About 2025 NBA Draft
Intro
The National Basketball Association (NBA) draft, which has taken place every year since 1947, is a highly anticipated occasion where teams choose qualified players to join the league. The draft pool has grown to include players from international leagues, the G-League Ignite team, and youth professional basketball leagues, despite historically being dominated by college players.
Players who have finished their four years of college eligibility are automatically eligible, whereas underclassmen and international players must declare their eligibility. Eligibility varies depending on the player's background. The terms "early entrants" and "early entry candidates" are frequently used to describe these individuals.
2025 NBA Draft Dates & Location
The National Basketball Association's 79th annual draft will take place in May 2025 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL.
NBA Draft Format
In the NBA draft, there are two rounds with 30 picks each. There are a total of 60 draft-eligible players chosen each year. Originally, each team was given two draft picks out of the 60 available, but now, teams are free to exchange their picks for players, additional picks, or cash. Teams frequently choose players from other teams.
Teams could choose as many players as they wanted before 1989. As a result, there were 21 rounds in the 1968 draft. To prevent this, since 1989, the draft has included two rounds. There will only be 58 picks in the draft this year as a result of the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers receiving fines for violating free agency rules by holding early negotiations with players.
Last year's (2024) NBA Draft Order
From the first pick in the first round to the 60th pick in the second round, picks are made in descending order. The draft lottery determines the draft's order. The 14 teams that failed to make the playoffs the previous year are eligible to participate in the draft lottery.
It is ideal for future stars to be selected by the teams with the worst records from the previous season before those with better records. To prevent teams from "tanking," or purposefully losing, to get the first pick, the draft lottery was instituted.
The chances of winning the lottery are equal for the bottom three teams (14%), while the chances of winning the top pick are decreasing for the fourth through 14th failed-to-make-playoffs teams. The 2024 NBA Draft order looks as shown in the table below:
| Round 1 | Pick | Team |
| 1 | 1 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1 | 2 | Washington Wizards |
| 1 | 3 | Houston Rockets (from Brooklyn) |
| 1 | 4 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1 | 5 | Detroit Pistons |
| 1 | 6 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 1 | 7 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1 | 8 | San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto) |
| 1 | 9 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 1 | 10 | Utah Jazz |
| 1 | 11 | Chicago Bulls |
| 1 | 12 | Oklahoma City Thunder (from Houston) |
| 1 | 13 | Sacramento Kings |
| 1 | 14 | Portland Trail Blazers (from Golden State to Memphis to Boston) |
| 1 | 15 | Miami Heat |
| 1 | 16 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1 | 17 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1 | 18 | Orlando Magic |
| 1 | 19 | Toronto Raptors (from Indiana) |
| 1 | 20 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1 | 21 | New Orleans Pelicans (from Milwaukee) |
| 1 | 22 | Phoenix Suns |
| 1 | 23 | Milwaukee Bucks (from New Orleans) |
| 1 | 24 | New York Knicks (from Dallas) |
| 1 | 25 | New York Knicks |
| 1 | 26 | Washington Wizards (from L.A. Clippers to Oklahoma City to Dallas) |
| 1 | 27 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 1 | 28 | Denver Nuggets |
| 1 | 29 | Utah Jazz (from Oklahoma City to Indiana to Toronto) |
| 1 | 30 | Boston Celtics |
| Round 2 | ||
| 2 | 31 | Toronto Raptors (from Detroit to L.A. Clippers to New York) |
| 2 | 32 | Utah Jazz (from Washington to Brooklyn to Detroit) |
| 2 | 33 | Milwaukee Bucks (from Portland via Sacramento) |
| 2 | 34 | Portland Trail Blazers (from Charlotte to New Orleans to Oklahoma City to Denver) |
| 2 | 35 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2 | 36 | Indiana Pacers (from Toronto to Memphis to L.A. Clippers to Philadelphia) |
| 2 | 37 | Minnesota Timberwolves (from Memphis to Oklahoma City to Washington to L.A. Lakers) |
| 2 | 38 | New York Knicks (from Utah) |
| 2 | 39 | Memphis Grizzlies (from Brooklyn via Houston) |
| 2 | 40 | Portland Trail Blazers (from Atlanta) |
| 2 | 41 | Philadelphia 76ers (from Chicago to New Orleans to San Antonio to Boston) |
| 2 | 42 | Charlotte Hornets (from Houston via Oklahoma City) |
