The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.
The Los Angeles Clippers, who won the draft lottery on May 19, 2009, used their first overall draft pick to draft Blake Griffin from the University of Oklahoma. However, he missed the entire 2009–10 season due to surgery on his broken left kneecap, which he injured during the pre-season. Tanzanian-born Hasheem Thabeet from University of Connecticut was drafted second by the Memphis Grizzlies. Thabeet became the first player born in Tanzania to be drafted by an NBA team. James Harden was drafted 3rd by the Oklahoma City Thunder. This made him the first player to be drafted by the franchise as the Oklahoma City Thunder; the franchise moved from Seattle to OKC in 2008. The Sacramento Kings drafted Tyreke Evans 4th; he was named 2009–10 NBA Rookie of the Year, after he became the fourth NBA player in history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in his rookie season, joining the elite club of Oscar Robertson (1960), Michael Jordan (1984) and LeBron James (2003). Spanish teenager Ricky Rubio was drafted 5th by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rubio became the fifth-highest-drafted international player who never played U.S. college basketball to be drafted in the NBA, tied with Nikoloz Tskitishvili (5th in 2002), and behind Yao Ming (1st in 2002), Andrea Bargnani (1st in 2006), Darko Miličić (2nd in 2003) and Pau Gasol (3rd in 2001). Twenty-third pick Omri Casspi became the first Israeli player to be drafted in the first round, and later he became the first Israeli to play in the NBA.
The 2009 draft marked the first time three sons of former NBA players were selected in the top 15 picks of the draft. Stephen Curry, son of Dell Curry, was drafted 7th by the Golden State Warriors. Gerald Henderson Jr., son of Gerald Henderson, was drafted 12th by the Charlotte Bobcats. Austin Daye, son of Darren Daye, was drafted 15th by the Detroit Pistons. The draft also marked the first time a former high school player who skipped college to play professional basketball in Europe was selected in an NBA draft. Brandon Jennings, who skipped college to play professional basketball with Italian team Lottomatica Roma, was drafted 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the draft.
Of the 60 players drafted, four were freshmen, nine were sophomores, 12 were juniors, 22 were seniors, and 13 were international players without U.S. college basketball experience. The University of North Carolina's Tar Heels had the most players selected in the draft; three players were selected in the first round and one was selected in the second round. This marked the second time ever that four Tar Heels players were selected in the first two rounds of an NBA draft. The Minnesota Timberwolves had the league-high four first-round draft picks and the first time in team history that the team held two top-10 draft picks. The Timberwolves also had two second-round draft picks and became the team with the most draft picks in the 2009 draft with a total of six. The Houston Rockets and the Orlando Magic were the only NBA teams who did not have a draft pick this year, although Houston acquired three drafted players' rights after the draft.
From the players in this draft, there have been six players selected as All-Stars; out of these six, Curry and Harden have both won the NBA's regular season MVP award. Nine players chosen in the 2009 draft have been on teams that have won an NBA championship: Danny Green, Roddy Beaubois, Stephen Curry, Austin Daye, Jrue Holiday, Jodie Meeks, Patty Mills, Jeff Ayres and Jeff Teague; of those, three have won multiple championships, Green, three times, Curry, four times, and Holiday, two times. Curry was named MVP of the 2022 NBA Finals.
As of 2026, there are still four active NBA players from this draft: James Harden, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, and Jrue Holiday.
