The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor of the 2011 NBA draft. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The Cleveland Cavaliers had the first pick due to a previous trade they had involving the Los Angeles Clippers, choosing point guard Kyrie Irving of Duke. Of the 60 players drafted, 7 were freshmen, 7 were sophomores, 14 were juniors, 19 were seniors, 12 were international players without U.S. college basketball experience (including the first-ever Qatari-selected player), and 1 was a D-League player.
The 2011 NBA draft marked the final time the New Jersey Nets made an NBA draft appearance. After the end of the Nets' 2011–12 season, the franchise relocated to Brooklyn, New York and was renamed to the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets made their first draft appearance with the Brooklyn moniker in 2012. Four of the first-round picks, including three of the top four picks, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Tristan Thompson, and Iman Shumpert, would all eventually become teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 2011 draft is considered one of the most abundant drafts in NBA history; seven players in the draft would play in at least two All-Star games and six were selected to at least one All-NBA Team, including the final pick of the draft, Isaiah Thomas. As of 2026, seven players from this draft remained in NBA: Irving, Bismack Biyombo, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vučević, Tobias Harris, and Jimmy Butler.
Draft selections
PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center
Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team School/club team 1 1 *~ PG Cleveland Cavaliers (from L.A. Clippers) Duke (Fr.) 1 2 SF/PF Minnesota Timberwolves Arizona (So.) 1 3 C Utah Jazz (from New Jersey) Stoneridge Preparatory School(Simi Valley) 1 4 C/PF Cleveland Cavaliers Texas (Fr.) 1 5 C Toronto Raptors Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (Lithuania) 1 6 PF Washington Wizards Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) 1 7 C Sacramento Kings (traded to Charlotte) Fuenlabrada (Spain) 1 8 PG Detroit Pistons Kentucky (Fr.) 1 9 * PG Charlotte Bobcats Connecticut (Jr.) 1 10 PG/SG Milwaukee Bucks (traded to Sacramento) BYU (Sr.) 1 11 * SG Golden State Warriors Washington State (Jr.) 1 12 SG Utah Jazz Colorado (So.) 1 13 PF Phoenix Suns Kansas (Jr.) 1 14 PF Houston Rockets Kansas (Jr.) 1 15 * SF Indiana Pacers (traded to San Antonio) San Diego State (So.) 1 16+ C Philadelphia 76ers USC (Jr.) 1 17 SG New York Knicks Georgia Tech (Jr.) 1 18 SF Washington Wizards (from Atlanta) Florida State (Jr.) 1 19 SF Charlotte Bobcats (from New Orleans via Portland, traded to Milwaukee) Tennessee (Fr.) 1 20 PF Minnesota Timberwolves (from Memphis via Utah, traded to Houston) Benetton Treviso (Italy) 1 21 PG Portland Trail Blazers Duke (Sr.) 1 22 PF Denver Nuggets Morehead State (Sr.) 1 23 PF Houston Rockets (from Orlando via Phoenix, traded to Chicago via Minnesota) Real Madrid (Spain) 1 24 PG Oklahoma City Thunder Boston College (Jr.) 1 25 SG Boston Celtics (traded to New Jersey) Providence (Sr.) 1 26 SG Dallas Mavericks (traded to Denver) Texas (So.) 1 27 PF New Jersey Nets (from L.A. Lakers, traded to Boston) Purdue (Sr.) 1 28 PG Chicago Bulls (from Miami via Toronto, traded to Miami via Minnesota) Cleveland State (Sr.) 1 29 PG San Antonio Spurs Texas (Fr.) 1 30 * SF/SG Chicago Bulls Marquette (Sr.) 2 31 SF/PF Miami Heat (from Minnesota, traded to New Jersey via Minnesota) Cibona Zagreb (Croatia) 2 32 PF Cleveland Cavaliers (traded to Orlando) Richmond (Sr.) 2 33 SF Detroit Pistons (from Toronto) Duke (Sr.) 2 