How many rounds in NBA Draft, how many players are picked and how it works?

The 2024 NBA Draft is just a couple hours from starting following the conclusion of the NBA Finals, with the Draft regarded as one of the most highly-anticipated events of the basketball calendar.

The Draft was first held in 1947 and it has been held every year since. But for the first time, the Draft features a brand new format as it will be spread across two nights on June 26 and 27.

The first round held at Barclays Center on Wednesday, before moving onto the second round at ESPN's Seaport District Studios in New York on Thursday.

The complete 2024 Draft order of selection was officially determined after the NBA Draft Lottery was made. The teams entered for this are the 14 franchsies that missed out on the NBA Playoffs.

After drawings are conducted for the first four picks of the NBA Draft, the other lottery teams will continue to pick in inverse order of their regular-season record.

The Atlanta Hawks won the No. 1 overall pick, followed by the Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.

The Draft selections for the remainder of the first round (No. 15-30) and the entire second round (No. 30-58*), are determined by reverse order of regular season record. Each NBA team gets one selection in the first round and one selection in the second round.

Why is the NBA draft only two rounds?

Following an agreement with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), drafts from 1989 onwards have been limited to two rounds. This gives undrafted players the chance to try out for any team.

Since 2016, players have been able to enter the Draft and participate in the NBA draft combine multiple times, whilst retaining NCAA eligibility by withdrawing from the draft within 10 days after the end of the mid-May NBA draft combine.

Historically, the vast majority of players drafted into the NBA are college basketball players. However, players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and Tony Parker have been brought in from international leagues.

Many NBA mock drafts have seen Zaccharie Risacher chosen as the No. 1 overall pick by the Hawks, while Alex Sarr has been predicted to the Washington Wizards.

What time is the NBA Draft tonight?

First-round coverage begins June 26 at 19:30 ET / 16:30 PT. The draft begins at 20:00 ET / 17:00 PT. Second-round coverage begins at 16:00 ET / 13:00 PT.

DRAFT DAY!

The 2024 #NBADraft presented by State Farm will take place over two nights!

First Round: TONIGHT at 8:00pm/et on ABC & ESPN
Second Round: Thursday at 4:00pm/et on ESPN pic.twitter.com/UHoGLBnGFP

? NBA (@NBA) June 26, 2024