The road to an NBA championship can start at the draft.
In recent years, the number of bonafide stars on the free agent market has been remarkably small. Acquiring a star outside of the draft often requires a trade, but most teams aren’t willing to part with stars unless they ask to be traded (or if they are Luka Doncic, apparently).
For most recent NBA champions, the draft was where it all began. The Celtics landed both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown through the draft, while the Nuggets’ top three scorers from their title-winning team were all drafted by the organization. With the current collective bargaining agreement forcing teams to place an emphasis on depth and shoring up weaknesses, the draft has arguably become even more critical.
The Sporting News takes a look at how the NBA Draft works, from number of rounds and picks to eligibility rules.
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What is the NBA Draft?
The NBA welcomes the newest wave of talent into the league at the annual draft, which is typically held in late June between the end of the NBA Finals and the start of free agency.
Players who hope to enter the NBA must go through the draft process. Teams hold the rights of each player they select, while eligible players who go undrafted are able to sign with any team that makes an offer.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the structure of the NBA Draft.
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NBA Draft rules
Number of rounds and picks
The NBA Draft is comprised of two rounds and 60 picks. Each team receives one first-round pick and one second-round pick, though those picks can be traded as many as seven years in advance. Because of the frequency of trades, plenty of teams end up with either more or less than two picks in a given draft.
The draft can be shorter than 60 picks if a team loses a selection as a penalty from the NBA. For example, the 2025 NBA Draft has 59 picks because the Knicks lost their second-round pick due to a tampering violation.
The NBA Draft has spanned two rounds since 1989.
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Eligibility rules
To enter the NBA Draft, players must be one year removed from high school and turn 19 in the same calendar year as the draft. While the NBA’s age minimum is 19, plenty of players continue to debut at 18 because they turn 19 before the end of the year. Cooper Flagg, set to debut about two weeks before he turns 19, is the latest example.
The NBA once allowed players to be drafted directly out of high school, but the age minimum was raised in 2006 requiring players to spend at least one year out of high school. Many elite prospects now spend one year at the collegiate level before declaring for the draft and entering the NBA.
Players can still enter the NBA Draft after a complete college career, regardless of how many seasons they play at the collegiate level.
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Early entry and withdrawal rules
Players who haven’t exhausted their college eligibility must declare for the NBA Draft as early entrants. Under the current rules, players who declare for the draft before the April deadline have until a certain date to withdraw from the draft and return to school. That date typically comes during the final week of May, less than a month before the draft.
In 2025, numerous players took advantage of the withdrawal option,
A separate date is set for international players to withdraw, with the deadline typically much closer to the draft.
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How does the NBA Draft Lottery work?
The NBA Draft Lottery determines which teams receive a top-four pick in the NBA Draft. After the order of the top four is settled, the remaining teams fall in line between fifth and 14th based on regular season record.
To carry out the lottery, ping pong balls numbered 1-14 are put into the machine and drawn four times. There are 1,001 possible combinations of ping pong balls; 1,000 are assigned to teams, with the worst teams receiving the most combinations. The remaining combination is invalid and would result in the lottery being redrawn.
Every non-playoff team’s first-round pick is entered into the NBA Draft Lottery. If one of those teams has traded its pick to another team without protections, the acquiring team will select wherever that pick lands, opening up the possibility of a playoff team being involved in the lottery.
For example, the Spurs owned the Raptors’ 2024 first-round pick, so San Antonio knew it would select wherever Toronto fell in the lottery in addition to its own pick. If a lottery team has traded its pick to another team with protections, the lottery result could determine whether the acquiring team receives the pick.
