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The NBA Draft: Everything You Need to Know

The NBA is the world’s premier basketball competition league. It attracts the best players from around the globe, and millions of basketball fans tune in to watch games throughout the season. Not only is the NBA the most-watched basketball competition, but it is also an example that other leagues follow.

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The NBA is made up of 30 teams across the United States and Canada. Each team has between 15 and 19 players on its roster, for a total of approximately 570 players in the league annually. The number of players per team can differ. Therefore, the league could have fewer active players at any one time.

The limited number of places on NBA rosters makes the league extremely competitive. Adding to the competition for roster spots is the annual NBA Draft, which sees the league’s 30 teams select the best young talent from NCAA universities and abroad.

Most players enter the NBA through the draft process. It is the most common way for teams to add new talent to their squads. This makes the draft indispensable to teams, as NBA-ready players and prospects are selected.

The draft started in 1947, allowing basketball teams in the fledgling league to acquire talent. The first draft saw 80 players selected. Over the next few decades, the draft would grow quickly and see 239 players taken in the 1970 edition.

Held every June following the NBA Finals, the draft has become a must-watch event for fans of teams across the Association. Watching a team select its future superstar is nearly as exciting as seeing that player deliver a league title.

NBA Pre-Draft Process

The NBA pre-draft process starts well before a team is ready to select new talent. Teams will typically scout players for months or years before picking them. The high-profile nature of NCAA basketball and European basketball enables NBA teams to keep tabs on just about every player. Many teams will have scouts on the ground attending games to watch players first-hand. There are also staff members keeping tabs on player analytics to send back to the general manager and front office staff.

Once players have declared for the NBA Draft, the league holds a combine to test them. A combine is a tryout for the players entering the draft. It gives NBA teams a closer look at the players. Watching them play in college can only show NBA scouts, coaches, and general managers so much.

The combine gives teams the chance to record a player’s physical and athletic measurements, perform oral interviews, conduct medical tests, and put the players through basketball drills. Players will compete in five-on-five games to assess their game management, personality, and aptitude. The draft combine gives teams a more accurate picture of a player’s ability. It also helps teams project how the player will perform in the future and fit into their squad.

If a team can get their draft picks correct, they can turn around a franchise and make them a winner. A strong draft pick can also enable a team to remain at the top of the league for years to come. The NBA Draft is a far cheaper way for NBA teams to build their rosters. Signing players through free agency can cost millions of dollars, but the draft can add value to a team without spending heavily.

Draft Lottery and Draft Order

The draft lottery is highly talked about by NBA team officials, pundits, and commentators. The best players available in the draft typically go in the lottery. So, what is the NBA Draft Lottery?

Of the NBA’s 30 teams, 14 do not make the playoffs each season. Those 14 teams will enter the draft lottery and have a shot at drafting the best young basketball talent. The teams will be given a four-digit number combination and the lottery will be weighted to provide certain teams a better chance of winning the lottery. The teams with the worst records from the previous season will have the highest statistical chances of landing the No 1 overall pick.

Ping pong balls are then randomly drawn, and the team with the corresponding numbers will receive the No 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. The process will continue until the first four draft places are set.

The remaining ten teams will have their draft selection place determined by the previous season’s win-loss record. While missing out on one of the top-four draft places can be frustrating, the ten remaining NBA teams still have a shot at landing a franchise-altering player.

The odds of winning the No 1 overall pick are not the same for every team. The odds are based on the teams’ win-loss records from the previous season. The four worst teams will have higher odds than the NBA’s 14th-worst team. The teams that made the playoffs will have their NBA draft position determined by their win-loss record.

NBA Draft Day

The draft features only two rounds and a total of 60 players are picked. The modern NBA Draft is far shorter than in the past. There was a time when NBA teams would simply keep drafting players and quit when they felt like it.

In 1970, 239 players were selected in the draft. As recently as 1974, the NBA Draft featured ten rounds, and in 1984, teams took 228 players in the draft. The league only had 23 teams at that time, and each took nearly ten players.

Since the 1980s, the NBA has implemented more rules and regulations to streamline the event. Today, each NBA team makes two picks. NBA teams can trade their picks to acquire established players. Teams can also trade established players for picks in the draft. A team could have more than two picks in the draft depending on whether they traded for additional picks. Teams may also have fewer than two selections due to trading them away.

It should be remembered that the draft doesn’t just disperse new talent into the NBA. It helps poorly performing NBA teams add the best young players from outside the league.

The first round of the draft takes place with the lottery-winning teams picking in the top four places. From there, the selection order is based on the teams’ win-loss records. The second round pick of the draft is completely determined by the previous season’s final standings.

NBA Draft Prospects

The NBA Draft often has different levels of players. There are always top prospects and these players are usually taken with lottery picks. If the draft class is full of top prospects, then most of the first round could see these players selected.

