Every year, the best basketball prospects from all over the world gather to wait and find out which NBA team is going to trust them with the future of their franchise, while millions of fans watch with high hopes.
Then again, just a handful of players get drafted and even less have an actual shot at cracking a rotation in the league, as there are a limited amount of selections every team can make, as well as limited roster spots.
But, what exactly is the NBA Draft? Why isthe NBA Draft important? Who many rounds are there in the NBA Draft? In the following paragraphs, we’ll answer some of those questions and many more.
What’s The NBA Draft?
The NBA Draft is when prospects coming out of college or overseas basketball leagues take a step towards becoming professionals. All 30 teams in the NBA pick players depending on their talents, fit, needs, and draft order.
The teams sign those players to cheap contracts and use them to improve their roster for the future or trade them away to rebuilding teams for a bona fide player. Obviously, that will also depend on every team’s situation.
Who Picks First In The NBA Draft?
The Draft order changes every year depending on how the NBA season went down. The teams with the worst record have a higher chance to land the first picks of the Draft, therefore having higher odds of landing the best prospect in the world.
That way, the NBA makes sure that the competition stays balanced. Winning teams usually have stars and proven players, while bad teams need to build and grow through young players via Draft.
How Many Rounds Are In The NBA Draft?
Nowadays, the NBA Draft only has two rounds consisting of 30 picks each. The first 14 picks are deemed ‘lottery picks’, as the teams that didn’t make the playoffs the prior season go through a lottery to determine the order they’ll pick players.
Once again, teams with the worst record will have a higher chance to land a top-tier pick. From 14 on, teams will be seeded accordingly to how their season went, meaning the NBA Champion will have the last pick of the first round unless they trade it.
Has The NBA Draft Always Been Like That?
No. Back in the day and when the league was expanding, the NBA Draft had more rounds as the teams had to fill their rosters to be able to compete. Now, players that go undrafted are eligible to sign deals as free agents or join the development league (G-League) and earn a shot at making a roster.