34 PG Washington Wizards Butler (Jr.) 2 35 SF Sacramento Kings UCLA (So.) 2 36 PF New Jersey Nets Maryland (So.) 2 37 PF Los Angeles Clippers (from Detroit) Georgia (Jr.) 2 38 SF Houston Rockets (from L.A. Clippers) Florida (Sr.) 2 39 PF Charlotte Bobcats (traded to Golden State) Tokyo Apache (Japan) 2 40 PF Milwaukee Bucks Wisconsin (Sr.) 2 41 PG Los Angeles Lakers (from Golden State via New Jersey) Michigan (So.) 2 42 SF Indiana Pacers (traded to San Antonio) Union Olimpija (Slovenia) 2 43 SG Chicago Bulls (from Utah, traded to Minnesota) UCLA (Jr.) 2 44 PG Golden State Warriors (from Phoenix via Chicago) Hofstra (Sr.) 2 45 C New Orleans Hornets (from Philadelphia, traded to New York) Kentucky (Sr.) 2 46 PG Los Angeles Lakers (from New York) College of Charleston (Sr.) 2 47 SG Los Angeles Clippers (from Houston) Georgia (Jr.) 2 48 C Atlanta Hawks Oakland (Sr.) 2 49 PG Memphis Grizzlies Kansas (Fr.) 2 50 PF Philadelphia 76ers (from New Orleans) Temple (Sr.) 2 51 # SG Portland Trail Blazers Ohio State (Sr.) 2 52 PF Detroit Pistons (from Denver) Florida (Sr.) 2 53 SG Orlando Magic Kentucky (Jr.) 2 54 # PF Cleveland Cavaliers (from Oklahoma City via Miami) Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) 2 55 SG Boston Celtics Purdue (Sr.) 2 56 # PF Los Angeles Lakers (traded to Denver) Bakersfield Jam (D-League) 2 57 # SF Dallas Mavericks (traded to Portland) Al Rayyan (Qatar) 2 58 # PF Los Angeles Lakers (from Miami) Gold Coast Blaze (Australia) 2 59 # SG San Antonio Spurs Albacomp (Hungary) 2 60 * PG Sacramento Kings (from Chicago via Milwaukee) Washington (Jr.)
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2011 NBA draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.
Player Position Nationality School/club teamSGVEF Rīga (Latvia)PGMarquette (Sr.)GVirginia Tech (Sr.)G/FKK Krka (Slovenia)GIowa State (Sr.)GNotre Dame (Sr.)GColorado (Sr.)FWashington (Sr.)SGBoston University (Sr.)SGTennessee (Jr.)FOregon State (Sr.)G/FSt. John's (Sr.) SF Žalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania)PGMichigan State (Sr.)PGKansas State (Sr.)F/CSaint Louis (So.)GNorthern Illinois (Sr.)CFresno State (So.)PFUSC (Sr.)SGUTEP (Sr.)FSan Diego State (Sr.)F/GPepperdine (Sr.)SGPittsburgh (Sr.)FDayton (Sr.)PGGeorgetown (Sr.)
Eligibility rules
As of 2010, the basic eligibility rules for the draft are listed below. 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 2011 draft must be born on or before December 31, 1992. 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 U.S. 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.
The basic requirement for automatic eligibility for a U.S. player is the completion of his college eligibility.
Players who meet the CBA definition of "international players" are automatically eligible if their 22nd birthday falls during or before the calendar year of the draft (i.e., born on or before December 31, 1989). U.S. players who were at least one year removed from their high school graduation and have played minor-league basketball with a team outside the NBA are also automatically eligible.
A player who is not automatically eligible must declare his 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 2011 draft, this date fell on April 24. Under NCAA rules, players will only have until May 8 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility. This year, a total of 69 collegiate players and 20 international players declared as early entry candidates. At the withdrawal deadline, 41 early entry candidates withdrew from the draft (25 from US colleges and institutions), leaving 42 collegiate players and six international players as the early entry candidates for the draft.