Top players will likely come from major college basketball programs. These players will have played NCAA basketball and will be familiar with high levels of pressure. Michael Jordan was a top prospect selected by the Chicago Bulls in 1984. He had just won the NCAA National Championship before entering the NBA.

Sleeper picks can turn a team’s fortune around just as much as a top prospect. Not a lot is expected from sleeper picks, but when they succeed, they can become a vital part of a team’s title-winning chances. One of the greatest sleepers of all time was Dennis Rodman. The power forward and rebound king was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round (27th overall) in 1986. Rodman went on to have a 20-year career, winning five NBA titles.

International players can be drafted by NBA teams. Players must have never played for a U.S. high school or college. In addition, they mustn’t have lived in the country for the previous three years before the draft to qualify.

International players can play professionally overseas before joining the NBA. In the last 20 years, the NBA has welcomed more international players than ever before. Many international players offer different skills due to the differences between basketball in North America and Europe.

French point guard Tony Parker is one of the greatest international draft picks of all time. The San Antonio Spurs selected Parker 28th overall in 2001. Parker had already played professionally in France with Paris Basket Racing. He helped the team win four NBA Championships.

NBA Draft Strategies

Every NBA team has a draft strategy to ensure it selects the best possible player. Some teams have a better draft strategy than others, and get their picks right more times than not. Some teams seem to earn lottery draft picks almost every year. These teams fail to make the most out of their selections.

One of the key strategies teams implement is the best available player strategy. In this strategy, teams will select the best player in the draft regardless of their position. Oftentimes, basketball general managers claim this is the best way to draft. A good player can fit into a team and makes team building more flexible. Selecting the best player available also makes it possible to obtain the most value in the draft.

The San Antonio Spurs took center, Tim Duncan, in the 1997 draft despite having David Robinson in the same position. Duncan was the best player available in that year’s draft and helped the Spurs become one of the top teams in the NBA over the next decade. He and Robinson played together until the latter retired in 2003. Duncan played on until 2016, helping the Spurs win five NBA Championships.

While some teams will pick the best available player on the draft board, others will attempt to address their needs. For example, a team may desperately need to improve a specific area on the court and use the draft to select a marquee player capable of starting from day one.

In 1996, the Philadelphia 76ers selected point guard Alan Iverson first overall. Iverson wasn’t necessarily the top pick coming out of college and had plenty of off-the-court issues. The 76ers desperately needed a point guard for the future and Iverson became a team legend.

The 1996 draft class was extremely strong as well. It featured Antoine Walker, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Stephon Marbury, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim to name just a few. The 1996 draft class is considered one the greatest of all time.

Teams will also draft based on a player’s potential like when the Charlotte Hornets selected Bryant 13th overall in 1996. The guard was selected straight out of high school after deciding to forego college basketball. Seeking a future guard to lead the Lakers into the 21st century, the Lakers traded Vlad Divac for Bryant and the rest is history.

In 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers used their No 1 overall pick to draft a player to make an immediate impact. LeBron James was taken first, with the expectation that he would walk right into the team’s starting five. Drafting an immediate impact player can see a team go from loser to winner in one season. However, these players must be mentally and physically ready to endure the NBA’s grueling 82-game season.

NBA Draft History

The 1984 NBA Draft class is widely considered the greatest of all time. Why? It was the draft class that featured Michael Jordan, who became arguably the best NBA player ever. The 1984 draft also saw Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton, and Sam Perkins join the league.

For a certain generation of NBA fans, the 1996 class goes down as the best assembled. Iverson, Bryant, Nash, Ray Allen, Marcus Camby, Jermaine O’Neal, Derek Fisher, and Erick Dampier are just some of the names to come out of the 1996 draft. Three different players from the 1996 draft won the league’s Most Valuable Player Award.

The draft unfortunately produces a few busts each season. The biggest bust of all time is considered center Sam Bowie. The big man was selected second overall in 1984. The 7ft 1in center suffered leg fractures in college and missed two seasons of basketball at Kentucky. Still, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Bowie ahead of Michael Jordan. Portland had a stacked team and Bowie was to be the final piece. He wasn’t and never lived up to the draft pick.

Remember Adam Morrison? That’s okay, most NBA fans don’t. Morrison was selected No 3 in 2006 by Charlotte. He was a college basketball stud at Gonzaga. He had a decent start to NBA life before tearing his ACL. Morrison never regained the ability he showed in college and struggled with his shooting in the NBA. The pace of the game was too high for him as well. He left the NBA in 2011 to play in Europe. He retired two years later.

NBA Draft Analysis

The 1984 draft is the one fans always want most to do over. What if the Trail Blazers had picked Jordan instead of Bowie? The Trail Blazers went with a player they needed rather than the best possible player in the draft. Would the future have turned out differently for both teams?

