The NBA Draft takes place on Thursday, June 21st at 7 PM Eastern/6 PM Central. This is the time when young men’s dreams are made in donning that cap of their new professional team. The series will cover the following: Draft Basics and NFL Comparison, Round 1 Prospects and Round 2 Prospects.
NBA Draft Basics:
As mentioned, there are 2 Rounds of 30 picks each – 60 picks. Every team has a selection based on record at the back end of the draft and then the Bottom 13 fall into the NBA Lottery. For more information on how the NBA Lottery works, check out my post on May 15th: http://wegspool.com/2018/05/15/nba-lottery-what-is-it-how-does-it-work/
- 2018 Draft Order – the Draft Order was set at the NBA lottery. See the Order Below:
http://www.tankathon.com/full_draft - Trades Are Common: NBA Teams are allowed to trade their picks before or during the Draft to move up or down for actual players, which is more common or future considerations and picks.
- This year’s draft will be held at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY
History of the NBA Draft:
According to Wikipedia, the NBA Draft started in 1947 in the BAA or Basketball Association of America. The purpose of the draft was to control salaries and get exclusive rights to the new players entering the league. In the past, there were many more rounds of the draft, up to 21, which is a complete difference from the 2 rounds today. In 1989, the league moved to the 2 Round system to allow the undrafted free agents a chance to pick the teams to try out for. Where as in the early days, every single prospect would be selected by all the teams. As mentioned in the past post, the NBA Lottery began in 1985, which really changed how the top of the Draft looked. In fact, it seems like the NBA Lottery gets more publicity than the Draft itself at times, since the getting that top prospect is so critical in the NBA. Why? You may ask. Well, let’s look at the last 11 years worth of MVPs in the league:
2018 – James Harden – 3rd Pick 2009
2017 – Russell Westbrook – 4th Pick 2008
2016 – Steph Curry – 7th Pick 2009
2015 – Steph Curry – 7th Pick 2009
2014 – Kevin Durant – 2nd Pick 2007
2013 – Lebron James – 1st Pick 2003
2012 – Lebron James – 1st Pick 2003
2011 – Derrick Rose – 1st Pick 2008
2010 – Lebron James – 1st Pick 2003
2009 – Lebron James – 1st Pick 2003
2008 – Kobe Bryant – 13th Pick 1996
Only one of the MVPs in the past 11 years was picked out of the Top 10, and that was Kobe who was a high schooler coming into the league, which was just starting to happen.
Now, there have been plenty of busts at the top of the NBA Draft. Even before all the push to draft high schoolers was happening, there have been colossal mistakes at the tops of drafts. Teams have missed on players like the famous Portland pick of Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in 1984 or even Greg Oden over Kevin Durant in 2007. The NBA Draft is really a lot of fun, and since it is not long, you can stay tuned in pretty easily.
The NBA differs from the NFL Draft in 4 fundamental ways:
- Much Shorter Evaluation Process: The NFL Draft which took place in April is really a culmination in years of evaluation of prospects from their 3 years in college on the field, their all star game performance and practices, the NFL Combine and finally Pro Days. For the NBA, first the players only have to be in college or out of high school for 1 year. That means the actual tape on a player is a lot less and de facto less important than measurements. However, the NBA does have a combine, but unlike the NFL, the NBA scouts give a lot less weight to the amount a player can bench or perform an agility drill. Basketball is a game of skill, and so the pro days or private workouts a player has really determine the lions share of a player’s stock.
- NBA Based On Potential over Performance: The two sports also differ fundamentally in that the NFL needs players now to perform on the field. A number 1 draft pick in the NFL is expected to start in Year 1 (with the exception of some QBs). However, in the NBA, much like NFL QBs, the teams are projecting a player onto the next level and his future ability. You hear this term a lot in fantasy sports, but the NBA is really about drafting “Ceiling” players, which means players with a high “ceiling” or potential. The NFL does look at a player’s ceiling, but their “Floor” is more important, especially early in the Draft. A “floor” player is someone who has limited downside and will be a solid player in the league. Yes, the NBA will look at the floor of a player, but for the most part, especially early in Round 1, the Ceiling a player has is the most important thing. Really, that makes sense, as in basketball, one player can completely change a franchise. Everyone wants to draft the next Lebron James or Michael Jordan. A player who will take the team to the title. In the NFL, one player cannot really do that, with the exception of some QBs and that is why the QB Ceiling is more important than floor like other positions. Also, the players in the NBA Draft are extremely young, like 18 or 19 years old in some cases. So, teams are really gambling on what they can be over what they have done.
- Limited Talent Drafted: The NBA Draft consists of only 2 rounds that is just 60 players. The NFL drafts over 250. The number of players that actually play in the NBA is tiny compared to the NFL. As such, the value of a draft pick can be extremely high. However, the talent pool coming into to the NBA in a given year is not usually 60 deep, meaning it is rare that all or even a vast majority of Top 60 players even make NBA rosters. That is why I believe the NBA is the toughest league to play in the world. There are many more basketball players in the world than football players and much less slots available. So, the demand for talent is extremely high in the NBA, but elite talent is tough to come by.
- NBA Draft is an International Affair: The NBA has grown so much overseas, especially after the original Dream Team in 1992, that the influx of foreign players is massive. The NFL may have a handful of players who were foreign born or spent time overseas, but it cannot compare the NBA. The leagues in Europe are well established and produce NBA-caliber talent year in and year out. The NBA is really an international game, not just in terms of viewership, but the split of players has grown consistently.
This is a relatively short post, but tomorrow we will dig into the players to watch in Round 1 and the Team Needs.
Until then.
Wegs