The 2013 NBA Draft date is Thursday, June 27, 2013. InsideHoops.com, as always, will provide full coverage of all aspects of the event.

The player who was thought to be — and still may be — the No. 1 choice is Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel. But in his one season with the Wildcats, Noel played just 24 games before his season ended with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

He skipped playing at the NBA Draft combine and his slightly built frame and raw abilities, coupled with the injury questions, make him a mystery. The name Sam Bowie, an all-time draft day disaster, has been raised in comparison thanks to Bowie’s well-chronicled leg problems that the Portland Trailblazers ignored, and still plucked him for need with the No. 2 overall pick in 1984 — one spot ahead of Michael Jordan. But no more certain is the second choice, who was thought to be Kansas’ shooting guard Ben McLemore, but now may be Indiana’s Victor Oladipo or Georgetown’s Otto Porter. Or it could be Maryland’s 7-foot-1 center Alex Len — except that Len could be the No. 1 choice. -- Bergen Record

The certainties in that free-agent free for all are not far from the amount of certainty about the top of the draft. Noel, McLemore, Porter, Oladipo, Len and UNLV’s Anthony Bennett will make up the top six spots. Then it is fast-rising, small school or injury-rehabbing talent that will put general managers on the edge of their seats — hoping to find as something close to a sure thing as they can, something that they can explain to their own bosses and fan base. -- Bergen Record

With Thursday’s NBA Draft quickly approaching, sources within the Cavs insisted Tuesday that their draft board was not yet set and the team hadn’t decided yet who to take with the No. 1 overall pick. None of the options are a terrific fit and almost anyone the Cavs take will start the season coming off the bench. Maryland’s Alex Len and Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel remain the top big men available, but the Cavs have seemed cool on Noel throughout the draft process. ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford continues to believe the Cavs will take him, but admitted in a conference call Tuesday it was a guess and he was simply “reading the tea leaves.” Ford believes the choice has been narrowed to Len, Noel and UNLV’s Anthony Bennett. A few executives polled around the league believe the choice will come down to Len or Noel. -- Akron Beacon Journal

There are concerns regarding the top three big men in this draft. Noel can’t score outside of the paint and is incredibly limited offensively. It would be difficult for the Cavs to play Noel alongside Tristan Thompson, who also has limited range on offense. That pairing puts a significant amount of pressure on the backcourt to carry the scoring load. -- Akron Beacon Journal

KEY 2013 NBA DRAFT INFO
2013 NBA Draft Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn NY
2013 NBA Draft Date: Thursday, June 27, 2013
2013 NBA Draft Start time: 7pm ET

KEY 2013 NBA DRAFT LINKS
- NBA Draft Order
- 2013 NBA Draft Lottery info, date, time
- Ties broken for 2013 NBA Draft order
- 2013 NBA Draft Early Entry Players List
- NBA Draft Blog
- NBA Draft Forum
MUCH more coming soon

LAST YEAR'S NBA DRAFT

The final NBA Draft early entry list came out June 19.

As always, InsideHoops.com has an NBA mock draft. It was most recently updated on June 27, 2012.

“We are pleased the Draft is returning to the City of Newark,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “Prudential Center is state-of-the-art, and we look forward to working with city officials and the arena's staff to produce another memorable event for our fans.”

“Since the opening of the Prudential Center in 2007, Newark has established itself as an all-American sports city and a premier center for basketball,” said Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker. “Newark has hosted the New Jersey Nets, Seton Hall Pirates, the WNBA Liberty, last year’s March Madness and now, for the second year in a row, we will welcome the excitement and energy of the NBA Draft. The world is recognizing that ‘Newark’s got game!’”

“We are excited to have the NBA Draft back in Newark and at Prudential Center,” said Jeff Vanderbeek, Chairman and Managing Partner Devils Arena Entertainment. “Hosting such a prestigious event for the second consecutive year is further testament to success of last year’s draft and the popularity of the Rock.”

The NBA Draft became a public event in 1979, and was held in various venues in New York City through 1991. It was held in Portland in 1992, followed by Detroit (1993), Indianapolis (1994), Toronto (1995), East Rutherford, N.J. (1996), Charlotte (1997), Vancouver (1998), Washington D.C. (1999) and Minneapolis (2000). The NBA Draft returned to New York City from 2001 to 2010, before moving to Prudential Center in 2011.

InsideHoops.com will be at the draft to provide full coverage. As for previews, in addition to our NBA mock draft we'll be rolling out features around June 16-19 to get you ready for the big annual selection process.

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2011 NBA DRAFT PREVIEW

The 2011 NBA Draft is Thursday, June 23 at The Prudential Center in Newark. It's usually in the threatre in Madison Square Garden in New York, but MSG is undergoing summer renovations for the next few summers, so the event moved to Newark, which is just 30 minutes from Manhattan.

