NBA

The NBA Draft format explained: How many rounds are there? How many players are selected?

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4m ago

Jun 26, 2024 / 7034 Views

Evan Walker

There’s just one day to go until the 2024 NBA Draft gets underway at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The two-day spectacular will take place across Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 June with the cream of the crop of college and overseas talent preparing to take their first steps into the professional Game.

After lucking out in the draft lottery, the Atlanta Hawks will get the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and are expected to land French star Alex Sarr. There will be plenty of razzamatazz on show in Brooklyn for the draft. Here’s everything you need to know about the format and order of the draft...

How many rounds are there in the 2024 NBA Draft?

The NBA Draft is divided into two rounds with one pick for each of the 30 NBA teams. Usually this would mean a total of 60 players will be added to the professional ranks, but two teams have seen their allocation reduced to one selection this year. The Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns have forfeited their second round picks after violating league rules on free agent discussions. This year 58 players will be selected.

"Alright I just officially got butterflies."

Steph Curry before being drafted #7 overall in 2009 😅 pic.twitter.com/DZlUCLsrJq
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) June 25, 2024

As for the order of draft selection, that is determined by a lottery system that is weighted in favour of the worst teams from the previous season. The teams with the 14 worst records from 2023/24 were placed into a weighted lottery system to assign their pick orders. The Atlanta Hawks had just a 3% chance of bagging the top pick but, nevertheless, they end up with the No. 1 pick.

NBA Draft pick order: Round 1

1. Atlanta Hawks
2. Washington Wizards
3. Houston Rockets (from Brooklyn)
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Detroit Pistons
6. Charlotte Hornets
7. Portland Trail Blazers
8. San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto)
9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Utah Jazz
11. Chicago Bulls
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Houston)
13. Sacramento Kings
14. Portland Trail Blazers (from Golden State)
15. Miami Heat
16. Philadelphia 76ers
17. Los Angeles Lakers
18. Orlando Magic
19. Toronto Raptors (from Indiana)
20. Cleveland Cavaliers
21. New Orleans Pelicans (from Milwaukee)
22. Phoenix Suns
23. Milwaukee Bucks (from New Orleans)
24. New York Knicks (from Dallas)
25. New York Knicks
26. Washington Wizards (from Clippers)
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
28. Denver Nuggets
29. Utah Jazz (from Oklahoma City)
30. Boston Celtics

NBA Draft pick order: Round 2

31. Toronto Raptors (from Detroit)
32. Utah Jazz (from Washington)
33. Milwaukee Bucks (from Portland)
34. Portland Trail Blazers (from Charlotte)
35. San Antonio Spurs
36. Indiana Pacers (from Toronto)
37. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Memphis)
38. New York Knicks (from Utah)
39. Memphis Grizzlies (from Brooklyn)
40. Portland Trail Blazers (from Atlanta)
41. Philadelphia 76ers (from Chicago)
42. Charlotte Hornets (from Houston)
43. Miami Heat
44. Houston Rockets (from Golden State)
45. Sacramento Kings
46. LA Clippers (from Indiana)
47. Orlando Magic
48. San Antonio Spurs (from Lakers)
— Philadelphia 76ers (forfeited)
49. Indiana Pacers (from Cleveland)
50. Indiana Pacer (from New Orleans)
51. Washington Wizards (from Phoenix)
52. Golden State Warriors (from Milwaukee)
53. Detroit Pistons (from New York)
54. Boston Celtics (from Dallas)
55. Los Angeles Lakers (from Clippers)
56. Denver Nuggets (from Minnesota)
57. Memphis Grizzlies (from Oklahoma City)
— Phoenix Suns (from Denver)
58. Dallas Mavericks (from Boston)

What are the NBA draft eligibility requirements?

Traditionally the NBA Draft was designed to evenly allocate the top players from the college game into professional teams. But as the game has become more global an increasing number of players in the draft are coming from professional leagues overseas, or may have featured in the developmental NBA G League.

To be eligible for the draft a player has to be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. The player must also have graduated high school at least one NBA season previously.

Beyond those age restrictions, the only real requirement is that the player in question has officially declared for the draft. To do so, individuals must express their interest to the NBA at least two months ahead of the draft and fill in the relevant paperwork. Of course in doing so they must also forfeit the rest of their college eligibility, but that’s all it takes for a talented young player to be in contention for the NBA Draft.