The 2025 NBA Draft is the league’s annual event where teams select newly eligible players to join the NBA. This draft consists of two rounds with a total of either 59 or 60 picks (some drafts have one fewer pick due to league penalties). It is a cornerstone of roster building. Here’s a full overview of how the draft works, including the pick order, eligibility rules, and the draft process.
Players must meet age and education criteria to enter the NBA Draft. Any U.S. or Canadian player must be at least 19 years old by December 31, 2025, and at least one year removed from their high school graduation. Most commonly, this means players spend at least one year after high school, often playing college basketball or overseas. International players (those who do not play in U.S. colleges) are eligible if they turned 19 during that year and meet certain residency criteria.
Prospective draftees can declare early if they meet the age rule. The NBA typically publishes a list of early-entrant candidates (in 2025, over 100 players declared). College underclassmen who leave school early and international players typically enter the early entry pool. Seniors or international players who meet the age requirement automatically qualify as draft-eligible.
The draft order for the first 14 picks is determined by the NBA Draft Lottery, held in May (for 2025 it was on May 12 in Chicago). The lottery includes the 14 teams that did not make the playoffs in the prior season. The NBA uses a lottery drawing to decide which of these teams get the top picks (particularly the top 4 picks). Each non-playoff team has a different chance (the worst team having the highest odds). In 2025, for example, the Dallas Mavericks won the lottery for the #1 pick.
After the lottery, the teams are slotted 1 through 14 based on the draw (taking into account any tied records and traded picks). The rest of the first round and all of the second round (picks 15 through 60) are assigned in reverse order of each team’s win-loss record (the teams with better records pick later). Teams that made the playoffs get picks 15–30, in the order of their record. Note that occasionally picks are skipped or forfeited (for example, in 2025 the Minnesota Timberwolves had to forfeit a draft pick due to a tampering penalty, leaving only 59 selections).
Each lottery team is assigned a combination of ping-pong balls; 1,000 four-ball combinations are possible, of which 1,000 are distributed among the teams. The team with the worst record (14th-worst) gets 250 chances (25%), the second-worst gets 199 chances (19.9%), and so on down to a team with a single combination (0.5%). The NBA draws four balls out of the 14 (randomly) to form a combination, and repeats this to determine the top 3 or 4 picks. All lottery results are then broadcast live on TV. After the lottery, the remaining teams pick by record.
The lottery brings suspense, because even teams with slightly better records can land #1 overall, and worse teams can fall to #4, #5, etc. Fans watch to see where their team ends up selecting.
The draft is a two-day event. In 2025, Round 1 took place on Wednesday, June 25, and Round 2 on Thursday, June 26, usually held at an NBA arena (the 2025 draft was in Brooklyn). There are 30 picks in each round (minus any forfeited picks, so possibly 59 total).
On draft night, each team in turn comes to the podium to announce its selection (either the team’s general manager or president of basketball operations). Teams may have traded picks prior to the draft, so sometimes teams are on the clock (told to pick) with a player they acquired from another team. Once a player is picked by a team, that team owns that player’s NBA rights (subject to final contracts). The draft stops after Round 1 ends on Wednesday evening and resumes with Round 2.
Teams can trade their draft picks for players or other picks (current or future). It’s common to see trades in the days or hours before the draft. Some picks are “protected,” meaning if certain conditions aren’t met, the pick may defer to another year. As a result, the actual picking team on draft night may not be who originally earned that pick by record. Each franchise enters the draft with a certain number of picks (up to two, one per round) barring any trades.
In total, in a normal draft there would be 60 selections (30 teams x 2 rounds). In 2025, one team’s pick was forfeited by league penalty, so there were 59 picks. Each team can use at most two picks, one in each round (some have traded away or acquired extra picks from other teams).
Preparation for the draft starts months in advance. Many players participate in the NBA Draft Combine (usually in May), where prospects undergo physical tests, interviews, and a 5-on-5 scrimmage in front of scouts. Between college graduation (or declaring early) and the draft, prospects may work out privately for teams.
On draft night, teams may select big men, guards, or international prospects. The first-round picks receive guaranteed contracts under the rookie salary scale. Second-round picks can negotiate but are not guaranteed the same level of contract; some second-rounders may even end up in summer league or overseas if no contract is signed.
To recap the 2025 draft order setup: first the lottery decided the first 14 picks, then picks 15–30 went to teams in playoff position order. If two teams had identical records, a tiebreaker determined who picks first. In 2025, the lottery gave Dallas the top pick, but regardless of specific team results, the system always sorts out the proper order.
There are also some notable rules: for example, no team may have more than 2 picks overall in a single draft, and draft-night trading can be limited by the league on how late picks can be swapped.
Once the draft concludes, teams sign players. First-round picks sign a two-year guaranteed rookie contract (with team options for years 3 and 4 under the rookie scale). Second-round picks negotiate contracts, which might be for one year or two, guaranteed or partially guaranteed. Undrafted players can join summer league rosters or sign two-way contracts. After the draft, the league year begins and teams may have training camps to integrate rookies.
The 2025 NBA Draft (held June 25–26 in Brooklyn) is an event where teams select from eligible players – mostly young college and international stars. The order is set by the lottery (for picks 1–14) and regular-season records (for picks 15–30). Key rules include age/education eligibility, the lottery odds system, and the structure of 59 or 60 picks across two rounds. Understanding these picks, the draft process, and rules helps fans follow how new talent enters the league each year.