The NBA Draft "green room" invitees -- players the NBA expects will be drafted in or very close to the lottery -- are Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter, Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker, Jonas Valanciunas, Jan Vesely, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Singleton, Klay Thompson, Tristan Thompson, Jimmer Fredette, Marcus Morris and Alec Burks. This according to ESPN on June 18, 2011.

Our NBA mock draft, last updated Saturday, June 18, is up and will be updated again Sunday or Monday. Kyrie Irving is still likely to go #1 overall, but Derrick Williams has a great shot at it as well. It's possible the Cavs might take Williams first, then the best available point guard with their #4 pick. Can't wait to find out!

As of May 19, 2011 here's the full NBA Draft order of team selections.

The 2011 NBA Draft Lottery was Tuesday, May 17. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the first pick, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves at no.2 and the Utah Jazz at no.3. Full results are in that link.

The 2011 NBA Draft Combine is May 18-22 in Chicago. Select invited players do physical and athletic testing, and some basketball drills.

According to InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner on June 20, 2011, "the 2011 NBA Draft may turn out to be the weakest in years and is not expected to produce very many players worthy of starting, or even being in a good team's rotation in the near future. Of course, each year features pleasant surprises and players who exceed expectations. And it's also best to not judge a draft until the players have gotten a few years of experience. But a bunch of the prospects with a chance to make an instant impact in the NBA wound up staying in college another year, rather than going pro right before a probable NBA lockout."

Check back soon for increased 2011 NBA Draft coverage. We've been doing this for over a decade. Our info on the event are always on point and reliable.

Ties Broken For NBA Draft 2011 Order of Selection
April 15, 2011

Three ties among teams that finished the 2010-11 NBA regular season with identical records were broken today through random drawings to help determine the order of selection for the 2011 NBA Draft, which will be held on Thursday, June 23 at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

The drawings were conducted earlier today in New York City at the Board of Governors meeting by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The results of the drawings:

- Sacramento (24-58) won a tiebreaker with New Jersey.
- New Orleans (46-36) won a tiebreaker with Memphis.
- Dallas (57-25) won a tiebreaker with the Los Angeles Lakers

Attached is the order of selection for the 2011 NBA Draft, as well as the number of chances for teams in the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery, to be held May 17, at the NBA Entertainment studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

2011 FIRST ROUND NBA DRAFT CHOICE ORDER

The teams entered in the lottery, to be held on May 17, 2011, are as follows (note: the first three picks in the Draft will be determined by the lottery and the remainder of the “lottery teams” will select in positions 4 through 14 in inverse order of their consolidated standings at the end of the regular season):

TEAM RECORD LOTTERY CHANCES (out of 1,000)
Minnesota 17-65 250
Cleveland 19-63 199
Toronto 22-60 156
Washington 23-59 119
Sacramento 24-58 76
New Jersey (To Utah) 24-58 75
Detroit 30-52 43
LA Clippers (To Cleveland) 32-50 28
Charlotte 34-48 17
Milwaukee 35-47 11
Golden State 36-46 8
Utah 39-43 7
Phoenix 40-42 6
Houston 43-39 5

ORDER FOR REMAINDER OF NBA DRAFT FIRST ROUND PICKS

15. Indiana 37-45
16. Philadelphia 41-41
17. New York 42-40
18. Atlanta (To Washington) 44-38
19. New Orleans (To Charlotte via Portland) 46-36
20. Memphis (To Minnesota via Utah) 46-36
21. Portland 48-34
22. Denver 50-32
23. Orlando (To Houston via Phoenix) 52-30
24. Oklahoma City 55-27
25. Boston 56-26
26. Dallas 57-25
27. LA Lakers (To New Jersey) 57-25
28. Miami (To Chicago via Toronto) 58-24
29. San Antonio 61-21
30. Chicago 62-20

2011 SECOND ROUND NBA DRAFT CHOICE ORDER

31. Minnesota (To Miami)
32. Cleveland
33. Toronto (To Detroit)
34. Washington
35/36. New Jersey
35/36. Sacramento
37. Detroit (To LA Clippers)
38. LA Clippers (To Houston)
39. Charlotte
40. Milwaukee
41. Golden State (To LA Lakers via New Jersey)
42. Indiana
43. Utah (To Chicago or to Golden State via Chicago)
44. Phoenix (To Chicago or to Golden State via Chicago)
45. Philadelphia (To New Orleans)
46. New York (To LA Lakers)
47. Houston (To LA Clippers)
48. Atlanta
49. Memphis
50. New Orleans (To Philadelphia)
51. Portland
52. Denver
53. Orlando
54. Oklahoma City (To Cleveland via Miami)
55. Boston
56. LA Lakers
57. Dallas
58. Miami (To LA Lakers)
59. San Antonio
60. Chicago (To Sacramento via Milwaukee)

*Please note that teams that finished the regular season with identical records will select in the second round in the reverse of the order in which they select in the first round. With respect to the tie between New Jersey and Sacramento (35 and 36): since the order of selection in the first round for this set of teams may change based on the results of the Draft Lottery, the order of selection in the second round cannot be determined until after the Draft Lottery is conducted (on May 17, 2011).

