The 2008 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2008, at the Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, including international players from non-North American professional leagues. According to the NBA, 44 players, 39 collegiate players and five international players, filed as early-entry candidates for the 2008 NBA Draft. These numbers do not include players who are automatically eligible for the draft. The Chicago Bulls, who had a 1.7 percent probability of obtaining the first selection, won the NBA draft lottery on May 22. The Bulls' winning of the lottery was the second-largest upset in NBA Draft Lottery history behind the Orlando Magic, who won it in 1993 with just a 1.5% chance. The Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves obtained the second and third picks respectively.
For the first time in draft history the first three draft picks were all freshmen. The Chicago Bulls used the first overall pick to draft Chicago native Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis, who later went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, making him the first player to be drafted first overall and to win Rookie of the Year since LeBron James in 2003, and also became the youngest player to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2011 at age 22. The Miami Heat used the second pick to draft Michael Beasley from Kansas State University, and the Minnesota Timberwolves used the third pick to draft O. J. Mayo from The University of Southern California. The Seattle SuperSonics used their 4th overall pick to draft Russell Westbrook from The University of California, Los Angeles, who would go on to win the 2017 NBA MVP award and is widely considered the best player in this draft. With five players taken in the draft, the University of Kansas tied University of Connecticut (2006) and University of Florida (2007) for the record with the most players selected in the first two rounds of an NBA draft until the University of Kentucky (2012) broke the record with six players drafted. Another record was set when twelve freshmen were drafted, ten of whom were drafted in the first round. Of the players drafted, 29 are forwards, 19 are guards, and 12 are centers.
The 2008 NBA Draft was the final time that the Seattle SuperSonics made an NBA Draft appearance, as well as the final time that the Sonics appeared in official media publications. In early July, the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder made their first NBA Draft appearance in 2009. This draft also marked the first time that an NBA D-League player was drafted. As of 2026, there are four active players from this draft who are still playing in the NBA: Kevin Love, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez and DeAndre Jordan. Brook Lopez and DeAndre Jordan are the only players from this draft who are actively on an NBA roster.
Draft selections PGPoint guard SGShooting guard SFSmall forward PFPower forward CCenter
Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team School/club team 1 1*~ PG Chicago Bulls Memphis (Fr.) 1 2 PF Miami Heat Kansas State (Fr.) 1 3 SG Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to Memphis)USC (Fr.) 1 4* PG Seattle SuperSonics UCLA (So.) 1 5* PF Memphis Grizzlies (traded to Minnesota) UCLA (Fr.) 1 6 PF New York Knicks Olimpia Milano (Italy) 1 7 SG Los Angeles Clippers Indiana (Fr.) 1 8 SF Milwaukee Bucks West Virginia (Jr.) 1 9 PG Charlotte Bobcats Texas (So.) 1 10+ C New Jersey Nets Stanford (So.) 1 11 PG Indiana Pacers (traded to Portland) Arizona (Fr.) 1 12 PF Sacramento Kings Rider (Sr.) 1 13 SG Portland Trail Blazers (traded to Indiana) Kansas (Jr.) 1 14 PF Golden State Warriors LSU (Fr.) 1 15 C Phoenix Suns (from Atlanta) Stanford (So.) 1 16 PF Philadelphia 76ers Florida (So.) 1 17+ C Toronto Raptors (traded to Indiana) Georgetown (Sr.) 1 