The 2024 NBA draft, the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, will be held over two nights instead of one like previous drafts. This will be the first time the NBA draft was held on multiple nights since the NBA decided to shorten the NBA draft down to two rounds instead of as little as three or as much as seven rounds back in the late 1980s. The first round will be on June 26, 2024, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and the second round on June 27 at ESPN's Seaport District Studios in Manhattan. The second round will also expand the time between picks from two minutes to four.[1][2] For a third year in a row, the draft will consist of 58 picks instead of the typical 60, this time due to the loss of a second-round pick for both the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns for violating the NBA's tampering rules during free agency.[3][4] The first overall selection will be made by the Atlanta Hawks.
Draft picks
NOTE: Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.
Toronto acquired Bruce Brown Jr., Jordan Nwora, Kira Lewis Jr., Indiana's 2024 first-round pick, the least favorable of Utah's, L.A. Clippers', Houston's and Oklahoma City's 2024 first-round picks and a protected 2026 first-round pick
Indiana acquired Pascal Siakam and New Orleans' 2024 second-round pick
New Orleans acquired Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe, 2025 and 2027 first-round draft selections, right to swap 2024 first-round draft selections with Milwaukee, and right to swap 2026 first-round draft selections with Milwaukee
Oklahoma City acquired Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, 2022, 2024 and 2026 first-round selections, Miami's 2021 and 2023 first round selections, and right to swap first-round picks in 2023 and 2025
L.A. Clippers acquired the draft rights to Jay Scrubb, Luke Kennard, Justin Patton, Portland's 2023 second-round pick, and Detroit's 2024, 2025, and 2026 second-round picks
Washington acquired Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, the draft rights to Bilal Coulibaly, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2030 second-round picks, the right to swap first-round picks with Phoenix in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030, and cash considerations
The draft is conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's 2017 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its players' union, with special modifications agreed to by both parties due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous CBA that ended the 2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft, but it called for a committee of owners and players to discuss further charges.
All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players who were eligible for the 2024 NBA draft must have been born on or before December 31, 2005.
Since the 2016 draft, the following rules are, as implemented by the NCAA Division I council for that division:[51]
Declaration for the draft no longer results in automatic loss of college eligibility. As long as a player does not sign a contract with a professional team outside the NBA or sign with an agent, he retains college eligibility as long as he makes a timely withdrawal from the draft.
NCAA players now have 10 days after the end of the NBA Draft Combine to withdraw from the draft. Since the combine is normally held in mid-May, the current deadline is about five weeks after the previous mid-April deadline.
NCAA players may participate in the draft combine and are allowed to attend one tryout per year with each NBA team without losing college eligibility.
NCAA players may now enter and withdraw from the draft up to two times without loss of eligibility. Previously, the NCAA treated a second declaration of draft eligibility as a permanent loss of college eligibility.
Early entrants
Players who were not automatically eligible had to declare their eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than at least 60 days before the event. For the 2024 draft, the date fell on April 27. Under the CBA a player may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration deadline, which usually falls 10 days before the draft at 5:00 pm EDT (2100 UTC). Under current NCAA rules, players usually have until 10 days after the draft combine to withdraw from the draft and retain college eligibility. They must have withdrawn on or before May 29, 22 days prior to this draft.[49]
A player who has hired an agent for purposes of negotiating with professional teams[f] retains his remaining college eligibility regardless of whether he is drafted after an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee. Players who declare for the NBA draft and are not selected have the opportunity to return to their school for at least another year only after terminating all agreements with their agents,[g] who must have been certified.[52]
On May 2, 2024, 195 players were initially announced as early entry candidates.[53] By May 31, 93 collegiate and Overtime Elite-based players withdrew from consideration.[54]
Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
They have no remaining college eligibility.
If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated.
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team not in the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under the contract.
Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
They are at least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In term of dates players born on or before December 31, 2002, are automatically eligible for the 2024 draft.
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team not in the NBA within the United States, and have played under that contract.
Invited attendees
The NBA annually invites players to sit in the so-called "green room", a special room set aside at the draft site for the invited players plus their families and agents. However, due to the new nature of the NBA draft taking place for two straight days instead of just one whole day, the NBA will look to give out invites in multiple waves instead of in just one big pile like they used to do so. The first wave was reported on June 11, with twelve players confirmed to be involved in the initial invitation process.[55]
In addition to them, Canadian center Zach Edey from Purdue University was also given an invite, but he declined traveling in order to watch the NBA draft at his alma mater with his family.[57]
Notes
^New Orleans exercised its right to defer conveyance of this pick until 2025.[14]
^San Antonio received the pick since it was outside the top 6. Toronto would have retained the pick had it stayed inside of the top 6.
^Utah kept their pick since it was inside the top 10. Oklahoma City would have received the pick had it gone outside of the top 10.
^Oklahoma City received the pick since it was outside the top 4. Houston would have retained the pick had it moved up into the top 4.
^Portland received the pick since it was outside the top 4. Golden State would have retained the pick had it moved up into the top 4.
^Due to changes in rules regarding student athlete compensation in the 2020s, players can hire agents to manage appearances and endorsements while retaining college athletic eligibility.
^Specifically agents hired to negotiate with professional teams. Relationships with agents hired for other purposes are not affected.
^"Pacers Acquire Caris LeVert". National Basketball Association. January 16, 2021. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
^ ab"Lakers Acquire Maxwell Lewis". NBA.com. June 23, 2023. Los Angeles received Lewis from the Denver Nuggets and traded Mojave King (47th overall pick) and cash considerations to the Indiana Pacers.
^"Thunder Acquires Cason Wallace and Keyontae Johnson". NBA.com. June 23, 2023. Separately, as part of a four-team trade, the Thunder acquired a protected 2029 first-round pick from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for the draft rights to Hunter Tyson (37th overall) and the least favorable 2024 second-round pick of Minnesota and Charlotte. As part of this transaction, the Thunder sends the Indiana Pacers the least favorable of its four 2024 first-round draft picks.