(1) This pick may be conveyed to Detroit via Denver.
(2) This pick may be conveyed to Portland or to Detroit.

FULL 2011 NBA DRAFT COVERAGE COMING SOON

InsideHoops.com is diving into full 2011 NBA Draft coverage around April 16-19. Check back soon.

The 2010 NBA Draft will be held Thursday, June 24 at its usual spot, Madison Square Garden theatre in New York City.

For NBA draft information (previews, mock, more), scroll down below our NBA Draft Blog, which will be updated live and direct from the 2010 Draft as it happens.

LIVE 2010 NBA DRAFT BLOG

LIVE UNEDITED FIRST ROUND NBA DRAFT NOTES

Congrats to John Wall, who as expected was selected #1 overall by the Washington Wizards. It'll be fun to see him and Gilbert Arenas next to each other.

And as expected, Evan Turner was taken #2 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. He and Andre Iguodala are similar in some ways but should work well together, though it would be nice if their point guard could extend the floor with good outside shooting.

At 7:47pm some fans got a "Lets' go Nets!" chant started, as we sit waiting for New Jersey's pick.

AT 7:48pm, some "Jeff Van Gundy!" chants broke out. These fans are fun.

The New Jersey Nets took power forward Derrick Favors at #3. He'll make a good sidekick to center Brook Lopez. Tough to say if he'll start right away, though. Hopefully, for NJ. Yi Jianlian belongs in the reserves.

With the 4th pick, the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Wesley Johnson, who can play small forward next to Kevin Love and Al Jefferson. He's rocking some plaid pants. Some "lifestyle" reporter will surely ask him about them later.

At #5, the Kings took center DeMarcus Cousins, who fills a need, especially with Spencer Hawes gone. Jason Thompson has potential. Sacramento is a low key town, so maybe it'll help Cousins stay focused.

The Golden State Warriors at #6 took Ekpe Udoh, who gave David Stern a great big hug on stage. Aww. A tremendous shot-blocker who can rebound but needs to add strength and develop his offense.

At #7 the Detroit Pistons took super-passing big-man Greg Monroe, a forward who can maybe develop into a good undersized center someday, though he's probably best served staying at the four.

At #8, Al-Farouq Aminu and his cool glasses were selected by the Los Angeles Clippers. He's a long, athletic small forward with a good handle who needs to keep improving his shooting. The dude's family has an interesting background.

With the 9th overall pick, the Utah Jazz did something they've never done before and added a white dude to the roster, selecting lanky small forward Gordon Hayward. He'll probably be a role player who can help off the bench after a few months in a gym.

At #10 the Indiana Pacers selected Paul George, who may turn into a rich man's Jamario Moon. The kid shoots well, can defend, and is extremely athletic.

With #11 the New Orleans Hornets took defensive-minded center Cole Aldrich, who can stand tall while backing up undersized center Emeka Okafor. The team may wind up eventually dealing Okafor, if Aldrich turns out to be worthy of starting someday.

At #12 the Memphis Grizzlies added to their backcourt by taking shooting guard Xavier Henry. With OJ Mayo looking to transformm into a point guard, Henry has a chance to contribute and toss in buckets.

Will the Toronto Raptors lose (or sign-and-trade) Chris Bosh? Regardless, at #13 they've added help at the four with Ed Davis, son of Terry Davis. The kid rebounds.

With the #14 pick the Houston Rockets added to their frontcourt, taking Patrick Patterson, who adds at the four spot. The health of Yao Ming is what dictates how important Patterson, very capable starter Luis Scola and just about everyone else up front is.

At #15, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Larry Sanders. Bucks guard Brandon Jennings, sitting near me a few rows from the stage, gave a standing ovation as the pick was announced.

With #16, the Minnesota Timberwolves added a scoring forward in the form of Luke Babbitt. Playing more like a three than a four, Babbit tested well at the NBA Draft Combine.

UPDATE: Will Babbitt be traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in a deal involving Ryan Gomes? ESPN reports rumblings.

At #17 the Chicago Bulls took the first player to be sitting in the stands rather than one of the "green room" tables up front fairly close to the stage, selecting Kevin Seraphin.

The Bulls and Wizards earlier agreed to a trade that involves Kirk Hinrich and others, including this pick. So, Seraphin at #17 will actually wind up going to Washington when the trade becomes official on July 8.

