The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.
The draft lottery took place during the playoffs on May 16, 2017. The 53–29 Boston Celtics, who were also the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference and reached the Eastern Conference Finals at the time of the NBA draft lottery, won the #1 pick with pick swapping rights thanks to a previous trade with the Brooklyn Nets, who had the worst record the previous season. The Los Angeles Lakers, who had risked losing their 2017 first round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, moved up two spots to get the second overall pick, while Philadelphia moved up to receive the No. 3 pick due to the Sacramento Kings moving up in the draft, which activated pick swapping rights the 76ers had from an earlier trade. On June 19, four days before the NBA draft began, the Celtics and 76ers traded their top first round picks to each other, meaning the holders of the top four picks of this year's draft would be exactly the same as the previous year's draft. The Celtics intended to draft Duke forward Jayson Tatum with their pick regardless of its position, who ultimately developed into an MVP candidate and led the team to their 18th championship in 2024.
The draft class was the youngest draft class to date, with the most freshmen and fewest seniors selected in the first round; the top seven picks in the draft were college freshmen. It was the third time, and the second in a row, that three players were selected from Serbian team KK Mega Basket in the same draft (Vlatko Čančar, Ognjen Jaramaz, Alpha Kaba), with it previously occurring during the 2014 and 2016 NBA draft. It also included the second Finn selected in the first round, and the first Bulgarian player selected since 1985. The draft also received much media coverage from ESPN pertaining to eventual second overall pick Lonzo Ball and his outspoken father, LaVar Ball, much to the chagrin of many sports fans and even some ESPN employees. This was one of the rare occasions where a player drafted from their year did not win Rookie of the Year; the award went to 2016 first overall pick Ben Simmons, the first player since Blake Griffin in 2011 to win the award in a year he was not drafted.
Draft selections PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center
Player Team 11PG/SGPhiladelphia 76ers Washington (Fr.)12PGLos Angeles LakersUCLA (Fr.)13*SFBoston Celtics Duke (Fr.)14SFPhoenix SunsKansas (Fr.)15*PGSacramento Kings Kentucky (Fr.)16SF/PFOrlando MagicFlorida State (Fr.)17+PFMinnesota Timberwolves (traded to Chicago Bulls)Arizona (Fr.)18PGNew York KnicksSIG Strasbourg (France)19PGDallas MavericksNC State (Fr.)110C/PFSacramento Kings Gonzaga (Fr.)111SGCharlotte HornetsKentucky (Fr.)112SGDetroit PistonsDuke (So.)113*SGDenver Nuggets (traded to Utah Jazz)Louisville (So.)114+PF/CMiami HeatKentucky (Fr.)115SFPortland Trail Blazers North Carolina (Jr.)116CChicago Bulls (traded to Minnesota)Creighton (Fr.)117PF/SFMilwaukee BucksMichigan (Jr.)118PFIndiana PacersUCLA (Fr.)119PFAtlanta HawksWake Forest (So.)120PF/CPortland Trail Blazers (from Memphis via Denver and Cleveland, traded to Sacramento Kings)Duke (Fr.)121SGOklahoma City ThunderAdelaide 36ers (Australia)122+CBrooklyn Nets (from Washington)Texas (Fr.)123SFToronto Raptors (from L.A. Clippers via Milwaukee)Indiana (So.)124PFUtah Jazz (traded to Denver Nuggets)Syracuse (So.)125COrlando Magic (from Toronto, traded to Philadelphia 76ers)Herbalife Gran Canaria (Spain)126PFPortland Trail Blazers (from Cleveland)Purdue (So.)127PFBrooklyn Nets (from Boston, traded to Los Angeles Lakers)Utah (Jr.)128PF/CLos Angeles Lakers (from Houston, traded to Utah Jazz)North Carolina (Fr.)129PG/SGSan Antonio SpursColorado (Sr.)130SGUtah Jazz (from Golden State, traded to Los Angeles Lakers)Villanova (Sr.)231 PGCharlotte Hornets (from Brooklyn via Atlanta Hawks, traded to New Orleans Pelicans)Duke (Fr.)232SGPhoenix SunsMiami (Sr.)233SFOrlando Magic (from L.A. Lakers)Kansas State (Sr.)234PGSacramento Kings (from Philadelphia via New Orleans)Kansas (Sr.)235PFOrlando Magic (traded to Memphis Grizzlies)California (So.)236PFPhiladelphia 76ers (from New York via Utah and Toronto)Crvena zvezda (Serbia)237SF/PFBoston Celtics (from Minnesota via Phoenix)SMU (Jr.)238PFChicago Bulls (from Sacramento via Cleveland, traded to Golden State Warriors)Oregon (Jr.)239PGPhiladelphia 76ers (from Dallas, traded to Los Angeles Clippers)Oklahoma State (So.)240SGNew Orleans Pelicans (traded to Charlotte Hornets)Florida State (So.)241SGAtlanta Hawks (from Charlotte)Oregon (So.)242PFUtah Jazz (from Detroit, traded to Los Angeles Lakers)Indiana (So.)243 PF/CHouston Rockets (from Denver)Žalgiris (Lithuania)244SGNew York Knicks (from Chicago)Houston (Sr.)245SFHouston Rockets (from Portland, traded to Memphis Grizzlies)Oregon (Jr.)246SGPhiladelphia 76ers (from Miami via Atlanta) traded to Milwaukee Bucks)SMU (Sr.)247CIndiana PacersUCLA (Fr.)248SGMilwaukee Bucks (traded to Los Angeles Clippers)South Carolina (Sr.)249SFDenver Nuggets (from Memphis via Oklahoma City)Mega Leks (Serbia)250#PF/CPhiladelphia 76ers (from Atlanta)Nanterre 92 (France)251PGDenver Nuggets (from Oklahoma City)Iowa State (Sr.)252PGNew Orleans Pelicans (from Washington, traded to Indiana Pacers)Xavier (Jr.)253SGBoston Celtics (from Cleveland)Arizona (Sr.)254SFPhoenix Suns (from Toronto)Valparaiso (Sr.)255PGUtah JazzGonzaga (Jr.)256SGBoston Celtics (from L.A. Clippers)California (Sr.)257PFBrooklyn Nets (from Boston)FC Barcelona Lassa (Spain)258#PGNew York Knicks (from Houston)Mega Leks (Serbia)259 SFSan Antonio SpursClemson (Sr.)260 #PF/CAtlanta Hawks (from Golden State via Philadelphia and Utah)Mega Leks (Serbia)
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2017 NBA Draft, but have played at least one game in the NBA during the regular season or the NBA playoffs. Player Pos. Nationality School/club team SG/SF Pittsburgh (Sr.) SF Erie BayHawks (NBA D-League) PG LSU (So.) PF/C Oregon (Sr.) C UConn (Sr.) PG Kentucky (So.) SG Iowa State (Sr.) PG Cincinnati (Sr.) PF George Washington (Sr.) SG Colorado State (Sr.) SG Southeast Missouri State (Sr.) PF/C Arizona (So.) SG Dayton (Sr.) SF/PF San Lorenzo de Almagro (Argentina) SG Loyola (Illinois) (Sr.) SG South Carolina (So.) SF Vanoli Cremona (Italy) SG DePaul (Sr.) SG/SF Crvena zvezda (Serbia) SG Arkansas (Sr.) F Wisconsin (Sr.) PF North Carolina (Sr.) SF Illinois (Sr.) C Kentucky (So.) PF Duke (Sr.) PF/C Vanderbilt (Sr.) PF/C Louisville (Sr.) SG Tennessee State (Sr.) PF Louisiana Tech (Sr.) PF/C BYU (So.) PG/SG Iowa State (Sr.) SG Morehead State (Sr.) SF SMU (Sr.) SG Molloy College (Sr.) PF Baylor (Jr.) SG Kentucky (Sr.) F Nevada (So.) SG Chicago State (Sr.) PG Virginia (Sr.) SG Connecticut (Sr.) SG Florida State (Jr.) SF Florida (Jr.) PG Arizona (Fr.) SG Iowa State (Sr.) PG/SG Saski Baskonia (Spain) PF Baylor (Sr.) PG Michigan (Sr.) SG Fresno State (Sr.) SF Syracuse (Sr.) SF Eastern Washington (Sr.) SG UCF (Sr.)
