NBA Draft

The National Basketball Association draft is an annual U.S. event in which the National Basketball Association's (NBA) thirty teams can select young players who wish to join the league. These players usually come from college level, but in recent drafts a greater number of international and high school players have been drafted.

Players Selected

All U.S. players are automatically eligible upon the end of their college eligibility. Through 2005, U.S. players were also allowed to declare eligibility for the draft at any time between high school graduation and the completion of college eligibility. International players could declare eligibility in the calendar year of their 18th birthday, or later. Starting with the 2006 NBA Draft, a U.S. player will not be allowed to declare draft eligibility unless both of the following are true:

Related Topics:
2005 - 2006 NBA Draft

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• At least one year has passed since his high school class graduated.
• The player is 19 or older on December 31 of the calendar year of the draft.

For international players, only the second of the above criteria applies.

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This age limit for draftees is part of the new collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players union.

Related Topics:
Collective bargaining agreement - Players union

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The NBA has established two draft declaration dates. All players who wish to be drafted, and are not automatically eligible, must declare their eligibility on or before the first declaration date. Following this, the NBA runs several pre-draft camps for prospective draftees to allow them to show their skills to the league's teams, which may also audition players individually. A player may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, one week before the draft. Players do not lose their college eligibility by declaring for the draft on the initial date, unless they have, in any previous year, declared and withdrawn from the draft; however, if they stay in the draft at the final declaration date, they lose further college eligibility, whether or not they are drafted. Also, signing with an agent automatically ends a player's college eligibility. Underclassmen may withdraw from the draft only once,

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When a player is selected in the first round of the draft, the team that selected him is required to sign him to at least a one-year contract. Players selected in the second round are "owned" by the team for three years, but the teams are not required to sign them.

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The earlier in the draft a player is selected, the higher his worth. The first pick of the draft is usually the best player available in the field. However, being the first pick doesn't necessarily means that the player will be a superstar. Michael Jordan was the third pick of the 1984 NBA draft, and yet he is generally recognized as the greatest player of all time. The two players selected ahead of Jordan in that draft illustrate the uncertainty of the draft. While the first pick, Hakeem Olajuwon, went on to a career that will certainly put him in the Hall of Fame, the second pick, Sam Bowie, ended up a journeyman with a relatively short and injury-riddled career.

Related Topics:
Michael Jordan - 1984 - NBA - Hakeem Olajuwon - Hall of Fame - Sam Bowie

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