18 C Washington Wizards Nevada (So.) 1 19 PF Cleveland Cavaliers NC State (Fr.) 1 20 C Charlotte Bobcats (from Denver) Hyères-Toulon (France) 1 21 PF New Jersey Nets (from Dallas) California (So.) 1 22 SG Orlando Magic Western Kentucky (Sr.) 1 23 C Utah Jazz Ohio State (Fr.) 1 24 PF/C Seattle SuperSonics (from Phoenix) L'Hospitalet (Spain) 1 25 SF Houston Rockets (traded to Portland) Le Mans (France) 1 26 PG San Antonio Spurs IUPUI (Jr.) 1 27 PF New Orleans Hornets (traded to Memphis via Portland) Kansas (So.) 1 28 SF Memphis Grizzlies (from LA Lakers, traded to Houston) Syracuse (Fr.) 1 29 PF Detroit Pistons (traded to Seattle) Indiana (Sr.) 1 30 SG Boston Celtics New Mexico (Sr.) 2 31 C Minnesota Timberwolves (from Miami via Boston) Partizan (Serbia) 2 32 PF Seattle SuperSonics (traded to Detroit) UAB (Jr.) 2 33 PF Portland Trail Blazers (from Memphis, traded to Houston) Memphis (Sr.) 2 34 PG Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to Miami) Kansas (Jr.) 2 35* C Los Angeles Clippers Texas A&M (Fr.) 2 36 C Portland Trail Blazers (from New York, traded to Chicago) Fenerbahçe Ülker (Turkey) 2 37 SF Milwaukee Bucks UCLA (Jr.) 2 38 SG Charlotte Bobcats (traded to Seattle) Washington State (Sr.) 2 39 SG Chicago Bulls (traded to Denver) Arkansas (Sr.) 2 40 SG New Jersey Nets Memphis (Jr.) 2 41 PF Indiana Pacers (traded to Toronto) Cairns Taipans (Australia) 2 42 PG Sacramento Kings (from Atlanta) Virginia (Sr.) 2 43 SF Sacramento Kings Georgetown (Sr.) 2 44# C Utah Jazz (from Philadelphia) KK Zagreb (Croatia) 2 45* PG San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto, traded to Phoenix) Union Olimpija (Slovenia) 2 46# PF Seattle SuperSonics (from Portland via Boston, traded to Detroit) BYU (Jr.) 2 47 SG Washington Wizards (traded to Boston) Kansas State (Fr.) 2 48 SG Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland, traded to San Antonio) Oregon (Sr.) 2 49# PF Golden State Warriors Alabama (Jr.) 2 50# C Seattle SuperSonics (from Denver) California ([Sr.) 2 51# SG Dallas Mavericks Vanderbilt (Sr.) 2 52 PF Miami Heat (from Orlando, traded to Cleveland)Kansas (Sr.) 2 53# PF Utah Jazz Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) 2 54# PF Houston Rockets Oregon (Sr.) 2 55 PG Portland Trail Blazers (from Phoenix via Indiana, traded to LA Clippers) Idaho Stampede (D-League) 2 56 C Seattle SuperSonics (from New Orleans via Houston, traded to Cleveland) Kansas (Sr.) 2 57# PF San Antonio Spurs Maryland (Sr.) 2 58 SG Los Angeles Lakers Kentucky (Sr.) 2 59# SF Detroit Pistons Virginia Tech (Sr.) 2 60 C Boston Celtics Fenerbahçe Ülker (Turkey)
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2008 NBA Draft but have played in the NBA. Player Position Nationality School/club teamSFUMass (Sr.)PGGeorgia (Sr.)SFNorthwestern State (Sr.)CAlabama A&M (Sr.)PFArkansas (Sr.)FOhio State (Sr.)SGRobert Morris (IL) (Sr.)SFNotre Dame (Sr.)CÉtoile Sportive du Sahel (Tunisia)PGWichita State (So.)SGGeorgia Tech (Sr.)CKhimki Moscow (Russia)PGDuke (Sr.)PGDayton (Sr.)FKK Split (Croatia)CWisconsin (Sr.)SFVMI (Sr.)
Draft lottery
The first 14 picks in the draft belonged to teams that had missed the playoffs; the order was determined through a lottery. The lottery determined the three teams that would obtain the first three picks on the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the second-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. As it is commonplace in the event of identical win–loss records, the NBA performed a random drawing to break the ties on April 18, 2008.
The lottery was held on May 20, 2008, in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Chicago Bulls, who had the ninth-worst record, won the lottery with just a 1.7% chance to win. The Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves, with the worst and third-worst records, respectively, won the second and third picks.
