The 2016 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2016, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the United States by ESPN, and was live streamed for the first time in NBA draft history by The Vertical. 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 during the playoffs, on May 17, 2016. This was the first time since the lottery system was introduced in 1985 that all NBA teams that missed out on the playoffs remained in the exact spots they were designated, meaning the 10-win/72-loss Philadelphia 76ers received the No. 1 pick, the Los Angeles Lakers kept the No. 2 pick, the Boston Celtics via the Brooklyn Nets got the No. 3 pick, and everyone else stayed in their same spots based on the regular season standings from the 2015–16 season.
Highlights from the draft include the second Australian No. 1 draft pick (Ben Simmons; the first being Andrew Bogut), the first Austrian to be selected into the NBA (Jakob Pöltl), the first Ghanaian to be selected into the NBA (Ben Bentil), the most Frenchmen to be taken overall (Guerschon Yabusele, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, David Michineau, Isaia Cordinier, Petr Cornelie), the first time since the 1990 NBA draft that an Egyptian has been selected into the NBA (Abdel Nader), and the first time that two Chinese players have been selected into the same draft (Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin) since the 2007 NBA draft. This draft was also notable for providing the most international draft prospects in draft history, with 28 different players representing different countries instead of the United States of America. It beat out the 2004 NBA draft for the most culturally diverse draft in league history. It was the second time that three players were selected from Serbian team Mega Leks in the same draft (Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, Ivica Zubac, Rade Zagorac), the first time being the 2014 NBA draft.
Draft selections PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center
Player Team 11*~PF/PGPhiladelphia 76ersLSU (Fr.)12+SFLos Angeles LakersDuke (Fr.)13*SF/SGBoston Celtics (from Brooklyn)California (Fr.)14PF/CPhoenix SunsMaccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)15PGMinnesota TimberwolvesProvidence (Jr.)16SGNew Orleans PelicansOklahoma (Sr.)17*PG/SGDenver Nuggets (from New York)Kentucky (Fr.)18PFSacramento Kings (traded to Phoenix Suns)Washington (Fr.)19CToronto Raptors (from Denver via New York) Utah (So.)110PFMilwaukee BucksOrangeville Prep/Athlete Institute (Canada HS Pg.)111*C/PFOrlando Magic (traded to Oklahoma City Thunder)Gonzaga (So.)112SFUtah Jazz (traded to Atlanta Hawks)Baylor (Sr.)113CPhoenix Suns (from Washington, traded to Sacramento Kings)Panathinaikos (Greece)114SG/SFChicago BullsMichigan State (Sr.)115SF/PFDenver Nuggets (from Houston)Movistar Estudiantes (Spain)116PFBoston Celtics (from Dallas)Rouen Métropole (France)117PGMemphis GrizzliesVanderbilt (So.)118PFDetroit PistonsMarquette (Fr.)119SGDenver Nuggets (from Portland)Florida State (Fr.)120 SGIndiana Pacers (traded to Brooklyn Nets)Michigan (Sr.)121SFAtlanta HawksSaint Joseph's (Jr.)122SGCharlotte Hornets (traded to Sacramento Kings)Syracuse (Fr.)123CBoston CelticsKK Cibona (Croatia)124SG/SFPhiladelphia 76ers (from Miami via Cleveland)Mega Leks (Serbia)125 PFLos Angeles ClippersNorth Carolina (Sr.)126SG/SFPhiladelphia 76ers (from Oklahoma City via Cleveland and Denver)Anadolu Efes (Turkey)127*PFToronto RaptorsNew Mexico State (So.)128PF/CPhoenix Suns (from Cleveland via Boston traded to Sacramento Kings)Kentucky (Fr.)129+PG/SGSan Antonio SpursWashington (Fr.)130CGolden State WarriorsVanderbilt (Jr.)231PF/CBoston Celtics (from Philadelphia via Miami traded to Memphis Grizzlies)Michigan State (Fr.)232CLos Angeles LakersMega Leks (Serbia)233PF/CLos Angeles Clippers (from Brooklyn, traded to New Orleans Pelicans)Kansas (Fr.)234PGPhoenix SunsKentucky (So.)235 #SG/SFBoston Celtics (from Minnesota via New Orleans and Phoenix, traded to Memphis Grizzlies)Mega Leks (Serbia)236~PG/SGMilwaukee Bucks (from New Orleans via Sacramento)Virginia (Sr.)237PF/CHouston Rockets (from New York via Portland and Sacramento)Louisville (So.)238SG/SFMilwaukee Bucks (traded to Golden State Warriors)UNLV (So.)239 #PGNew Orleans Pelicans (from Denver via Philadelphia, traded to Los Angeles Clippers) (France)240CNew Orleans Pelicans (from Sacramento, traded to Los Angeles Clippers)Maryland (Fr.)241PF/COrlando MagicUNLV (Fr.)242PG/SGUtah Jazz (traded to Brooklyn Nets)Seton Hall (So.)243 CHouston RocketsXinjiang Flying Tigers (China)244 #SGAtlanta Hawks (from Washington)ASC Denain-Voltaire (France)245PGBoston Celtics (from Memphis via Denver and Dallas)Notre Dame (Jr.)246CDallas MavericksPurdue (Sr.)247SFOrlando Magic (from Chicago, traded to Portland Trail Blazers)Maryland (Sr.)248SG/SFChicago Bulls (from Portland via Cleveland)Bayern Munich (Germany)249SFDetroit PistonsSyracuse (Sr.)250PFIndiana PacersIowa State (Sr.)251PFBoston Celtics (from Miami)Providence (So.)252PF/CUtah Jazz (from Boston via Memphis)Weber State (Sr.)253PFDenver Nuggets (from Charlotte via Oklahoma City)Le Mans Sarthe (France)254PGAtlanta Hawks (traded to Cleveland Cavaliers)Oakland (Jr.)255PGBrooklyn Nets (from L.A. Clippers, traded to Utah Jazz)North Carolina (Sr.)256SG/SFDenver Nuggets (from Oklahoma City, traded to Oklahoma City Thunder)Connecticut (So.)257 #CMemphis Grizzlies (from Toronto)Fujian Sturgeons (China)258SFBoston Celtics (from Cleveland)Iowa State (Sr.)259 #PG/SGSacramento Kings (from San Antonio)Oklahoma (Sr.)260PGUtah Jazz (from Golden State)California (Sr.)