| 2 | 43 | Miami Heat |
| 2 | 44 | Houston Rockets (from Golden State via Atlanta) |
| 2 | 45 | Sacramento Kings |
| 2 | 46 | Los Angeles Clippers (from Indiana to Milwaukee to Memphis) |
| 2 | 47 | Orlando Magic |
| 2 | 48 | San Antonio Spurs (from L.A. Lakers via Memphis) |
| 2 | Philadelphia 76ers (forfeited due to tampering violation) | |
| 2 | 49 | Indiana Pacers (from Cleveland) |
| 2 | 50 | Indiana Pacers (from New Orleans) |
| 2 | 51 | Washington Wizards (from Phoenix) |
| 2 | 52 | Golden State Warriors (from Milwaukee via Indiana) |
| 2 | 53 | Detroit Pistons (from New York to Charlotte to Philadelphia) |
| 2 | 54 | Boston Celtics (from Dallas via Sacramento) |
| 2 | 55 | Los Angeles Lakers (from L.A. Clippers) |
| 2 | 56 | Denver Nuggets (from Minnesota via Oklahoma City) |
| 2 | 57 | Memphis Grizzlies (from Oklahoma City to Atlanta to Houston) |
| 2 | Phoenix Suns (from Denver via Orlando; forfeited due to tampering violation) | |
| 2 | 58 | Dallas Mavericks (from Boston via Charlotte) |
2024 NBA Draft
| Draft Pick | Player Name | Team |
| Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 |
| 1. | Zaccharie Risacher | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2. | Alex Sarr | Washington Wizards |
| 3. | Reed Sheppard | Houston Rockets |
| 4. | Stephon Castle | San Antonio Spurs |
| 5. | Ron Holland | Detroit Pistons |
| 6. | Tidjane Satuan | Charlotte Hornets |
| 7. | Donovan Clingan | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 8. | Rob Dillingham | San Antonio Spurs |
| 9. | Zach Edey | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 10. | Cody Williams | Utah Jazz |
| 11. | Matas Buzelis | Chicago Bulls |
| 12. | Nikola Topic | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 13. | Devin Carter | Sacramento Kings |
| 14. | Bub Carrington | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 15. | Kel'el Ware | Miami Heat |
| 16. | Jared McCain | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 17. | Dalton Knecht | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 18. | Tristan da Silva | Orlando Magic |
| 19. | Ja'Kobe Walter | Toronto Raptors |
| 20. | Jaylon Tyson | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 21. | Yves Missi | New Orleans Pelicans |
| 22. | DaRon Holmes II | Phoenix Suns |
| 23. | AJ Johnson | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 24. | Kyshawn George | New York Knicks |
| 25. | Pacôme Dadiet | New York Knicks |
| 26. | Dillon Jones | Washington Wizards |
| 27. | Terrence Shannon Jr. | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 28. | Ryan Dunn | Denver Nuggets |
| 29. | Isaiah Collier | Utah Jazz |
| 30. | Baylor Scheierman | Boston Celtics |
| 31. | Jonathan Mogbo | Toronto Raptors |
| 32. | Kyle Filipowski | Utah Jazz |
| 33. | Tyler Smith | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 34. | Tyler Kolek | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 35. | Johnny Furphy | San Antonio Spurs |
| 36. | Juan Núnex | Indiana Pacers |
| 37. | Bobi Klintman | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 38. | Ajay Mitchell | New York Knicks |
| 39. | Jaylen Wells | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 40. | Oso Ighodaro | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 41. | Adem Bona | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 42. | KJ Simpson | Charlotte Hornets |
| 43. | Nikola Durisic | Miami Heat |
| 44. | Pelle Larsson | Houston Rockets |
| 45. | Jamal Shead | Sacramento Kings |
| 46. | Cam Christie | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 47. | Antonio Reeves | Orlando Magic |
| 48. | Harrison Ingram | San Antonio Spurs |
| Round Two | Round Two | Round Two |
| Philadephia 76ers (forfeited due to tampering violation) | ||
| 49. | Tristen Newton | Indiana Pacers |
| 50. | Enrique Freeman | Indiana Pacers |
| 51. | Melvin Ajinca | New York Knicks |
| 52. | QuintenPost | Golden State Warriors |
| 53. | Cam Spencer | Detroit Pistons |
| 54. | Anton Watson | Boston Celtics |
| 55. | Bronny James | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 56. | Kevin McCullar Jr. | Denver Nuggets |
| 57. | Ulrich Chomche | Memphis Grizzlies |
| Phoenix Suns (from Denver via Orlando; Forfoeted due to tampering violation) | ||
| 58. | Ariel Hukporti | Dallas Mavericks |
FAQs on NBA Draft
A. The National Basketball Association's 79th annual draft will take place in May 2025 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL.
A. Tickets for the NBA Draft 2025 can be purchased on the NBA Experiences website.
A. The order for the NBA Draft is determined through the draft lottery, with teams that missed the playoffs having higher chances of getting higher draft picks.
A. Cooper Flag can be the first pick for the NBA Draft 2025, as per NBA Mock Draft.