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NBA Draft order
The NBA Draft typically has 60 picks; 30 in the first round and 30 in the second round. Here is the order for the 2025 NBA Draft, which only has 59 picks because the Knicks had their second-round selection removed due to a tampering violation:
Round 1
| Round | Pick | Overall | Team |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1 | 4 | 4 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 1 | 5 | 5 | Utah Jazz |
| 1 | 6 | 6 | Washington Wizards |
| 1 | 7 | 7 | New Orleans Pelicans |
| 1 | 8 | 8 | Brooklyn Nets |
| 1 | 9 | 9 | Toronto Raptors |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | Houston Rockets (from Phoenix via Brooklyn) |
| 1 | 11 | 11 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1 | 12 | 12 | Chicago Bulls |
| 1 | 13 | 13 | Atlanta Hawks (from Sacramento) |
| 1 | 14 | 14 | San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta) |
| 1 | 15 | 15 | Oklahoma City Thunder (from Miami via LA Clippers) |
| 1 | 16 | 16 | Memphis Grizzlies (from Orlando) |
| 1 | 17 | 17 | Minnesota Timberwolves (from Detroit via New York, Oklahoma City, and Houston) |
| 1 | 18 | 18 | Washington Wizards (from Memphis) |
| 1 | 19 | 19 | Brooklyn Nets (from Milwaukee via New York, Detroit, Portland, and New Orleans) |
| 1 | 20 | 20 | Miami Heat (from Golden State) |
| 1 | 21 | 21 | Utah Jazz (from Minnesota) |
| 1 | 22 | 22 | Atlanta Hawks (from LA Lakers via New Orleans) |
| 1 | 23 | 23 | New Orleans Pelicans (from Indiana) |
| 1 | 24 | 24 | Oklahoma City Thunder (from LA Clippers) |
| 1 | 25 | 25 | Orlando Magic (from Denver) |
| 1 | 26 | 26 | Brooklyn Nets (from New York) |
| 1 | 27 | 27 | Brooklyn Nets (from Houston) |
| 1 | 28 | 28 | Boston Celtics |
| 1 | 29 | 29 | Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland via Utah) |
| 1 | 30 | 30 | LA Clippers (from Oklahoma City) |
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Round 2
| Round | Pick | Overall | Team |
| 2 | 1 | 31 | Minnesota Timberwolves (from Utah) |
| 2 | 2 | 32 | Boston Celtics (from Washington via Detroit and Brooklyn) |
| 2 | 3 | 33 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 2 | 4 | 34 | Charlotte Hornets (from New Orleans via San Antonio, Phoenix, and Memphis) |
| 2 | 5 | 35 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2 | 6 | 36 | Brooklyn Nets |
| 2 | 7 | 37 | Detroit Pistons (from Toronto via Dallas and San Antonio) |
| 2 | 8 | 38 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2 | 9 | 39 | Toronto Raptors (from Portland via Sacramento) |
| 2 | 10 | 40 | Washington Wizards (from Phoenix) |
| 2 | 11 | 41 | Golden State Warriors (from Miami via Brooklyn and Indiana) |
| 2 | 12 | 42 | Sacramento Kings (from Chicago via San Antonio) |
| 2 | 13 | 43 | Utah Jazz (from Dallas) |
| 2 | 14 | 44 | Oklahoma City Thunder (from Atlanta) |
| 2 | 15 | 45 | Chicago Bulls (from Sacramento) |
| 2 | 16 | 46 | Orlando Magic |
| 2 | 17 | 47 | Milwaukee Bucks (from Detroit via Washington) |
| 2 | 18 | 48 | Memphis Grizzlies (from Golden State via Washington and Brooklyn) |
| 2 | 19 | 49 | Cleveland Cavaliers (from Milwaukee) |
| 2 | 20 | 50 | New York Knicks (from Memphis via Oklahoma City and Boston) |
| 2 | 21 | 51 | LA Clippers (from Minnesota via Atlanta and Houston) |
| 2 | 22 | 52 | Phoenix Suns (from Denver via Charlotte and Minnesota) |
| 2 | 23 | 53 | Utah Jazz (from the LA Clippers via LA Lakers) |
| 2 | 24 | 54 | Indiana Pacers |
| 2 | 25 | 55 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2 | 26 | 56 | Memphis Grizzlies (from Houston)* |
| 2 | 27 | 57 | Orlando Magic (from Boston) |
| 2 | 28 | 58 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2 | 29 | 59 | Houston Rockets (from Oklahoma City via Atlanta)* |
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NBA Draft timeline
While the NBA Draft is a topic of discussion throughout the college basketball season and March Madness, the process begins in full at the early entry deadline.
Here was the timeline of key dates leading up to the 2025 NBA Draft:
- April 26: Early entry deadline
- May 11-18: NBA Draft Combine
- May 12: NBA Draft Lottery
- May 28: Early entrant withdrawal deadline
- June 15: International entrant withdrawal date
- June 25: NBA Draft first round
- June 26: NBA Draft second round
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NBA Draft changes over the years
The NBA Draft has been two rounds since 1989, but plenty of changes have taken place over the years. Here are the major moves:
- 1966: Territorial picks removed from draft
- 1984: NBA implements draft lottery
- 1988: Draft shortened from seven rounds to three
- 1989: Draft shortened to two rounds
- 1990: Draft lottery becomes weighted
- 2006: NBA raises minimum age requirement
- 2016: NCAA allows players to withdraw from draft and maintain eligibility
The earliest NBA Drafts included territorial picks, which gave teams the option to give up their first-round picks and instead select an eligible player within 50 miles of their home arena. In 1966, territorial picks were eliminated from the process.
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After flipping a coin to determine which team received the No. 1 pick for nearly two decades, the NBA implemented a draft lottery in 1984 in which each non-playoff team had an equal chance to receive the top selection. In 1990, the lottery became weighted so the worst teams had a better chance to land the No. 1 pick.
In 2006, the NBA raised its minimum age requirements to prevent teams from drafting players directly out of high school.
Another major change came in 2016 from the NCAA, which began allowing players to withdraw from the draft and return to school just weeks before the selections. Previously, any player who declared for the draft and went through the draft process could not retain eligibility.
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