What is the draft in the NBA?

The clubs competing for NBA dominance, every year, work on the draft from the start of the playoffs, or even well before, throughout the season.

The NBA Draft is crucial for most NBA franchises and a must pass.

How is NBA draft night going?

On draft night, a team selects 60 players to join an NBA club. The draft order is usually established, but it is subject to change depending on various things. Picks are sometimes linked to other club transactions. Draft night is indeed one of the most exciting parts of the NBA calendar.

In terms of protocol, franchises have 5 minutes in the first round to choose their options or make a deal with an interested person. This has happened throughout history as teams have decided to move back or forward in the draft based on their current position and roster goals. Then the second round teams have 2 minutes to decide, while the last franchise chooses number 60 to close the second round.

Most players experience a mixture of excitement and optimism on NBA draft night. Every year, a small number of highly skilled players know they will be picked in the NBA Draft, and they are usually lottery picks. Teams usually go for the best player available or players they think can fill a role on their team.

What is the reason for the existence of a lottery in the NBA draft?

There is also an « NBA lottery » on draft night. This lottery determines the order of team selection. Teams that did not make the playoffs the previous season are lottery clubs and therefore have priority in the draft, with picks ranging from 1 to 14. The lottery process is a coin toss in which balls are drawn from a machine to decide which team will receive the first selection.

This system is used to ensure that all clubs have a chance of getting the first choice. It happens that at the end of seasons, teams intentionally lose in order to obtain the first choice in the event of a bad result in the league. A team’s chances of winning the lottery are determined by its regular season record.

The teams with the worst record are listed on the machine’s highest number of balls, which are then drawn one by one to determine the order of selection. If you win the lottery, you have a chance to make the first choice on the night of the draw.

The NBA draft has a pre-selection period

NBA draft screening is held at a pre-determined time just before draft night. In reality, this period is organized for several reasons. Indeed, the first is to allow prospects to take their physical measurements, in order to provide accurate information to their potential suitors. The second reason is the structure of the event, which allows athletes and potential employers to present their case.

Each physical examination, with/without the basketball, is performed on the athletes with the aim of demonstrating their merit. Finally, before engaging in a real melee, the participants are subjected to exercises on the ground. Then, several interviews allow the player to meet the club and vice versa.

What is the purpose of the NBA Draft?

The draft allows the NBA to achieve the objective of competitive balance between the 30 clubs. The NBA wants each team to have a quality workforce that provides balance in the league. The draft is therefore the procedure by which the 30 teams can sign new players. These parameters are essential to equal opportunities for recruiting new talent between large and small markets.

The people who join the draft are players who have not participated in the NBA in the past. These can be former players of college graduates or from around the world. To be eligible, they must be at least 19 years old and have graduated from high school one year before the start of the season.

Therefore, all new players selected will be rookies in the association the following season. The draft is intentionally scheduled before the start of free agency so teams have early rights to sign their preferred prospect.

Note that the draft is not a public event but is usually broadcast live. If you want to see an NBA game, ESTA and a Covid test are currently essential because of the pandemic we have been experiencing for 2 years.