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 mandates that a player who has declared twice loses his college eligibility.
Draft lottery
The first 14 picks in the draft belong to teams that missed the playoffs; the order will be determined through a lottery. The lottery will determine the three teams that will 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 15, 2011.
The lottery was held on May 17, 2011, in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who obtained the Los Angeles Clippers' first-round draft pick, won the lottery. The Cavaliers won the lottery with a 22.7% chance to win, combining a 19.9% chance from their own pick and 2.8% chance from the Clippers' pick. However, their winning lottery combination came from the Clippers' pick, which had a significantly lower chance to win. The Minnesota Timberwolves, who had the worst record and the biggest chance to win the lottery, won the second pick. The Utah Jazz, who obtained the New Jersey Nets' first-round draft pick, won the third pick.
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2011 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places.
^Denotes the actual lottery results Team2010–11recordLotterychancesPick1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14thMinnesota Timberwolves17–65 250 .250.215^.178.357——————————Cleveland Cavaliers19–63 199 .199.188.171.319^.123—————————Toronto Raptors22–60 156 .156.157.156.226.265^.040————————Washington Wizards23–59 119 .119.126.133.099.351.161^.013———————Sacramento Kings24–58 76 .076.084.095—.261.386.093^.004——————New Jersey Nets24–58 75 .075.083.094^——.413.294.039.001—————Detroit Pistons30–52 43 .043.049.058———.599.232^.018.000————Los Angeles Clippers32–50 28 .028^.033.039————.725.168.008.000———Charlotte Bobcats34–48 17 .017.020.024—————.813^.122.004.000——Milwaukee Bucks35–47 11 .011.013.016——————.870^.089.002.000—Golden State Warriors36–46 8 .008.009.012———————.907^.063.001.000Utah Jazz39–43 7 .007.008.010————————.935^.039.000Phoenix Suns40–42 6 .006.007.009—————————.960^ .018Houston Rockets43–39 5 .005 .006 .007——————————.982^
Entrants
Early entrants
College underclassmen (All players are Americans except as indicated)
Alec Burks – G, Colorado (sophomore) DeAngelo Casto – C, Washington State (junior) Roscoe Davis – F, Midland JC (TX) (freshman) Mamadou Diarra – C, Chaminade (junior) Jeremy Green – G, Stanford (junior) Jordan Hamilton – G/F, Texas (sophomore) Tobias Harris – F, Tennessee (freshman) Tyler Honeycutt – F, UCLA (sophomore) Scotty Hopson – G, Tennessee (junior) Kyrie Irving – G, Duke (freshman) Reggie Jackson – G, Boston College (junior) Terrence Jennings – F, Louisville (junior) Cory Joseph – G, Texas (freshman) Enes Kanter – F/C, Kentucky (freshman) Although Kanter enrolled at Kentucky, he never played because he was declared ineligible by the NCAA due to financial benefits he had received from his previous Turkish club, Fenerbahçe Ülker. Ryan Kelley – G, Colorado (sophomore) Dan Kelm – G, Viterbo (WI) (sophomore) Brandon Knight – G, Kentucky (freshman) Malcolm Lee – G, UCLA (junior) Kawhi Leonard – F, San Diego State (sophomore) Travis Leslie – G, Georgia (junior)
DeAndre Liggins – G, Kentucky (junior) Shelvin Mack – G, Butler (junior) Keishawn Mayes – F, Campbell (junior) Darius Morris – G, Michigan (sophomore) Marcus Morris – F, Kansas (junior) Markieff Morris – F, Kansas (junior) Willie Reed – F, Saint Louis (junior) Jereme Richmond – G/F, Illinois (freshman) Carleton Scott – F, Notre Dame (junior) Josh Selby – G, Kansas (freshman)