Eligibility and entrants
The draft was conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's 2017 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.
All drafted players must have been at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players who are eligible for the 2017 draft, must have been born on or before December 31, 1998. Since the 2016 draft, the NCAA Division I council implemented the following rules for that division that significantly changed the draft landscape for college players: Declaration for the draft no longer resulted in automatic loss of college eligibility. As long as a player did not sign a contract with a professional team outside the NBA, or sign with an agent, he retained college eligibility as long as he made a timely withdrawal from the draft. NCAA players had until 10 days after the end of the NBA Draft Combine to withdraw from the draft. Since the combine was held in mid-May, the deadline was about five weeks after the previous mid-April deadline. NCAA players were permitted to participate in the draft combine, and were also allowed to attend one tryout per year with each NBA team without losing college eligibility. NCAA players were permitted to enter and withdraw from the draft up to two times without loss of eligibility. Previously, the NCAA treated a second declaration of draft eligibility as a permanent loss of college eligibility.
The NBA has since expanded the draft combine to include players with remaining college eligibility (who, like players without college eligibility, can only attend by invitation).
Early entrants Players who were not automatically eligible for the draft had to declare their eligibility by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. For the 2017 draft, this date fell on April 23. After that date "early entry" players were able to 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 could withdraw from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, which was 10 days before the draft. Under NCAA rules, players had until May 24 (10 days after the draft combine) to withdraw from the draft and retain college eligibility.
A player who hired an agent forfeited his remaining college eligibility regardless of whether he was drafted.
College underclassmen At the time, a record-high 185 underclassed draft prospects (i.e., players with remaining college eligibility) had declared themselves for eligibility at the April 24 deadline (138 of them being from college), although college players who had not hired agents or signed professional contracts outside the NBA were able to decide to return to college by May 24, 10 days after the end of the NBA Draft Combine. These players have publicly indicated that they have hired agents, or had planned to do so around the start of the draft; those who hired agents immediately lost their eligibility to return to NCAA basketball in 2017–18. By the end of the May 24 deadline, 73 draft candidates from college decided to return to their respective colleges for at least another year, leaving 64 underclassmen to officially enter the draft this year. Additionally, two more players left entry at the end of the international player deadline, meaning both Maverick Rowan from North Carolina State and Darin Johnson from Cal State Northridge would not return for college, but one player managed to enter the college underclassman deadline, thus leaving 63 entries at hand for the NBA Draft.
Bam Adebayo – F, Kentucky (freshman) Jarrett Allen – F, Texas (freshman) Ike Anigbogu – F, UCLA (freshman) / O.G. Anunoby – F, Indiana (sophomore) Dwayne Bacon – G, Florida State (sophomore) Lonzo Ball – G, UCLA (freshman) Jordan Bell – F, Oregon (junior) James Blackmon Jr. – G, Indiana (junior) Antonio Blakeney – G, LSU (sophomore) Tony Bradley – F, North Carolina (freshman) Isaiah Briscoe – G, Kentucky (sophomore) Dillon Brooks – F, Oregon (junior) Thomas Bryant – C, Indiana (sophomore) Clandell Cetoute – F, Thiel College (junior) John Collins – F, Wake Forest (sophomore) Zach Collins – F/C, Gonzaga (freshman) Chance Comanche – C, Arizona (sophomore) / Tyler Dorsey – G, Oregon (sophomore) PJ Dozier – G, South Carolina (sophomore) Jawun Evans – G, Oklahoma State (sophomore) Tony Farmer – F, Lee College (sophomore) De'Aaron Fox – G, Kentucky (freshman) Markelle Fultz – G, Washington (freshman) Harry Giles – F, Duke (freshman) Isaac Humphries – C, Kentucky (sophomore)