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2008 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places: ^Denotes the actual lottery results Team 2007–08 record Lottery chances Pick 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th Miami Heat 15–67 250 .250 .215^ .177 .358 —————————— Seattle SuperSonics 20–62 199 .199 .188 .171 .319^ .124 ————————— Minnesota Timberwolves 22–60 138 .138 .142 .145^ .238 .290 .045 ———————— Memphis Grizzlies 22–60 137 .137 .142 .145 .085 .323^ .156 .013 ——————— New York Knicks 23–59 76 .076 .084 .095 — .262 .385^ .093 .004 —————— Los Angeles Clippers 23–59 75 .075 .083 .094 —— .414 .294^ .039 .001 ————— Milwaukee Bucks 26–56 43 .043 .049 .058 ——— .600 .232^ .018 .000 ———— Charlotte Bobcats 32–50 28 .028 .033 .039 ———— .725 .168^ .006 .000 ——— Chicago Bulls 33–49 17.017^ .020 .024 ————— .813 .122 .004 .000 —— New Jersey Nets 34–48 11 .011 .013 .016 ——————.870^ .089 .002 .000 — Indiana Pacers 36–46 8 .008 .009 .012 ———————.908^ .063 .001 .000 Sacramento Kings 38–44 7 .007 .008 .010 ————————.935^ .039 .000 Portland Trail Blazers 41–41 6 .006 .007 .009 —————————.960^ .018 Golden State Warriors 48–34 5 .005 .006 .007 ——————————.982^
Eligibility
Early entrants College underclassmen The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
Joe Alexander – F, West Virginia (junior) Ryan Anderson – F, California (sophomore) Darrell Arthur – F, Kansas (sophomore) D. J. Augustin – G, Texas (sophomore) Jerryd Bayless – G, Arizona (freshman) Michael Beasley – F, Kansas State (freshman) Keith Brumbaugh – F, Hillsborough CC (sophomore) Mario Chalmers – G, Kansas (junior) Chris Douglas-Roberts – G, Memphis (junior) C. J. Giles – C, Oregon State (junior) Eric Gordon – G, Indiana (freshman) Jamont Gordon – G, Mississippi State (junior) Donté Greene – F, Syracuse (freshman) Kalem Grimes – F, Missouri (junior) Richard Hendrix – F, Alabama (junior) JJ Hickson – F, NC State (freshman) George Hill – G, IUPUI (junior) Reggie Huffman – F, UAB (junior) / Shawn James – F, Duquesne (junior) Davon Jefferson – F, USC (freshman) DeAndre Jordan – C, Texas A&M (freshman) / Kosta Koufos – F/C, Ohio State (freshman) Brook Lopez – C, Stanford (sophomore) Robin Lopez – C, Stanford (sophomore) Kevin Love – F, UCLA (freshman) O. J. Mayo – G, USC (freshman) Luc Mbah a Moute – F, UCLA (junior) JaVale McGee – C, Nevada (sophomore) Kojo Mensah – G, Duquesne (sophomore) Trent Plaisted – C, BYU (junior) Bruce Price – G, Tennessee State (junior) Anthony Randolph – F, LSU (freshman) JaJuan Robinson – G, Lincoln (Pennsylvania) (freshman) Derrick Rose – G, Memphis (freshman) Brandon Rush – G, Kansas (junior) Walter Sharpe – F, UAB (junior) Marreese Speights – F, Florida (sophomore) Bill Walker – F, Kansas State (freshman) Russell Westbrook – G, UCLA (sophomore)
International players The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.
Alexis Ajinça – C, Hyères-Toulon (France) Nicolas Batum – F, Le Mans (France) Danilo Gallinari – F, Olimpia Milano (Italy) / Serge Ibaka – F, L'Hospitalet (Spain) Ante Tomić – KK Zagreb (Croatia)
Automatically eligible entrants Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria: They have no remaining college eligibility. If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated. They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team not in the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under the contract.
Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria: They are at least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In term of dates players born on or before December 31, 1986, were automatically eligible for the 2008 draft. They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team not in the NBA within the United States, and have played under that contract.