At #18, the Oklahoma City Thunder took scoring guard Eric Bledsoe. He can learn under Russell Westbrook, who was also a scorer that has turned out to be a pretty damn good point guard. Bledsoe played the point in high school but in college had to be at the two.

Fans have broken into "Jeff Van Gundy!" chants on and off throughout the draft.

At #19 the Boston celtics gave Rajon Rondo a nice backup, adding Avery Bradley, a scorer in a point guard's body.

With #20, the San Antonio Spurs added a backup shooting guard in James Anderson. Manu Ginobili is up there in age.

At 21, the Thunder took Craig Brackins. Elliot Williams went 22 to the Trail Blazers. Trevor Booker went 23 to Minnesota. Damion James went 24 to Atlanta. Dominique Jones went 25 to Memphis. Quincy Pondexter went 26 to Oklahoma City. Jordan Crawford went 27 to New Jersey. Greivis Vasquez went 28 to Memphis. Daniel Orton went 29 to Orlando. And Lazar Hayward was the final pick in the first round, going 30 to Washington.

With the first round over, David Stern is done for the night, and Adam Silver takes over. Fans in New York always chant for Silver, who usually unleashes a huge smile in response. And a few picks into the second round, fans took it further, chanting "Sexy Silver" at Adam.

Full NBA draft analysis, roundups, winners and losers, surprises, sescond round results and more coming late Thursday niht and all day Friday.

PRE-DRAFT

5:30PM ET: I will arrive at the NBA Draft about an hour before it begins. I'll check in, look around, say hello to a few familiar faces, rush to a cargo storage-like area of the building where very bad food is served to the media, shake it off, and then begin live Draft observations and opinions as the results unfold.

UPDATE: As expected, the food was not edible. For some reason whoever is responsible for feeding the media in the MSG Theatre just buys old-looking, cheap pasta that looks like it fell on the floor. I didn't eat. Just grabbed some bottled waters.

For a good time, watch the Draft on ESPN and keep this page open in your browser all night, reloading us regularly.

4pm ET: New York City weather is great in June, but for the last few years it's been hot and humid out right around NBA Draft time. As a New Yorker, this disappoints me. I want visitors to my fine city to enjoy themselves. So this afternoon I wasn't surprised to see it suddenly rain very hard while extremely strong wind blew it in all directions. All I could think was to picture NBA draft prospects and their families out in Manhattan getting soaked. Imagine those wacky hats some grandmas of the players wear getting all ruined. Damn shame. But the good news is, the awful downpour was brief and lasted maybe 30 minutes. Then the sun came back out (and eventual clouds) and it went back to just being a regular hot, humid yet tolerable day.

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NBA DRAFT INFORMATION

In the annual NBA Draft (usually takes place in late June), NBA teams select players who have never actually played in the league, and gain the contract rights of each player they pick. There are two rounds in the NBA draft and 30 teams in the league, so there are 30 first round picks and 30 second round picks. Any player selected in the NBA draft first round receives a guaranteed multi-year contract. Players selected in the second round of the NBA draft receive no such guarantee, and the team that chose them gets to take time and decide whether to sign them, keep their draft rights but not actually sign them just yet, trade their rights to another team, or just give up their rights and let the player go. The NBA draft is the hottest event of the basketball year aside from the Finals and playoffs. InsideHoops.com provides full NBA draft previews, live coverage and recaps.

June 24: The NBA draft is today! Hit the NBA Draft preview for a general overview of this year's event, the key players that are expected to matter, and more.

June 23: Our 2010 NBA mock draft is updated. Check it out! It gives you a good sense of where most players are projected to be selected.

June 15: The 2010 NBA Draft early entry list is final. Underclassmen are now either in or out. Click to see who stayed in and who pulled out. More info.

May 18: The 2010 NBA Draft Lottery is today. The 26th annual edition of the NBA Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2010 NBA Draft. Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a drum. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Prior to the Lottery, 1,000 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating Lottery teams by a computer. More info.

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NBA Draft 2009

Key 2009 NBA Draft dates: NBA Early Entry Eligibility Deadline is April 26. The NBA Draft Lottery is May 19. The NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline is June 15. The 2009 NBA Draft is June 25.

June 18, 2009: InsideHoops.com's 2009 NBA mock draft is updated. First round is done. First round bubble players and upper second round coming in the next few days.

June 16, 2009: The official list of 2009 NBA draft underclassmen early entry list is here, showing who stayed in and who withdrew.

May 27-29, 2009: The NBA Draft Combine is underway. This event replaces the pre-draft camp. They're similar, except while the pre-draft camp featured games played by lesser players (the top players always sat out), the 2009 Combine has no games at all, just drills and measurements.

May 20, 2009: The NBA draft order is official.

