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The 2023 NBA Draft is the 77th annual draft event in NBA history. On Thursday evening, a total of 58 selections will be made with the top pick expected to be France’s Victor Wembanyama, the most hyped prospect to enter the NBA since LeBron James was drafted 20 years ago in one of the best draft classes ever.
We have all the information you need on the NBA Draft 2023, including where it is held, what time it starts, the 2023 NBA Draft order, the prospects to keep an eye on, and the major storylines heading into it.
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When Is the 2023 NBA Draft?
Contents
The 2023 NBA Draft is Thursday, June 22, 2023. It will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the home of the Nets. The ABC and ESPN family of network will broadcast the draft starting at 8:00 p.m. ET.
The draft will consist of two rounds and 58 picks instead of the usual 60 after the Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls were docked a 2nd-round pick for tampering violations.
2023 NBA Draft Order
Below is the full 2023 NBA draft order for all 58 picks. It consists of a first round that has lottery picks from 1-14 and the remaining order of picks from 15-30. The second round will have picks 31-58.
First Round: Lottery Picks
- San Antonio
2. Charlotte
3. Portland
4. Houston
5. Detroit
6. Orlando
7. Indiana
8. Washington
9. Utah
10. Dallas
11. Orlando (from Chicago)
12. Oklahoma City
13. Toronto
14. New Orleans
First Round: Rest of Picks
- Atlanta
16. Utah (from Minnesota)
17. Los Angeles Lakers
18. Miami
19. Golden State
20. Houston(from LA Clippers)
21. Brooklyn (from Phoenix)
22. Brooklyn
23. Portland (from New York)
24. Sacramento
25. Memphis
26. Indiana (from Cleveland)
27. Charlotte (from Denver via New York and Oklahoma City)
28. Utah(from Philadelphia via Brooklyn)
29. Indiana (from Boston)
30. LA Clippers (from Milwaukee via Houston)
Second Round: Picks 31-58
- Detroit
32. Indiana (from Houston)
33. San Antonio
34. Charlotte (from Charlotte via Philadelphia and Atlanta)
35. Boston (from Portland via Atlanta, LA Clippers, Detroit, and Cleveland)
36. Orlando
37. Oklahoma City (from Washington via New Orleans)
38. Sacramento (from Indiana)
39. Charlotte (from Utah via New York)
40. Denver (from Dallas via Oklahoma City)
41. Charlotte(from Oklahoma City via New York and Boston)
42. Washington (from Chicago via Los Angeles Lakers and Washington)
43. Portland (from Atlanta)
44. San Antonio (from Toronto)
45. Memphis (from Minnesota)
46. Atlanta (from New Orleans)
47. Los Angeles Lakers
48. LA Clippers
49. Cleveland (from Golden State via Utah and New Orleans)
50. Oklahoma City (from Miami via Boston, Memphis, and Dallas)
51. Brooklyn
52. Phoenix
53. Minnesota (from New York via Charlotte)
54. Sacramento
55. Indiana (from Cleveland via Milwaukee and Detroit)
56. Memphis
— Chicago (from Denver via Cleveland; forfeited by Chicago)
— Philadelphia(forfeited)
57. Washington (from Boston via Charlotte)
58. Milwaukee
2023 NBA Draft Top Prospects
It will be an interesting draft with several of the top prospects coming from unorthodox backgrounds such as the NBA G League, the LNB Pro A, and the Overtime Elite league in Georgia.
- Victor Wembanyama is the 7’4” center sensation from France who last played for the Metropolitans 92 in the LNB Pro A and is the heavy favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick.
- Scoot Henderson is a point guard who is the youngest player in NBA G League history.
- Brandon Miller is the reigning SEC Player of the Year who helped Alabama to its finest season in decades.
- Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson are twin brothers who helped the City Reapers to a championship in the Overtime Elite league last season.
- Cam Whitmore is poised to become Villnova’s first one-and-done professional since Tim Thomas in 1997.
2023 NBA Draft Stories to Watch
Finally, whether you are betting on draft props or just tuning in for fun, here are some of the key storylines you should know about heading into Thursday night’s draft.
Can Wemby Meet the Hype?
It is unthinkable that another NBA player could ever have as much hype coming into the league as LeBron James, but France’s Victor Wembanyama is doing his best in the social media era as the most hyped prospect in 20 years.
Like LeBron, we never saw Wembanyama play a game in the NCAA but this is for a different reason. Wembanyama starred in France’s LNB Pro A where he led the league in scoring, rebounding, and blocks last season. He has also competed in North American games against the NBA G League and played for his national team.
Wemby’s size is massive with an 8-foot wingspan, and he can shoot the 3 in addition to blocking shots at a high level. LeBron has called him an “alien” and a generational talent, and if those only come around every 20 years, then we are on schedule for Wembanyama to be the new face of the league’s next generation as he is expected to go No. 1 to the Spurs.
But the hype is so immense that if he turns out nearly as good as past San Antonio greats David Robinson and Tim Duncan, then that should be just fine too.
Will Lack of College Background Hurt the 2023 Class?
The NBA draft has gone through some eras like in the 1990s and early 2000s when some Hall of Fame players went from high school directly to the NBA, including Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James. That ended in the mid-2000s, and since then we have grown accustomed to seeing players shine for one year in the NCAA before heading to the NBA. The success of a player like Dirk Nowitzki has also brought in more European players over the years.
But the top of the 2023 class could be very unique in that multiple prospects are coming from non-college backgrounds. Not just Wembanyama from the French league, but you have the Thompson twins coming from the Overtime Elite (OTE) league, and Scoot Henderson was the youngest player to ever play in the NBA’s G League, a developmental league.
There are valid questions if the G League and OTE had the right kind of competition to judge these players against.
In the 2022 draft, the top 7 picks all went to traditional college powerhouses like Duke, Gonzaga, and Kentucky. That could be 1-of-5 top picks in this class if things shake out a certain way.
But ever since Jalen Green passed on college to join the G League in 2021 before going No. 2 to Houston in the NBA draft, we are likely going to start seeing more of this in the draft process. The 2019 draft, where the top 14 picks all played in the NCAA, may be the last of its kind for lottery picks.
Who Gets Traded?
Draft night is often trade night in the NBA too. Whether it is picks getting traded shortly after being selected or veterans on the move, you can expect some trades to go down Thursday evening.
We already saw a big trade in the NBA before the draft with Bradley Beal heading to the Phoenix Suns. Other trade candidates include Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, and (if a team can handle the drama) Zion Williamson.
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