The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the United States by ESPN. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The draft lottery took place on May 19, 2015.
The Minnesota Timberwolves won the draft lottery to earn the first overall pick in the draft. It marked the first time in Timberwolves history that they would receive the first overall pick through the lottery. The player selected would also be the third consecutive number one pick on the Timberwolves roster, joining Andrew Wiggins (2014) and Anthony Bennett (2013) - who were traded to Minnesota for forward Kevin Love. This draft also gave the Los Angeles Lakers the second overall pick after jumping over the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks within the draft lottery.
Highlights from the draft include the first Dominican to be the first overall pick (Karl-Anthony Towns), the highest number of Kentucky Wildcats selected in the draft lottery (four with Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, and Devin Booker), which tied the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2005 for most players selected in the lottery by one school; the tied record for most Kentucky players selected in the draft (six with Towns, Cauley-Stein, Lyles, Booker, Andrew Harrison, and Dakari Johnson), the second Latvian to have been drafted in the first round (Kristaps Porziņģis), the first former high school player to have skipped college to play in China that was selected in the draft (Emmanuel Mudiay), and the first Indian-born player to have been selected in the NBA (Satnam Singh), who was also the first player since 2005 to have been drafted directly from high school (albeit as a postgraduate).
Other noteworthy announcements that came out of the draft included the official announcement of the passing of the last pioneer of the original NBA, Harvey Pollack, around the third pick and the resignation of the league's president of basketball operations Rod Thorn that became official in August after the end of the first round.
Draft selections PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center
Player Team 11 *~ C Minnesota Timberwolves Kentucky (Fr.)12 + PG Los Angeles Lakers Ohio State (Fr.)13 C Philadelphia 76ers Duke (Fr.)14 +PF/C New York Knicks Baloncesto Sevilla (Spain)15 SG/SF Orlando Magic FC Barcelona Liga ACB Spain16 PF Sacramento Kings Kentucky (Jr.)17 PG Denver Nuggets Guangdong Southern Tigers18 SF Detroit Pistons Arizona (Fr.)19 PF Charlotte Hornets Wisconsin (Sr.)110 SF Miami Heat Duke (Fr.)111 C Indiana Pacers Texas (Fr.)112 PF Utah JazzKentucky (Fr.)113 * SG Phoenix Suns Kentucky (Fr.)114 PG Oklahoma City Thunder Murray State (So.)115 SF Atlanta Hawks (from Brooklyn Nets traded to Washington) Kansas (Fr.)116 PG Boston Celtics Louisville (So.)117 SG Milwaukee Bucks UNLV (Fr.)118 SF Houston Rockets (from New Orleans) Wisconsin (Jr.)119 PG Washington Wizards (traded to New York Knicks via Atlanta Hawks) Notre Dame (Sr.)120 PG Toronto Raptors Utah (Sr.)121 SF Dallas Mavericks Virginia (Jr.)122 PF Chicago Bulls Arkansas (So.)123 SF Portland Trail Blazers (traded to Brooklyn) Arizona (So.)124 PG Cleveland Cavaliers (traded to Minnesota Timberwolves) Duke (Fr.)125 PF Memphis Grizzlies LSU (So.)126 # C San Antonio Spurs Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)127 PF Los Angeles Lakers (from Houston Rockets) Wyoming (Sr.)128 SG Boston Celtics (from L.A. Clippers) Georgia State (Jr.)129 PF Brooklyn Nets (from Atlanta Hawks) Syracuse (Fr.)130 PF Golden State Warriors UCLA (Fr.)231 SG/SF Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to Cleveland Cavaliers)Anadolu Efes (Turkey)232 PF/C Houston Rockets (from New York Knicks) Louisville (Jr.)233 PF Boston Celtics (from Philadelphia 76ers via Miami Heat) LSU (So.)234 SF Los Angeles Lakers Stanford (Sr.)235 C Philadelphia 76ers (from Orlando Magic traded to New York Knicks) Baloncesto Sevilla, Spain236 PF/C Minnesota Timberwolves (from Sacramento