Being the first overall pick in the NBA today means an awful lot. The talented prospects entering the league always dream about going first, as it is the ultimate honor to be picked at the top from what is usually an incredibly talented group of youngsters.
We saw Jabari Smith Jr. get frustrated when Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren went ahead of him in the 2022 NBA Draft, and it usually serves as motivation for a lot of them. It is a chip on their shoulders that someone else went ahead of them, and it often pushes the athlete to be the best version of themselves.
Clifton McNeely Was The First Player To Ever Be Drafted In The NBA But He Never Played A Game In The League
While it matters so much now to get picked first in the NBA, back in 1946, when it was founded, it didn’t have the prestige it has today. It was actually the Basketball Association of America (BAA) back then, and when the league held its inaugural draft in 1947, Clifton McNeely ended up as the first overall pick. In what would be an unthinkable move in modern times, McNeely opted not to play in the league and instead went off to work in the oil fields for a while.
McNeely was a scoring machine in college and held records at Texas Wesleyan, which held up for over 60 years. He had no interest in playing for the Pittsburgh Ironmen who had selected him, however, and instead went off to work for Phillips 66, an oil and gas company. He would only work there for 4 months, however, and returned to basketball, this time as a coach. McNeely would become the head coach at Pampa High School, and he led the team to 4 state titles between 1953 and 1959.
He rejected many offers and stayed with the team, with whom he ended his coaching career with an impressive 320-43 record. While McNeely went on to have all this success, the Ironmen franchise folded before the start of the 1947-48 season. They were one of four teams to fold, along with the Toronto Huskies, the Cleveland Rebels, and the Detroit Falcons. While the NBA would return to Toronto, Cleveland, and Detroit, Pittsburgh remains without a team, and it doesn’t look like it is going to get one either, with Seattle and Las Vegas being next in line.
