NBA considering major change to draft

At a meeting on Wednesday with the league’s general managers, the NBA discussed the possibility of expanding the draft from a single-night event to a two-day affair, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

As Charania explains, the idea has come up more frequently in recent meetings, since team executives believe they would benefit from having more time to make picks in both the first and second rounds.

If the league decides to make a change, it could go into effect as soon as for the 2024 draft, Charania adds.

The annual NBA draft always takes place on a Thursday evening, with teams getting five minutes to make a pick in the first round and then two minutes per selection in the second round. While the second round moves quickly, the event typically wraps up pretty late in the evening. Then, after the draft ends, GMs hold press conferences to discuss their picks, while reports of undrafted free agents reaching contract agreements with NBA teams pour in well past midnight Eastern time.

By contrast, the NFL’s draft takes place across three days, with teams receiving 10 minutes per pick in the first round. Of course, the NFL draft features seven rounds, while the NBA’s is only two.

Still, the NBA likely sees value on multiple levels in extending the event across a second day — besides giving teams more time to consider strategies and to regroup ahead of the second round, it would put the league’s TV partners in a better position not to rush their broadcasts, especially in the second round. Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, for instance, was famously drafted while a Taco Bell commercial aired during ESPN’s broadcast of the 2014 draft.