The 2024 NBA Draft will begin Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y, where 30 of the highest-rated prospects from various leagues across the world will walk across the stage to join teams.
This year’s NBA Draft will be split across two days for the first time in the league’s history, with the first round taking place on Wednesday and the second round beginning on Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Atlanta Hawks hold the first selection in the draft for just the second time in franchise history, as the previous selection with the first overall pick yielded the team David Thompson in 1975.
The order for the first round of the NBA Draft is as follows:
- Atlanta
- Washington
- Houston (from Brooklyn)
- San Antonio
- Detroit
- Charlotte
- Portland
- San Antonio (from Toronto)
- Memphis
- Utah
- Chicago
- Oklahoma City (from Houston)
- Sacramento
- Portland (from Golden State via Boston and Memphis)
- Miami
- Philadelphia
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Orlando
- Toronto (from Indiana)
- Cleveland
- New Orleans (from Milwaukee)
- Phoenix
- Milwaukee (from New Orleans)
- New York (from Dallas)
- New York
- Washington (from LA Clippers via Dallas and Oklahoma City)
- Minnesota
- Denver
- Utah (from Oklahoma City via Toronto and Indiana)
- Boston
- Despite previous NBA Drafts having consensus top picks, this year’s draft remains largely unknown with many concerned that there is no single player who has stood out for the first selection.
One executive from the Western Conference said this year’s draft reminds him of the “2013 draft when Anthony Bennett went No. 1,” meaning lottery picks may have a high chance of bust potential.
“There was not only no clear-cut No. 1, there was no clear-cut top 3. Cleveland didn’t know who they were picking until the day of the draft. We had a top pick and did everything we could to get out of that draft. It was full of career role players and back-ups. That’s what I think of this draft. It has good role players, ready-to-play-now guys, it just doesn’t have All-Stars. Or ones that you know are going to be All-Stars,” he explained, per Fox Sports.
Although NBA organizations generally look to acquire as many draft picks as possible to improve the roster, the 2024 Draft would be one of the better options in recent years to have fewer selections.
The Dallas Mavericks are one of just five teams to not possess a single selection in the first round leading into the draft, joining the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, and the Los Angeles Clippers as teams that will not have a pick tonight.
Dallas will instead possess the final pick of the NBA Draft on Thursday night, with the team selecting 28th in the second round.
While there are normally 30 selections in each round, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns were each forced by the league to forfeit a second-round selection in this draft due to tampering violations in free agency, per ESPN.
Although the Mavericks do not have a selection in the first round, the team will likely discuss trades that could land them various players during the draft.
One potential trade partner for the Mavericks could be the Brooklyn Nets, who recently agreed to trade forward Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for a plethora of future draft selections.
This trade, along with the Nets trading with the Rockets to acquire its own selection in the 2025 Draft, could indicate that the organization is prepared to send away other talented players as it seeks a high selection in next year’s draft.
The Mavericks will likely discuss trades with the Nets revolving around forward Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, who have each proven to be reliable shooters and defenders throughout their careers.