May 19, 2009: The NBA Draft Lottery took place Tuesday night. The Los Angeles Clippers beat the odds to win the first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. The Memphis Grizzlies won pick #2, the Oklahoma City Thunder got #3, the Sacramento Kings received #4, the Washington Wizards have #5, and the Minnesota Timberwolves got #6.

May 18, 2009: The 2009 NBA Draft Lottery, where ping-pong balls supplant basketballs as the tools of determining supremacy, will be held on Tuesday, May 19, at the NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The 24th annual edition of the NBA Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of 2009 NBA Draft. Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a drum. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Prior to the Lottery, 1,000 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating Lottery teams by a computer. Read more.

2008 NBA DRAFT

The 2008 NBA Draft resulted in the Bulls (#1 overall pick) getting their point guard of the future in Derrick Rose. The Heat (#2) added scoring, rebounding forward Michael Beasley. The Timberwolves (#3) got guard O.J. Mayo, but then traded him to the Grizzlies for #5 pick Kevin Love and talented swingman Mike Miller (more players were involved in deal). And the Sonics #4, in need of a point guard they can trust, took Russell Westbrook, a player who shot up the prospect rankings list over the last few weeks. The Grizzlies (#5) took Love and then traded him in the above deal.

October 20, 2009: The Boston Globe reports: "A Western Conference scouting executive recently gave the Globe his top five American college stars to keep an eye on this season: Oklahoma sophomore forward Blake Griffin, Arizona State sophomore guard James Harden, Gonzaga sophomore forward Austin Daye (son of ex-Celtic Darren Daye), Connecticut junior center Hasheem Thabeet, and Louisville junior forward Earl Clark. Asked about Thabeet, the executive said, "He has a feel for the game. He has to keep playing basketball. He's young to the game. Teams will covet his athleticism, size, and shot blocking. But he hasn't played a lot of basketball. He's more athletic than you imagine. He moves a little bit like Andrew Bynum does." The executive also said the top international prospect is DKV Joven guard Ricky Rubio, who made a name for himself playing for Spain in the Olympics."

Forward Danilo Gallinari, the only prominent international player in the Draft, went #6 to the Knicks. At #7, the Clippers added much-needed scoring punch in the backcourt by taking Eric Gordon -- though, they still need a point guard. At #8, the Bucks, who recently traded for Richard Jefferson, added super-athletic forward Joe Alexander. AT #9, the Bobcats, who needed point guard depth regardless of how they feel about Raymond Felton, took the Draft's best floor general not named Derrick Rose and selected tiny D.J. Augustin. At #10, the Nets got what many feel is a steal, taking the Draft's best center, Brook Lopez, who was expected to go no lower than #9. At #11, the Pacers, who need a point guard, got Jerryd Bayless, a scorer who insists he can be a true NBA point guard. At #12, the Kings took Jason Thompson much higher than he was projected (14-20something). At #13 the Blazers selected Brandon Rush, whose outside shooting can compliment Brandon Roy's game. And at #14, the final pick of the so-called "lottery" area, the Warriors selected skinny, versatile forward Anthony Randolph.

There's year-round Draft discussion on the InsideHoops NBA Draft Forum.

Check out the full 2008 NBA Draft results. And equally important is the list of transactions -- including all the Draft day trades that are now official.

Here is brief analysis of the first 15 picks blogged live from the Draft as it happened. It's raw and unedited, and will remain that way. The fun of blogging.

Also, Scott "The Talent" Spangler blogged throughout the entire Draft, with results, quick analysis, fun comments and more.

One surprise in this year's draft was the fall of Darrell Arthur. Word is, it was because of a scare about his kidney's health. He still went first round (#27 to the Hornets, though he's being traded), so Arthur has officially made the NBA (unlike second round picks, who are drafted but aren't actually signed to a contract unless their team decides to offer them one).

More reviews of the 2008 NBA Draft coming to InsideHoops.com Saturday night and all day Sunday.

EVENTS LEADING TO 2008 NBA DRAFT

The 2008 NBA Draft is on June 26 and once again takes place in the Theatre of Madison Square Garden in New York City. Each year the Draft is possibly the single biggest day of the entire basketball year, aside from the day a team wins the championship and maybe the NBA trade deadline. In the NBA Draft, teams select new players who are entering the NBA for the first time. They mostly come from American colleges, and some come from overseas. High school basketball players are no longer allowed to jump straight to the NBA.

June 23: The Draft prospects invited by the NBA for the annual day-before-draft special media session (the players who are also invited to the Draft's 'Green Room") are: Joe Alexander (West Virginia), Darrell Arthur (Kansas), DJ Augustin (Texas), Jerryd Bayless (Arizona), Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Danilo Gallinari (Italy), Eric Gordon (Indiana), DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M;), Brook Lopez (Stanford), Robin Lopez (Stanford), Kevin Love (UCLA), OJ Mayo (USC), Anthony Randolph (LSU), Derrick Rose (Memphis), Brandon Rush (Kansas) and Russell Westbrook (UCLA). What this means is the league expects these guys to be taken before the majority of other players. But every year there are always a few guys that drop lower than expected, a few players not on this list that go higher than expected, and it's quite possible that at least one of those players drops much further than expected.

