| 2017 NBA Draft | |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Date: | June 22, 2017 |
| Location: | Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York) |
| League: | NBA |
| Overall: | 60 |
| Rounds: | 2 |
| First: | Markelle Fultz (Philadelphia 76ers) |
| Prev: | 2016 |
| Next: | 2018 |
The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.[1] National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.
The draft lottery took place during the playoffs on May 16, 2017. The 53–29 Boston Celtics, who were also the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference and reached the Eastern Conference Finals at the time of the NBA draft lottery, won the #1 pick with pick swapping rights thanks to a previous trade with the Brooklyn Nets, who had the worst record the previous season. The Los Angeles Lakers, who had risked losing their 2017 first round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, moved up two spots to get the Second overall pick, while Philadelphia moved up to receive the No. 3 pick due to the Sacramento Kings moving up in the draft, which activated pick swapping rights the 76ers had from an earlier trade. On June 19, four days before the NBA draft began, the Celtics and 76ers traded their top first round picks to each other, meaning the holders of the top four picks of this year's draft would be exactly the same as the previous year's draft. The Celtics intended to draft Duke University player Jayson Tatum with their pick, and correctly believed they would get him at 3rd as well, a decision which ended up being the best one as Tatum developed into an MVP candidate and led the Celtics to their 18th championship in 2024.[2]
The draft class was the youngest draft class to date, with the most freshmen and fewest seniors selected in the first round; the top seven picks in the draft were college freshmen. It was the third time, and the second in a row, that three players were selected from Serbian team KK Mega Basket in the same draft (Vlatko Čančar, Ognjen Jaramaz, Alpha Kaba), with it previously occurring during the 2014 and 2016 NBA draft. It also included the second Finn selected in the first round, and the first Bulgarian player selected since 1985. The draft also received much media coverage from ESPN pertaining to eventual second overall pick Lonzo Ball and his outspoken father, LaVar Ball, much to the chagrin of many sports fans and even some ESPN employees. This was one of the rare occasions where a player drafted from their year did not win Rookie of the Year; the award went to 2016 first overall pick Ben Simmons, the first player since Blake Griffin in 2011 to win the award in a year he was not drafted.[3] [4]
| PG | Point guard | SG | Shooting guard | SF | Small forward | PF | Power forward | C | Center |
These players were not selected in the 2017 NBA Draft, but have played at least one game in the NBA during the regular season or the NBA playoffs.
See main article: Eligibility for the NBA draft.
The draft was conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's 2017 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its players' union. The CBA that ended the 2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft, but called for a committee of owners and players to discuss future changes.
The NBA has since expanded the draft combine to include players with remaining college eligibility (who, like players without college eligibility, can only attend by invitation).[6]
Players who were not automatically eligible for the draft had to declare their eligibility by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. For the 2017 draft, this date fell on April 23. After that date "early entry" players were able to attend NBA pre-draft camps and individual team workouts to show off their skills and obtain feedback regarding their draft positions. Under the CBA, a player could withdraw from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, which was 10 days before the draft. Under NCAA rules, players had until May 24 (10 days after the draft combine) to withdraw from the draft and retain college eligibility.
A player who hired an agent forfeited his remaining college eligibility regardless of whether he was drafted.