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2016 NBA draft, but have appeared in at least one regular-season or playoff game in the NBA.
Player Pos. Nationality School/club team SG/SF Illinois State (Sr.) PG Villanova (Sr.) SG/PG Wichita State (Sr.) PG NC State (Jr.) SG Texas A&M (Sr.) PG BYU (Sr.) PF/C Michigan State (Sr.) PG Indiana (Sr.) SF Florida (Sr.) PG Michigan State (Sr.) SG/SF George Washington (Sr.) SG Georgia Tech (Sr.) PF Virginia (Sr.) PG LSU (Sr.) PG Tulsa (Sr.) SG/SF DePaul (Sr.) SG Texas A&M (Sr.) SF UNLV (Fr.) SF Texas A&M (Sr.) SG Louisville (Sr.) PF Louisiana–Lafayette (Sr.) PG/SG Indianapolis (Sr.) PG Horsens Idræts Club (Denmark) SG Miami (Florida) (Sr.) SG Cal Poly (Sr.) PF Villanova (Sr.) PG West Virginia (Sr.) PG Oregon State (Sr.) C Duke (Sr.) SF/PF Kentucky (Sr.) PG/SG LSU (Jr.) PG/SG Kansas (Jr.) SG Mississippi State (Sr.) PG Texas (Jr.) C Virginia (Sr.) PF Iowa (Sr.)+ PG Wichita State (Sr.) PF Stony Brook (Sr.) SF Boise State (Jr.) SF Indiana (Jr.) PF/SF Gonzaga (Sr.) PG/SG Arizona (Sr.)
Eligibility and entrants
The draft is conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's 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. All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players, who are eligible for the 2016 draft, must be born on or before December 31, 1997. On January 13, 2016, the NCAA Division I council approved a new rule for that division that significantly changed the draft landscape for college players: Declaration for the draft no longer results in automatic loss of college eligibility. As long as a player does not sign a contract with a professional team outside the NBA, or sign with an agent, he will retain college eligibility as long as he makes a timely withdrawal from the draft. NCAA players now have until 10 days after the end of the NBA Draft Combine to withdraw from the draft. For 2016, the withdrawal date was May 25, about five weeks after the previous mid-April deadline. NCAA players may participate in the draft combine, and will also be allowed to attend one tryout per year with each NBA team without losing college eligibility. NCAA players may now enter and withdraw from the draft multiple 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 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. For the 2016 draft, this date fell on April 24. 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 newly implemented NCAA rules, players had until May 25 (10 days after the draft combine) to withdraw from the draft and retain college eligibility.
A player who has hired an agent will forfeit his remaining college eligibility regardless of whether he is drafted. The CBA allows a player to withdraw from the draft twice; the 2016 NCAA rule change brought it in line with the CBA on this detail.
College underclassmen A record-high 162 under-classed draft prospects had declared themselves for eligibility at the April 24 deadline (116 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 25, 10 days after the end of the NBA Draft Combine. At the end of the May 25 deadline, there were 57 players confirming their intentions of returning to school, thus leaving the grand total of underclassmen participating in the NBA draft as 59. Players listed in this region have publicly indicated that they have hired agents, planned to do so around this time, or made themselves their own agents; those who have hired agents and weren't drafted are deemed ineligible to return to NCAA basketball in 2016–17. However, with this year's draft class, it provided the most undrafted college underclassmen out there with 30 people there not being taken at all.
Rosco Allen – F, Stanford (junior) Tony Anderson – F, Southeast Missouri State (freshman) Wade Baldwin IV – G, Vanderbilt (sophomore) Cat Barber – G, NC State (junior) Malik Beasley – G/F, Florida State (freshman) DeAndre' Bembry – G/F, Saint Joseph's (junior) Ben Bentil – F, Providence (sophomore) Jaylen Brown – F, California (freshman) