How do averages of 4.9 points and four rebounds per game in two collegiate seasons get one drafted in the first round? It happens when those numbers were posted while backing up one of the greatest players in the history of college basketball.
So goes the story of Swen Nater, Bill Walton’s backup at UCLA and a native of the Netherlands who was taken 16th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1973 NBA Draft, although he didn’t sign with the club.
Until 2019, Nater had been the only collegiate player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft that did not start a game in college.
In 2019, there were two players taken in the first round that didn’t start while playing collegiately — Nassir Little and Mfiondu Kabengele. But for 36 years, Nater stood alone.
Nater inked a deal with the ABA’s Virginia Squires, who had acquired his rights from the Floridians when that franchise folded. The Floridians selected Nater in the seventh round of the 1972 ABA Draft.
Nater was the Rookie of the Year in the ABA in 1973-74, even after being traded to the San Antonio Spurs in November of that season in exchange for a 1974 first-round pick and cash (the Squires were forever selling off players in hopes of remaining solvent).
Nater was also an All-ABA selection as a rookie and repeated the honor in 1974-75. In June 1975, the Spurs sent Nater to the New York Nets in exchange for Larry Kenon, but in January 1976, the Nets swapped Nater and Billy Schaeffer to Virginia to get Jim Eakins.
Nater finally signed with Milwaukee in June 1976 and played one year for the Bucks.
A couple of days before the 1977 NBA Draft, the Bucks traded Nater with a 1977 first-round pick to the Buffalo Braves for their first-round selection.
Nater spent six years with the franchise, following it to San Diego when it became the Clippers in 1978, and led the NBA in rebounding in 1979-80 (15 per game)—becoming the only player ever to lead both the ABA and NBA in the category.
An injury to his kneecap limited Nater to 28 games in the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons combined and in October 1983, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers with rookie Byron Scott in exchange for Norm Nixon, Eddie Jordan and second-round picks in 1986 and 1987.
Nater was the Lakers’ backup center for one season, helping the team to the NBA Finals before retiring in September 1984.
The retirement was short; Nater played the 1984-85 season in Australia and accepted an offer in Spain for the 1985-86 season before changing his mind and stepping into retirement for good.
In 11 pro seasons, Nater averaged 12.4 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 28.7 minutes per game, shooting .535/1-for-10/.748.
Nater is 32nd in NBA history at 10.8 rebounds per game and 33rd with a 53.7 percent mark from the field.
Swen Nater had been the only collegiate player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft that did not start a game in college.
In 2019, there were two players taken in the first round that didn’t start while playing collegiately — Nassir Little and Mfiondu Kabengele. But for 36 years, Nater stood alone.
For more on Nater’s Hall of Fame candidacy, as well as an interview with Nater conducted in May 2019, you can check it out on Nothin’ But Nets.