At the time, a record-high 185 underclassed draft prospects (i.e., players with remaining college eligibility) had declared themselves for eligibility at the April 24 deadline (138 of them being from college), although college players who had not hired agents or signed professional contracts outside the NBA were able to decide to return to college by May 24, 10 days after the end of the NBA Draft Combine. These players have publicly indicated that they have hired agents, or had planned to do so around the start of the draft; those who hired agents immediately lost their eligibility to return to NCAA basketball in 2017–18.[7] By the end of the May 24 deadline, 73 draft candidates from college decided to return to their respective colleges for at least another year, leaving 64 underclassmen to officially enter the draft this year.[8] [9] Additionally, two more players left entry at the end of the international player deadline, meaning both Maverick Rowan from North Carolina State and Darin Johnson from Cal State Northridge would not return for college, but one player managed to enter the college underclassman deadline, thus leaving 63 entries at hand for the NBA Draft.[10]
Bam Adebayo – F, Kentucky (freshman) Jarrett Allen – F, Texas (freshman) Ike Anigbogu – F, UCLA (freshman)
O.G. Anunoby – F, Indiana (sophomore) Dwayne Bacon – G, Florida State (sophomore) Lonzo Ball – G, UCLA (freshman) Jordan Bell – F, Oregon (junior) James Blackmon Jr. – G, Indiana (junior) Antonio Blakeney – G, LSU (sophomore) Tony Bradley – F, North Carolina (freshman) Isaiah Briscoe – G, Kentucky (sophomore)
Dillon Brooks – F, Oregon (junior) Thomas Bryant – C, Indiana (sophomore) Clandell Cetoute – F, Thiel College (junior) John Collins – F, Wake Forest (sophomore) Zach Collins – F/C, Gonzaga (freshman) Chance Comanche – C, Arizona (sophomore)/ Tyler Dorsey – G, Oregon (sophomore) PJ Dozier – G, South Carolina (sophomore) Jawun Evans – G, Oklahoma State (sophomore) Tony Farmer – F, Lee College (sophomore) De'Aaron Fox – G, Kentucky (freshman) Markelle Fultz – G, Washington (freshman) Harry Giles – F, Duke (freshman)
Isaac Humphries – C, Kentucky (sophomore) Tre Hunter – G, Mount San Jacinto College (junior) Jonathan Isaac – F, Florida State (freshman) Frank Jackson – G, Duke (freshman) Josh Jackson – F, Kansas (freshman) Justin Jackson – F, North Carolina (junior) Jaylen Johnson – F, Louisville (junior)
Ted Kapita – F, NC State (freshman) Marcus Keene – G, Central Michigan (junior) Luke Kennard – G, Duke (sophomore) Kyle Kuzma – F, Utah (junior)
/ T. J. Leaf – F, UCLA (freshman) Tyler Lydon – F, Syracuse (sophomore) Elijah Macon – F, West Virginia (junior)
Lauri Markkanen – F, Arizona (freshman) Eric Mika – F, BYU (sophomore) Donovan Mitchell – G, Louisville (sophomore) Malik Monk – G, Kentucky (freshman) Johnathan Motley – F, Baylor (junior) Austin Nichols – F, Virginia (junior)/ Semi Ojeleye – F, SMU (junior) Cameron Oliver – F, Nevada (sophomore) Justin Patton – C, Creighton (freshman) L. J. Peak – G, Georgetown (junior) Ivan Rabb – F, California (sophomore) Xavier Rathan-Mayes – G, Florida State (junior) Devin Robinson – F, Florida (junior) Josh Robinson – G, Austin Peay (junior) Kobi Simmons – G, Arizona (freshman)/ Jaren Sina – G, George Washington (junior) Dennis Smith Jr. – G, NC State (freshman) Edmond Sumner – G, Xavier (junior) Caleb Swanigan – F, Purdue (sophomore) Jayson Tatum – F, Duke (freshman) Matt Taylor – G, New Mexico State (junior) Trevor Thompson – C, Ohio State (junior) Melo Trimble – G, Maryland (junior) Craig Victor II – F, LSU (junior) Antone Warren – C, Antelope Valley (sophomore) Nigel Williams-Goss – G, Gonzaga (junior) D. J. Wilson – F, Michigan (junior)International players that had declared this year and did not previously declare in another prior year can also drop out of the draft about 10 days before the draft begins on June 12. Initially, there were 46 players who originally expressed interest entering the 2017 draft. At the end of the international deadline, 36 players wound up declining entry for the draft, leaving only 10 international players staying in the NBA Draft. As a result, 73 total underclassmen entered the 2017 NBA Draft.
Simon Birgander – F/C, Calzados Robusta Clavijo (Spain)
Wesley Alves da Silva – F, Paulistano Corpore (Brazil) Georginho de Paula – G, Paulistano Corpore (Brazil)
Jonathan Jeanne – C, SLUC Nancy (France) Alpha Kaba – F/C, Mega Leks (Serbia) Tidjan Keita – F, Cégep de Thetford (Canada) Frank Ntilikina – G, SIG Strasbourg (France)Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:[11]
Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
| Player | class=unsortable | Note ! | class=unsortable | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Erie BayHawks (D-League) | Removed from Detroit in 2016;[14] playing professionally since 2016–17 season | |||
| | Crvena zvezda (Serbia) | Left UCLA in 2016; playing professionally since 2016–17 season | [15] | ||
| | Adelaide 36ers (Australia) | Didn't attend college in 2016, playing professionally since 2016–17 season | [16] | ||
| | Germani Basket Brescia (Italy) | Left UTEP in 2016; playing professionally since 2016–17 season | [17] | ||
 | Long Island Nets (D-League) | International player who played for the Long Island Nets in 2016 | [18] |
See main article: NBA Draft Combine.