Some teams are simply better at drafting players than others. Of course, the draft is a combination of things. Not only must teams do their due diligence before the draft, but they must also work with the players afterwards to develop them further.

The Toronto Raptors are one of the NBA’s best teams when it comes to navigating the draft. Not only have the Raptors drafted well over the last decade, but they won the 2019 NBA Championship with several players picked from previous drafts. Three players on the team’s championship-winning team came through the draft – Pascal Siakam, Jonas Valanciunas, and Fred Van Vleet.

The 2023 NBA Champion Denver Nuggets are another team considered masters of the draft. The Nuggets won their first NBA title thanks to 2014 second-round draft pick Nikola Jokic.

Although the Cleveland Cavaliers hit a home run with LeBron James, the team was one of the worst in the draft over the last few years. A combination of poor picks, including Anthony Bennett, Collin Sexton, and Dion Waiters shows the Cavs' poor analysis and development of players.

Although fans and basketball analysts always want to re-draft previous NBA drafts, it is difficult to say whether a player would fulfill his potential with a different team. Many variables go into the success and failures of players. Therefore, a player’s career cannot be predicted. There is a science behind drafting and developing players, but teams also have plenty of hopes riding on a player succeeding.

NBA Draft and Salary Cap

The NBA sets a rookie contract scale for each season. The scale rewards players based on their draft position. The No 1 pick will earn more money than the No 2 pick and so on down the list of 60 drafted players.

The first-year salaries for 2023-24 for the top five draft picks are:

  1. $9,983,300
  2. $8,932,300
  3. $8,021,500
  4. $7,232,000
  5. $6,549,100

The rookie minimum salary for the 2023-24 season was set at around $1.1 million. Although the top pick in the NBA Draft can earn nearly $10 million in the first season, drafted players are far less expensive than veteran NBA players. This is another reason the draft is important to NBA teams. It offers teams the chance to build a competitive squad less expensively.

The minimum salary for an NBA veteran with over 10 years of experience is $2.72 million. Adding multiple players at this rate can add up quickly. Teams may also add max salary players, which starts to affect the salary cap. Drafted players are a convenient way to add less expensive pieces. Rookies can also be used for trades in the future to acquire good-quality NBA veterans.

Free agent players are often expensive to sign. Building a team with a strong rookie or two alongside higher-priced veterans can improve a team overnight. This is a strategy often used by teams looking to make a run at an NBA title or building for the next few seasons.

NBA Post-Draft Process

Players head to the NBA Summer League after the draft. The Summer League is a tournament featuring all drafted players, undrafted free agents, and other young players. The competition provides players with the chance to showcase their talents. It is also a way to begin developing players before the preseason begins. The Summer League hands out a championship trophy, although the focus of it is on development.

Once the Summer League finishes, players meet up with their teams and fellow teammates. Training camp is an integral part of the team-building process. Players learn their team’s offensive and defensive systems. Training camp is also the time for players to prepare themselves for the upcoming campaign. Teams usually open training camps in the middle or late September.

Training camp will begin a few weeks before the new NBA season. The regular season tips off in October and teams start their 82-game journey to the playoffs.

NBA Draft FAQ

When is the NBA draft?

The NBA Draft takes place in late June following the conclusion of the NBA Finals.

Can you get drafted to the NBA from another country?

International players can enter the NBA Draft. These players must have never played for a U.S. university and resided permanently outside the country for three or more years.

Can a player refuse to be drafted by an NBA team?

A drafted player can refuse to sign a contract with an NBA team. Players may refuse to sign if they do not like the team that selects them or the money offered to them.

Has a player ever refused to be drafted?

Several players refused to sign for the team that drafted them. The highest profile player to refuse to play for a team was Dominique Wilkins. In 1982, the Utah Jazz selected Wilkins third, but Wilkins refused to move to Utah to play. The Jazz traded the forward to the Atlanta Hawks where he became a superstar.

What do NBA scouts look for?

NBA scouts look for different things. Some will look for physical attributes that will help their team succeed. A scout may look for a player with the potential to help a team a few years down the line. A scout’s agenda will be set by the NBA team they work for.

How many NBA players get drafted?

The NBA Draft welcomes 60 players into the league each season.

What is the age limit for the NBA draft?

A player must be a minimum of 19 years old to be drafted.

Can you try out for the NBA?

Players cannot try out directly for an NBA team. However, the G League, the NBA’s official minor league system, holds open tryouts for prospective players. A player could make a G League team and work their way up to the NBA franchise.

What was the deepest NBA draft?

The 1984 and the 1996 NBA Drafts are considered the deepest of all time.

Which NBA draft class has the most rings?

The 2003 draft was rich with talent. Fifteen of the players selected in the 2003 draft combined to win 26 NBA Championships.

Who was the first pick in the 2023 NBA draft?

The first pick in the 2023 NBA draft was Victor Wembanyama, who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs.

Learn more about various drafts and sports events in our guides:

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