June 23: The InsideHoops.com NBA Mock Draft shows what may happen if the draft was today. It's updated regularly. Prospect profiles, rankings by position and much more in-depth stuff coming soon.

May 27-30 was the 2008 NBA pre-draft camp. The NBA (via feedback from teams around the league) invite players who are the best candidates to get drafted. Though, players who consider themselves "locks" to go upper first round usually skip the camp and only attend it to shake some hands and let the league take their official measurements (height, weight, vertical leap, etc.). The players who attend and actually participate go through four days of drills and game scrimmages. Click the link to see who stood out

May 21: Here's the official 2008 first and second round NBA Draft order.

May 20: The 2008 NBA Draft Lottery was on Monday, May 20. That's the day the order of the first 14 picks in the NBA Draft are selected (surely you've heard about the ping pong balls). Teams that don't make the playoffs are called "lottery teams," because those teams get entered into the lottery, where the teams with the worst record have the best chance at getting the #1 pick. The results are in, and the Bulls beat the odds to get the #1 pick. The Sonics fell to the #4 pick.

May 1: The NBA Draft underclassmen early entry list was released, showing which college players who are not yet seniors, and which young international players, have declared themselves eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft. College underclassmen who have not signed with an agent and have not otherwise ruined their draft eligibility have until June 16 to withdraw from the Draft and return to college. The deadline is the same for young international players, who can return to doing whatever they're doing overseas (usually playing professionally already).

Aside from the official camp mentioned above, there's also the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (or P.I.T.), which the NBA recognizes, but does not actually run. That camp is only for college seniors. And the good seniors who think they're locks to be drafted usually skip it, so the players involved at Portsmouth are usually just second round hopefuls. Most won't get drafted.


NBA DRAFT PLAYER RANKINGS
Updated June 1, 2008

PG: 1) Derrick Rose, 2) Jerryd Bayless, 3) DJ Augustin, 4) Russell Westbrook, 5) Mario Chalmers

SG: 1) OJ Mayo, 2) Eric Gordon, 3) Brandon Rush, 4) Chris Douglas-Roberts, 5) Courtney Lee

SF: 1) Anthony Randolph, 2) Danilo Gallinari, 3) Joe Alexander, 4) Donte Green, 5) Nicolas Batum

PF: 1) Michael Beasley, 2) Kevin Love, 3) Darrell Arthur, 4) Marreese Speights, 5) JJ Hickson

C: 1) Brook Lopez, 2) DeAndre Jordan, 3) JaVale McGee, 4) Kosta Koufos, 5) Robin Lopez

InsideHoops.com is your source for complete 2008 NBA Draft coverage

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2007 NBA DRAFT COVERAGE

The 2007 NBA Draft is June 28 in the theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This year's event features two highly-desired superstars in big-man Greg Oden and tall, lanky Devin Durant, and plenty of talent available from picks three down to a bit past the middle of the first round. Aside from those two players, who are almost guaranteed to be the first and second overall picks, the 2007 NBA Draft also features Joakim Noah, Al Thornton, Mike Conley, a tall Chinese propect named Yi Jianlian, Julian Wright, Jeff Green and other potential difference-makers.

NBA Draft Green Room Invitees: Corey Brewer (Florida), Michael Conley (Ohio St.), Kevin Durant (Texas), Jeff Green (Georgetown), Spencer Hawes (Washington), Al Horford (Florida), Yi Jianlian (China), Acie Law IV (Texas A&M;), Joakim Noah (Florida), Greg Oden (Ohio St.), Rodney Stuckey (Eastern Washington), Al Thornton (Florida St.), Brandan Wright (North Carolina), Julian Wright (Kansas), Nick Young (USC).

Talk with other NBA Draft enthusiasts on the InsideHoops NBA Draft Forum. Enjoy year-round draft talk.

On June 19 the final, official NBA Draft early entry list was released, naming underclassmen who have declared themselves eligible for the NBA Draft as well as players who had declared early entry but have withdrawn. Players had until June 18 to withdraw.

The InsideHoops.com NBA Mock Draft is one of the web's top (and only) proven, reliable, professional looks at how the draft would go down if it was to happen today. It's compiled by InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner (who does radio around the country and also wrote the All-Star player profiles for the official 2007 NBA All-Star weekend event program) with help from a good dozen or so top sources, including assistant general managers, scouts and others. The entire NBA media world knows the InsideHoops.com mock draft is a trusted source of info.