Kings via Houston), traded to Cleveland Cavaliers Syracuse (Sr.)237 PF/C Philadelphia 76ers (from Denver Nuggets via Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves) Bowling Green (Sr.)238 SG Detroit Pistons Villanova (Sr.)239 # SF Charlotte Hornets (traded to Brooklyn Nets) Estudiantes de Bahía (Argentina)240 SG Miami Heat Tennessee (Sr.)241 SG Brooklyn Nets (traded to Portland Trail Blazers) Notre Dame (Sr.)242 # PG Utah Jazz Boston College (Jr.)243 PG Indiana Pacers Oregon (Sr.)244 PG Phoenix Suns (traded to Memphis) Kentucky (So.)245 # PG Boston Celtics William & Mary (Sr.)246+ SG Milwaukee Bucks (traded to Toronto Raptors) UCLA (Sr.)247 # C Philadelphia 76ers (from New Orleans via Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers) Žalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania)248 C Oklahoma City Thunder Kentucky (So.)249 # PF Washington Wizards Iowa (Sr.)250 # SG Atlanta Hawks (from Toronto Raptors) FC Barcelona Liga ACB Spain251 # PG Orlando Magic (from Chicago Bulls) Eastern Washington (Jr.)252 # C Dallas Mavericks IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida; HSPg.)253 # SF Cleveland Cavaliers (from Portland Trail Blazers via Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets) St. John's (Sr.)254 # SF Utah Jazz (from Cleveland Cavaliers, traded to Portland Trail Blazers) Gipuzkoa Basket (Spain)255 # PF San Antonio Spurs Massachusetts (Sr.)256 SF New Orleans Pelicans (from Memphis, traded to Los Angeles Clippers) Michigan State (Sr.)257 # PG Serbia Denver Nuggets (from Los Angeles Clippers) Baloncesto Sevilla, Spain258 # SG/SF Philadelphia 76ers (from Houston Rockets) North Carolina (Jr.)259 # PF Atlanta Hawks Olympiacos (Greece)260 # PF Serbia Philadelphia 76ers (from Golden State Warriors via Indiana Pacers) Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2015 NBA draft, but have appeared in at least one regular-season or playoff game in the NBA. Player Pos. Nationality School/club teamPF United StatesKansas (Fr.)SF/SG ArgentinaRegatas Corrientes (Argentina)PGDuke (Sr.)SGIowa State (Sr.)PFWisconsin (Sr.)SGFlorida (Jr.)SGVCU (Sr.)SF/SGRadford (Sr.)SGKentucky (So.)SGDenain Voltaire (France)SFUTEP (So.)SFColorado State (Sr.)PGArizona (Sr.)SFGreen Bay (Sr.)SFHoly Cross (Sr.)SGWestchester CC (So.)PFOhio (Sr.)SF/SGSan Diego State (Sr.)SFBaylor (Sr.)PGGonzaga (Sr.)CParis-Levallois (France)PGStanford (Sr.)SGDayton (Sr.)PGGreen Bay (Sr.)SFMarquette (Sr.)SFUTEP (Sr.)PGVCU (Sr.)PFGeorgetown (So.)C/FUC Santa Barbara (Sr.)PFUNLV (So.)
Eligibility and entrants
The draft was conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's new 2011 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. Since the 2011 CBA, the basic eligibility rules have been: All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players eligible for the 2015 draft must be born on or before December 31, 1996. Any player who is not an "international player", as defined in the CBA, must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class. The CBA defines "international players" as players who permanently resided outside the United States for three years prior to the draft, did not complete high school in the U.S., and have never enrolled at a U.S. college or university.
Early entrants Player who are not automatically eligible must declare their eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. (non-international players) (international players) For the 2015 draft, this date fell on April 26. After this date, "early entry" players may 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 may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, which is 10 days before the draft. Under NCAA rules at that time, players only had until April 16 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility. In January 2016, the NCAA changed its draft withdrawal date to 10 days after the end of the annual NBA Draft Combine in May, with the 2016 draft the first to be held under the new rule.