Draft selections PGPoint guard SGShooting guard SFSmall forward PFPower forward CCenter
Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team School/club team 1 1*~ PF Los Angeles Clippers Oklahoma (So.) 1 2 C Memphis Grizzlies Connecticut (Jr.) 1 3* SG Oklahoma City Thunder Arizona State (So.) 1 4 ~ SG Sacramento Kings Memphis (Fr.) 1 5 PG Minnesota Timberwolves (from Washington) DKV Joventut (Spain) 1 6 PG Minnesota Timberwolves Syracuse (So.) 1 7 * PG Golden State Warriors Davidson (Jr.) 1 8 PF New York Knicks Arizona (Jr.) 1 9 * SG Toronto Raptors USC (Fr.) 1 10 PG Milwaukee Bucks Lottomatica Roma (Italy) 1 11 SG New Jersey Nets Louisville (Sr.) 1 12 SG Charlotte Bobcats Duke (Jr.) 1 13 PF Indiana Pacers North Carolina (Sr.) 1 14 SF Phoenix Suns Louisville (Jr.) 1 15 SF Detroit Pistons Gonzaga (So.) 1 16 SF Chicago Bulls Wake Forest (So.) 1 17 + PG Philadelphia 76ers UCLA (Fr.) 1 18 PG Minnesota Timberwolves (from Miami, traded to Denver) North Carolina (Jr.) 1 19+ PG Atlanta Hawks Wake Forest (So.) 1 20 PG Utah Jazz VCU (Sr.) 1 21 PG New Orleans Hornets UCLA (Sr.) 1 22 SF Portland Trail Blazers (from Dallas) Pamesa Valencia (Spain) 1 23 SF Sacramento Kings (from Houston) Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) 1 24 C Dallas Mavericks (from Portland, traded to Oklahoma City) Ohio State (Fr.) 1 25 PG Oklahoma City Thunder (from San Antonio, traded to Dallas) Cholet (France) 1 26 PF Chicago Bulls (from Denver via Oklahoma City) USC (Jr.) 1 27 SF Memphis Grizzlies (from Orlando) Missouri (Sr.) 1 28 SG Minnesota Timberwolves (from Boston) North Carolina (Jr.) 1 29 PG Los Angeles Lakers (traded to New York) Florida State (Sr.) 1 30 SF Cleveland Cavaliers CB Prat (Spain) 2 31 PF Sacramento Kings (traded to Portland) Arizona State (Sr.) 2 32 SG Washington Wizards (traded to Houston) Central Florida (Sr.) 2 33 PF Portland Trail Blazers (from L.A. Clippers) Villanova (Sr.) 2 34# PG Denver Nuggets (from Oklahoma City, traded to Houston) Real Madrid (Spain) 2 35 PF Detroit Pistons (from Minnesota) Georgetown (Jr.) 2 36 SF Memphis Grizzlies Pittsburgh (Sr.) 2 37 PF San Antonio Spurs (from Golden State via Phoenix) Pittsburgh (So.) 2 38 PF Portland Trail Blazers (from New York via Chicago, traded to Sacramento) Washington (Sr.) 2 39 PF Detroit Pistons (from Toronto) Angelico Biella (Italy) 2 40 SF Charlotte Bobcats (from New Jersey via Oklahoma City) Xavier (Jr.) 2 41 SG Milwaukee Bucks Kentucky (Jr.) 2 42 PG Los Angeles Lakers (from Charlotte, traded to Miami)Dnipro (Ukraine) 2 43 SG Miami Heat (from Indiana, traded to New Orleans) LSU (Sr.) 2 44 SF Detroit Pistons (traded to Houston) Arizona (Jr.) 2 45 PG Minnesota Timberwolves (from Philadelphia via Miami, traded to Dallas) Florida (So.) 2 46 SF Cleveland Cavaliers (from Chicago) North Carolina (Sr.) 2 47# PF Minnesota Timberwolves (from Miami) DKV Joventut (Spain) 2 48 SF Phoenix Suns Oklahoma (Sr.) 2 49# SG Atlanta Hawks MBC Mykolaiv (Ukraine) 2 50# C Utah Jazz Michigan State (Sr.) 2 51# SG San Antonio Spurs (from New Orleans via Toronto) Miami (FL) (Sr.) 2 52 PG Indiana Pacers (from Dallas) Connecticut (Sr.) 2 53 PG San Antonio Spurs (from Houston) Cholet (France) 2 54# SG Charlotte Bobcats (from San Antonio, traded to Oklahoma City) UAB (Sr.) 2 55 PG Portland Trail Blazers (from Denver) Saint Mary's (So.) 2 56# PF Dallas Mavericks (from Portland) Saint Joseph's (Sr.) 2 57# PF Phoenix Suns (from Orlando via Oklahoma City, traded to Cleveland) Fenerbahçe Ülker (Turkey) 2 58 PG Boston Celtics Tennessee-Martin (Sr.) 2 59# PF Los Angeles Lakers Texas A&M (Jr.) 2 60# SF Miami Heat (from Cleveland) Memphis (Sr.)