The 2007 NBA Pre-Draft camp is from May 29 through June 1 in Orlando, Florida. InsideHoops.com is there and reporting every day. We've already posted some Day 1 notes, and the first day was just two hours long. The real action comes on days 2-4. We'll have daily notes plus tons of interviews, all worth reading.

The official NBA Draft order showing the complete first and second round team selection order is useful. This year, thanks to several trades, the Philadelphia 76ers have three first round draft picks.

The NBA Draft Lottery recently took place. Ping-pong balls and odds based on record determined the exact order that lottery teams -- teams that failed to qualify for the NBA Playoffs -- will pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Of course, many teams have traded their picks, so some selections go elsewhere.

It's also worth reading NBA Draft lottery quotes, with reactions from several lottery team representatives after the lottery results became known.

And, learn about the evolution of the Draft Lottery process and how it developed into the current system.

To keep up with the latest 2007 NBA Draft stories, read the InsideHoops.com NBA Rumors page each day, and to see archived stories hit the NBA draft rumors page.

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2006 NBA DRAFT COVERAGE

The 2006 NBA Draft was Wednesday, June 28, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. The NBA Draft Green Room invitees were LaMarcus Aldridge, Hilton Armstrong, Andrea Bargnani, Ronnie Brewer, Rodney Carney, Randy Foye, Rudy Gay, Adam Morrison, Patrick O'Bryant, J.J. Redick, Brandon Roy, Cedric Simmons, Tyrus Thomas, Marcus Williams and Shelden Williams.

2006 NBA Draft Results Complete list of results

Discuss the draft on the InsideHoops NBA Draft Forum.

2006 Pre-Draft Features:

New: NBA Pre-Draft Media Day interviews
New: 2006 Draft fact sheet

NBA Mock Draft (Updated daily)
NBA Draft Rumors (Updated daily)
Early Entry (Underclassmen) List (Final, official list)
Offiical Draft Camp Prospect Measurements
NBA Draft Lottery Interviews with GM's, players, scouts
NBA Draft Lottery official results, odds and explanation
NBA Draft all-time #1 picks list
Draft Order includes May 23 lottery results
NBA Draft Prospects Rankings by position
2006 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament rosters
2006 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament event info

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2005 NBA Draft:

- 2005 NBA Draft Results
- NBA mock draft
- NBA Draft early entry list (June 22 - official)
- Official player measurements
- NBA draft prospects
- NBA draft rumors
- 2005 NBA Draft order & draft lottery odds
- NBA Draft Lottery Interviews
- NBA Draft History (year by year)

2005 NBA DRAFT NOTES | June 30, 2005

For the first time in five years, the No. 1 overall pick this year played at least one season of college basketball. Andrew Bogut played two seasons at Utah. Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin was the last collegiate player to go first, to New Jersey in 2000. The first overall picks since then have been Kwame Brown (Washington), Yao Ming (Houston), LeBron James (Cleveland) and Dwight Howard (Orlando), all but Yao straight out of high school.

This year marks the first time three point guards – Deron Williams (#3), Chris Paul (#4) and Raymond Felton (#5) – were chosen in the Top 10 since 1999. That year, Steve Francis (#2), Baron Davis (#3), Andre Miller (#8) and Jason Terry (#10) all went in the Top 10.

North Carolina had four players selected in the first round – Marvin Williams (#2), Raymond Felton (#5), Sean May (#13) and Rashad McCants (#14). This has happened only one other time: Duke in 1999 – Elton Brand (#1), Trajan Langdon (#11), Corey Maggette (#13) and William Avery (#14).

Felton and May are the first set of college teammates to be drafted by the same team (Charlotte) since Todd Day and Lee Mayberry of Arkansas were each drafted by Milwaukee in 1992. In 2004, the Portland Trail Blazers traded for the rights to Viktor Khryapa of CSKA Moscow and drafted his teammate Sergei Monia.

There were seven international players selected in the first round, two shy of the record (9) set in 2003. This year’s selections are Andrew Bogut (Australia), Fran Vazquez (Spain), Yaroslav Korolev (Russia), Francisco Garcia (Dominican Republic), Johan Petro (France), Linas Kleiza (Lithuania) and Ian Mahinmi (France).

There were nine college seniors selected in the first round, up from five in 2004. They are: Channing Frye (#8), Joey Graham (#16), Danny Granger (#17), Hakim Warrick (#19), Julius Hodge (#20), Luther Head (#24), Jason Maxiell (#26), Wayne Simien (#29) and David Lee (#30).

This year, there were a record nine high school seniors chosen in the draft: Martell Webster (#6), Andrew Bynum (#10), Gerald Green (#18), CJ Miles (#34), Ricky Sanchez (#35), Monta Ellis (#40), Louis Williams (#45), Andray Blatche (#49), Amir Johnson (#56).

Players Invited to 2005 NBA Draft Green Room: Bogut, Felton, Frye, Granger, Green, Korolev, May, McCants, Paul, Vazquez, Villanueva, Warrick, Webster, Deron Williams, Marvin Williams, Wright.

ABOUT THE NBA DRAFT

The NBA Draft, which happens once a year (in June), is when NBA teams select new players (from college, high school and outside of the country) who will enter the NBA for the first time. The 2005 NBA Draft is on June 28 in New York's Madison Square Garden theatre. The 2005 NBA Draft deadline for "underclassmen" (early entry players: non-seniors in college, high school seniors, and young international players) to declare themselves eligible was on May 14 (see link above for the list).

The NBA's Chicago pre-draft camp is June 7-10. (it just happens to be in Chicago. It's for all teams, not just the Bulls.) That's the main NBA pre-draft camp. Players who feel they're a lock to be drafted in the first round usually don't play and just go to take a physical. The only other NBA pre-draft camp is the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (P.I.T.), for college seniors only. Very few P.I.T. players get drafted. The best college seniors usually skip the P.I.T. and only play in the Chicago camp - unless they skip that, too.

The 2005 NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline is on June 21. Underclassmen who made themselves eligible for the 2005 NBA draft have until that day to change their minds and postpone being a part of the NBA Draft. However, high school and college players who signed with an agent or otherwise ruined their amateur status won't be allowed back in school.

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2004 NBA Draft

2004 NBA Draft Interviews - After the players were drafted.

2004 NBA Draft Early Entry List - Underclassmen who declared.

Chicago Pre-Draft Camp | Chicago Rosters | Player Measurements

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament - Some PIT info (April, 2004).

2004 college player rankings by class (not updated).

2003 NBA DRAFT

2003 NBA Draft Results
Rounds one and two. June 27

Local Analysis of all 29 Team Draft Nights
See 29 articles from team beat writers. June 27

Official Draft Underclassmen List
Official list of underclassmen who have declared themselves eligible for the 2003 draft, and a list of those who withdrew.

2003 NBA Draft Prospects
The key guys.

LeBron James Interview
From the Chicago pre-draft camp
Media conference about the upcoming NBA draft. June 14

Carmelo Anthony Interview
From the Chicago pre-draft camp
Media conference about the upcoming NBA draft. June 14

Chris Bosh Interview
From the Chicago pre-draft camp
Media conference about the upcoming NBA draft. June 14

NBA Pre-draft Camp in Chicago
The rosters. June 5.

Draft Lottery Interviews
Transcripts of media sessions with all the team representatives involved with the draft lottery tonight. See what Cleveland said about getting the top pick (allowing them to take LeBron James), and much more. May 23

NBA Draft Order
Some coins have been flipped, and now the 2003 NBA draft order has been resolved. Not the lottery, but the odds, and later picks, and this, and that, and the other thing. Apr 29

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament
April 14: See the P.I.T. final leaders and team rosters.

High School Basketball Player Rankings
Since some of these kids will go straight to the NBA, you might as well know who they are. InsideHoops ranks the prep kids.

NBA Draft Message Board
Bring every draft freak you know to the InsideHoops draft board.

2003 NBA Draft Lottery Chances Per Team:
Team 1 - 250
Team 2 - 200
Team 3 - 157
Team 4 - 120
Team 5 - 89
Team 6 - 64
Team 7 - 44
Team 8 - 29
Team 9 - 18
Team 10 - 11
Team 11 - 7
Team 12 - 6
Team 13 - 5

 

NBA Draft History

NBA Players Drafted #1
A list of all NBA players taken first in the entire draft.

Every First Round Draft Pick, Team by Team
Click the link and pick a team to see every first round draft pick they ever made.

NBA Lottery Picks since 1985
Each year's NBA draft lottery picks (top 13 picks) since 1985.

Opinion: Best Players, Biggest Mistakes in 1981-2001 Drafts
A useful glance at the last 20 years of drafts.

 

2002 NBA Draft Results and Features

2002 NBA Draft Results
Both rounds, and the trades. Late June, 2002.

2002 Draft Summary
A few words on the night each team had. Early July, 2002.

Post-Draft Interviews: Caron Butler and Mike Dunleavy, Jr.

Post-Draft Interviews: Chris Wilcox and Jay Williams

Post-Draft Interviews: Juan Dixon, Drew Gooden and Melvin Ely

2002 Chicago Pre-Draft Camp Roster
The main camp for 2002 NBA draft prospects. Most players who are a lock for the first round don't play. (June 6, 2002)

2002 NBA Draft Player Profiles
A contributor to Inside Hoops analyzes some of the best draft prospects. (May 12, 2002)

2002 Draft Lottery Day Quotes
(May 20, 2002)