A player who has hired an agent will forfeit his remaining college eligibility, regardless of whether he is drafted. Also, while the CBA allows a player to withdraw from the draft twice, the NCAA then mandated that a player who declared twice lost his college eligibility. The aforementioned 2016 NCAA rule change also allowed players to declare for more than one draft without losing college eligibility.
This year, a total of 48 collegiate players and 43 international players declared as early entry candidates before the April 26 deadline. On June 15, the withdrawal deadline, 34 early entry candidates withdrew from the draft and one early entry candidate is added, leaving 47 collegiate players and 11 international players as the early entry candidates for the draft.
Cliff Alexander – F, Kansas (freshman) Justin Anderson – G/F, Virginia (junior) Brandon Ashley – F, Arizona (junior) Devin Booker – G, Kentucky (freshman) Willie Cauley-Stein – F/C, Kentucky (junior) Sam Dekker – F, Wisconsin (junior) Michael Frazier II – G, Florida (junior) Olivier Hanlan – G, Boston College (junior) Montrezl Harrell – F, Louisville (junior) Aaron Harrison – G, Kentucky (sophomore) Andrew Harrison – G, Kentucky (sophomore) Tyler Harvey – G, Eastern Washington (junior) Rondae Hollis-Jefferson – F, Arizona (sophomore) R.J. Hunter – G, Georgia State (junior) Vince Hunter – C, UTEP (sophomore) Charles Jackson – F, Tennessee Tech (junior) Dakari Johnson – C, Kentucky (sophomore) Stanley Johnson – F, Arizona (freshman) Tyus Jones – G, Duke (freshman) Trevor Lacey – G, NC State (junior) Kevon Looney – C, UCLA (freshman) Trey Lyles – F, Kentucky (freshman) Jarell Martin – F, LSU (sophomore) Chris McCullough – F, Syracuse (freshman) Jordan Mickey – F, LSU (sophomore) Luis Montero – F, Westchester CC (sophomore) / Jahlil Okafor – C, Duke (freshman) Kelly Oubre Jr. – G, Kansas (freshman) Ashton Pankey – F, Manhattan (junior) Cameron Payne – G, Murray State (sophomore) Terran Petteway – G, Nebraska (junior) Bobby Portis – F, Arkansas (sophomore) Michael Qualls – G, Arkansas (junior) Terry Rozier – G, Louisville (sophomore) D'Angelo Russell – G, Ohio State (freshman) Satnam Singh – C, IMG Academy (postgraduate) Deonta Stocks – G, West Georgia (sophomore) Jherrod Stiggers – G, Houston (junior) Aaron Thomas – G, Florida State (junior) / J.P. Tokoto – F, North Carolina (junior) / Karl-Anthony Towns – C, Kentucky (freshman) Myles Turner – C, Texas (freshman) Robert Upshaw – C, Washington (sophomore) Rashad Vaughn – G, UNLV (freshman) Chris Walker – F, Florida (sophomore) Justise Winslow – F, Duke (freshman) Christian Wood – C, UNLV (sophomore)
International players
Dimitrios Agravanis – F/C, Olympiacos Piraeus (Greece) Willy Hernangómez – F/C, Baloncesto Sevilla (Spain) Mario Hezonja – F, FC Barcelona Lassa (Spain) Mouhammadou Jaiteh – C, JSF Nanterre (France) Lee Jong-hyun – F/C, Korea University (South Korea) Nikola Milutinov – C, Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) Cedi Osman – F, Anadolu Efes (Turkey) Bobby Ray Parks Jr. – G, Hapee Fresh Fighters (PBA D-League) Kristaps Porziņģis – C, Baloncesto Sevilla (Spain) Nikola Radičević – G, Baloncesto Sevilla (Spain) Juan Pablo Vaulet – F, Estudiantes de Bahía (Argentina) Adin Vrabac – F, TBB Trier (Germany)
Automatically eligible entrants
Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria: