On This Day in Sports: April 25, 1950
On April 25, 1950, the Boston Celtics selected Duquesne forward Chuck Cooper with the 13th overall pick of the NBA draft. The choice made Cooper the first Black player drafted by a league team. Professional basketball’s color line was beginning to break, and Boston coach Red Auerbach made clear that ability, not race, was the reason for the selection.
Cooper had been an All-American at Duquesne and brought rebounding, defense and unselfish play to the professional game. His rookie season coincided with the debuts of Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Earl Lloyd, who became the first Black player to appear in an NBA game because of scheduling. Together, their careers opened a league that had excluded Black athletes.
Integration did not remove discrimination. Cooper faced segregated hotels and restaurants on the road, insults from crowds and restrictions that separated him from teammates. He continued to play with professionalism across four NBA seasons, later competing outside the league and building a distinguished career in education and public service in Pittsburgh.
The draft selection stands as both a breakthrough and a reminder of barriers that should never have existed. The modern NBA’s diversity and global identity were made possible by pioneers who entered hostile spaces without equal treatment. Cooper’s name belongs at the beginning of that transformation: the player whose selection forced the draft itself to cross the line.
Boston selected Cooper 13th overall.
He starred at Duquesne University.
Cooper was the first Black player drafted by an NBA team.
Earl Lloyd became the first to appear in a game.
Nat Clifton also debuted during the 1950-51 season.
Cooper later served his Pittsburgh community.
Explore more "On This Day in Sports"
Discover more landmark games, records, championships, and turning points from sports history. Each day revisits the athletes, teams, and moments that shaped competition and culture.