The invitation-only NBA Draft Combine was held in Chicago from May 9 to 14. The on-court element of the combine took place on May 11 and 12. This year's event had Under Armour as its primary sponsor. A total of 67 players were invited for this year's NBA Draft Combine, with 5 more named as alternates in the event some players could not come for whatever reason.[19] [20] Ten invited players declined to attend for various reasons, including three players completely on the international scale. Eighteen more players that were guaranteed invitations were also players testing out their draft stocks during the event. Eleven players participating in the event were seniors, the lowest number ever of combine participants who had exhausted their college eligibility. During the event, six different players were deemed injured either before or during this year's Draft Combine. At the end of the May 24 college deadline, eight players who originally declared for the NBA Draft and were invited to the Draft Combine this year, including potential "none-and-done" Kentucky freshman redshirt Hamidou Diallo, ultimately returned to college for at least one more season.
See main article: NBA Draft Lottery.
The 2017 NBA draft lottery was held on May 16.
| Denotes the actual lottery result |
| Team | 2016–17 record | Lottery chances | Lottery probabilities | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | ||||
| Boston Celtics | 53–29 | 250 | .250 | .215 | .178 | .357 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Phoenix Suns | 24–58 | 199 | .199 | .188 | .171 | .319 | .123 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 26–56 | 156 | .156 | .157 | .156 | .226 | .265 | .040 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 28–54 | 119 | .119 | .126 | .133 | .099 | .350 | .161 | .013 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Orlando Magic | 29–53 | 88 | .088 | .097 | .107 | – | .261 | .359 | .084 | .004 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 31–51 | 53 | .053 | .060 | .070 | – | – | .439 | .331 | .045 | .001 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| New York Knicks | 31–51 | 53 | .053 | .060 | .070 | – | – | – | .572 | .226 | .018 | .000 | – | – | – | – | |
| Sacramento Kings | 32–50 | 28 | .028 | .033 | .039 | – | – | – | – | .725 | .168 | .008 | .000 | – | – | – | |
| Dallas Mavericks | 33–49 | 17 | .017 | .020 | .024 | – | – | – | – | – | .813 | .122 | .004 | .000 | – | – | |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 34–48 | 11 | .011 | .013 | .016 | – | – | – | – | – | – | .870 | .089 | .002 | .000 | – | |
| Charlotte Hornets | 36–46 | 8 | .008 | .009 | .012 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | .907 | .063 | .001 | .000 | |
| Detroit Pistons | 37–45 | 7 | .007 | .008 | .010 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | .935 | .039 | .000 | |
| Denver Nuggets | 40–42 | 6 | .006 | .007 | .009 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | .960 | .018 | |
| Miami Heat | 41–41 | 5 | .005 | .006 | .007 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | .982 | |
The NBA annually invites around 15–20 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. When their names are called, the player leaves the room and goes up on stage. Other players who are not invited are allowed to attend the ceremony. They sit in the stands with the fans and walk up on stage when (or if) they are drafted.[21] 10 players were invited to the 2017 NBA draft on June 8, with three more of them being invited two days later.[22] Eight more players would be invited to complete the green room listing on June 14, bringing the total invite list to 21, with 20 of the invitees attending. The following players (listed alphabetically) were confirmed as invites for the event this year.
Bam Adebayo, Kentucky (not on the original list, later invited) Jarrett Allen, Texas (not on the original list, later invited) O.G. Anunoby, Indiana (not on the original list, later invited) Lonzo Ball, UCLA John Collins, Wake Forest (not on the original list, later invited) Zach Collins, Gonzaga De'Aaron Fox, Kentucky Markelle Fultz, Washington Harry Giles, Duke (not on the original list, later invited; declined invite) Jonathan Isaac, Florida State Josh Jackson, Kansas Justin Jackson, North Carolina (not on the original list, later invited) Luke Kennard, Duke (not on the original list, later invited)/ T. J. Leaf, UCLA (not on the original list, later invited) Lauri Markkanen, Arizona Donovan Mitchell, Louisville (not on the original list, later invited) Malik Monk, Kentucky Frank Ntilikina, SIG Strasbourg (not on the original list, later invited) Justin Patton, Creighton (not on the original list, later invited) Dennis Smith Jr., North Carolina State Jayson Tatum, DukePrior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams.
Draft-day trades occurred on June 22, 2017, the day of the draft.