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2009 NBA draft but have played at least one game in the NBA. Player Position Nationality School/club teamPFConnecticut (Sr.)PGCal State Fullerton (Sr.)SGMemphis (Sr.)C/PFWashington State (Sr.)SGTemple (Sr.)CHouston (Sr.)SFVirtus Roma (Italy)PGWashington (Sr.)FArkansas–Little Rock (Sr.)PF/CCB Axarquía (Spain)SF/SGAlabama (Sr.)GOklahoma State (Sr.)SG/SFSouth Dragons (Australia)PG/SGDuquesne (Sr.)PGCleveland State (Sr.)C/PFLSU (Sr.)CKyiv (Ukraine)PFWisconsin (Sr.)SG/SFMarquette (Sr.)PG/SGMarquette (Sr.)PGGonzaga (Sr.)CAugusta State (Sr.)SGLSU (Sr.)GOlympiacos Piraeus (Greece)F/CNotre Dame (Sr.)
Trades involving draft picks Pre-draft trades Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams. On June 24, 2009, Minnesota acquired the 5th pick, Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov from Washington in exchange for Randy Foye and Mike Miller. Minnesota used the 5th pick to draft Ricky Rubio. On July 31, 2007, Minnesota re-acquired their 2009 first-round draft pick along with Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, a 2009 first-round draft pick and cash considerations from Boston in exchange for Kevin Garnett. Previously, Boston acquired a 2009 first-round draft pick, Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi and Dwayne Jones on January 26, 2006, from Minnesota in exchange for Ricky Davis, Marcus Banks, Mark Blount, Justin Reed and two second-round draft picks. Minnesota used the 28th pick to draft Wayne Ellington. On October 24, 2007, Minnesota acquired a 2009 first-round draft pick, Antoine Walker, Wayne Simien, Michael Doleac and cash considerations from Miami in exchange for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. Minnesota used the 18th pick to draft Ty Lawson. On June 24, 2009, Portland acquired the 22nd pick from Dallas in exchange for the 24th pick, 56th pick and a 2010 second-round draft pick. Portland used the 22nd pick to draft Víctor Claver and Dallas used the 24th and 56th pick to draft Byron Mullens and Ahmad Nivins, respectively. On August 14, 2008, Sacramento acquired a 2009 first-round draft pick, Bobby Jackson, Donté Greene and cash considerations from Houston in exchange for Ron Artest, Sean Singletary and Patrick Ewing Jr. Sacramento used the 23rd pick to draft Omri Casspi. On February 20, 2008, Oklahoma City (as Seattle) acquired a 2009 first-round draft pick, Francisco Elson and Brent Barry from San Antonio in exchange for Kurt Thomas. Oklahoma City used the 25th pick to draft Rodrigue Beaubois. On February 19, 2009, Chicago acquired Denver's 2009 first-round draft pick from Oklahoma City in exchange for Thabo Sefolosha. Previously, Oklahoma City acquired a 2009 first-round draft pick, Chucky Atkins and cash considerations on January 7, 2009, from Denver in exchange for a 2009 second-round draft pick and Johan Petro. Chicago used the 26th pick to draft Taj Gibson. On February 19, 2009, Memphis acquired a 2009 first-round draft pick, Mike Wilks, Adonal Foyle and cash considerations from Orlando in a three-team trade with Orlando and Houston. Memphis used the 27th pick to draft DeMarre Carroll. On June 26, 2008, Portland acquired a 2009 second-round draft pick from the L.A. Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Mike Taylor. Portland used the 33rd pick to draft Dante Cunningham. On January 7, 2009, Denver acquired a 2009 second-round draft pick and Johan Petro from Oklahoma City in exchange for a 2009 first-round draft pick, Chucky Atkins and cash considerations. Denver used the 34th pick to draft Sergio Llull. On October 31, 2005, Detroit acquired a 2009 second-round draft pick from Minnesota in exchange for Ronald Dupree. Detroit used the 35th pick to draft DaJuan Summers. On December 24, 2008, Memphis re-acquired their 2009 second-round draft pick along with Steve Francis and cash considerations from Houston in exchange for a 2011 second-round draft pick. Previously, Houston acquired a 2009 second-round draft pick and the draft rights to Donté Greene from Memphis in a three-team trade with Memphis and Portland on June 26, 2008.