Yelverton was drafted 25th overall by the
Portland Trail Blazers, in the
1971 NBA draft, but only appeared in one
NBA season. During a game on February 1, 1972, Yelverton did not participate in pre-game warmups and sat on the bench during the singing on the
US national anthem.
The Oregonian reported his actions were in protest of Portland's release of
Willie McCarter. Blazers forward
Sidney Wicks was accused of playing lackadaisical defense during the game as his protest. Yelverton told the
New York Post in 2016 his protest was in response to the
Vietnam War and
capitalism. Portland
head coach Rolland Todd was fired the next day for failing to handle the situation and Yelverton went on to play 24 more games for the Blazers. He was waived in September 1972, shortly before the Blazers were scheduled to travel to
Hawaii for a pre-season tournament between NBA and
ABA teams. In the summer of 1973, Yelverton was invited the training camp of the ABA
Carolina Cougars at
Elon University in
Elon, North Carolina. He was not offered a contract at the conclusion of the camp. Yelverton then headed to Europe, where he played with
Olympiacos in Greece, and
Ignis Varese in Italy. He helped Ignis Varèse to win the 1975
EuroLeague title, and he also played with the same team in two other
EuroLeague Finals, in 1978 and 1979. He also won the 1978
Italian League title, while in Varèse. On February 3, 2008, Yelverton was among the 105 player nominees for the
50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors list, which commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the EuroLeague competition. ==Career statistics==