectively. Fred Hetzel from Davidson College was selected first overall by the San Francisco Warriors. Rick Barry from the University of Miami, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, was drafted second by the Warriors.[4] Four players from this draft, Barry, Bradley, Goodrich and fifth pick Billy Cunningham, have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.[5] Barry and Cunningham were also named in the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list announced at the league's 50th anniversary in 1996.[6]

The Los Angeles Lakers had intended on selecting Wayne Estes, a Montana native who played for the Utah State Aggies, in the first round. However, Estes died on February 8, 1965, aged 21, when he was electrocuted by a downed wire at the scene of an auto accident he and teammates were visiting. Less than two hours before dying, Estes completed a game where he scored 48 points; his 47th point of the game was also the 2,000th of his college career.[7]

Barry's achievements include one NBA championship with the Warriors in 1975, one Finals MVP, five All-NBA Team selections and four All-Star Game selections.[8] Cunningham's achievements include an NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967, four All-NBA Team selections and four All-Star Game selections.[9] He also played two seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) with the Carolina Cougars. In his first season there, he won the ABA Most Valuable Player Award and was selected to the ABA All-Star Game and All-ABA Team.[10] He later coached the 76ers for eight seasons and won the NBA championship in 1983.[11] Goodrich's achievements include an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972, one All-NBA Team selection and five All-Star Game selections.[12] Bradley, who spent all of his 10-year playing career with the Knicks, won the NBA championships twice in 1970 and 1973 and was also selected to one All-Star Game.[13] Bradley became a successful politician after retiring from basketball. He was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate for 18 years. He was also a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2000, losing to incumbent Vice President Al Gore in the presidential primaries.[14]

Bob Love, the 33rd pick, was selected to two All-NBA Teams and three All-Star Games.[15] Jerry Sloan, the 4th pick, was selected to two All-Star Games during his playing career before becoming a head coach. He coached the Chicago Bulls for three seasons before being fired during the 1981–82 season. He then became the head coach of the Utah Jazz in 1988, the position he held until resigning in early 2011.[16] He has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.[5] Twin brothers Dick and Tom Van Arsdale, who were drafted with the 10th and 11th picks, became the first set of twins to play in the NBA.[17][18] Each of them had three All-Star Game selections. They played for different NBA teams until their last season, which they spent together as a member of the Phoenix Suns.[19][20] Dick Van Arsdale also had a coaching career. He was the interim head coach of the Suns in 1987.[21] Two other players from this draft, 15th pick Flynn Robinson and 24th pick Jon McGlocklin, have also been selected to an All-Star Game.[22][23] Bob Weiss, the 22nd pick, also became a head coach after ending his playing career. He coached four NBA teams, most recently with the Seattle SuperSonics.[24] Tal Brody, the 12th pick, never played in the NBA. He joined Israel I club Maccabi Tel Aviv in 1966 and played there until his retirement in 1980, winning several Israeli league titles and a European Cup Championship in 1977. He also became an Israeli citizen and played for Israeli national team.[25][26] Aside from playing in the NBA, 20th pick Ron Reed also played professional baseball in the Major League Baseball (MLB). He ended his dual-sport career in 1967 to focus on baseball.[27] He played 19 seasons in the MLB with three teams, winning the World Series once. He was also an MLB All-Star.[28] He is one of only 12 athletes who have played in both NBA and MLB.[29][30][31]

The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.[32][33]

Round	Pick	Player	Pos.	Nationality	Team	School/club team
3	18	Keith Erickson	G/F	United States	San Francisco Warriors	UCLA
3	19	Barry Clemens	F	United States	New York Knicks	Ohio Wesleyan
3	20	Ron Reed	F	United States	Detroit Pistons	Notre Dame
3	22	Bob Weiss	G	United States	Philadelphia 76ers	Pennsylvania State
3	24	Jon McGlocklin+	G/F	United States	Cincinnati Royals	Indiana
3	25	Jim Caldwell	C	United States	Los Angeles Lakers	Georgia Tech
3	26	Toby Kimball	F/C	United States	Boston Celtics	Connecticut
4	31	Hank Finkel	C	United States	Philadelphia 76ers	Dayton
4	33	Bob Love*	F	United States	Cincinnati Royals	Southern
7	56	Willie Somerset	G	United States	Baltimore Bullets	Duquesne
8	67	Jim Fox	F/C	United States	Cincinnati Royals	South Carolina
10	75	Wayne Molis	F	United States	New York Knicks	Lewis
11	82	Thales McReynolds	G	United States	Baltimore Bullets	Miles

These players were not selected in the 1965 draft but played at least one game in the NBA.

Player	Pos.	Nationality	School/club team
Jay Miller	F	United States	Notre Dame

^ 1: Jerry Sloan was selected as an eligible junior in the 3rd round of the 1964 draft by the Baltimore Bullets but decided to stay in college.
^ 2: Tal Brody was born in the United States and became an Israeli citizen in 1970. He has represented both United States and Israel in international basketball competitions.[25][26]

• List of first overall NBA draft picks

General

Specific

• NBA.com
• NBA.com: NBA Draft History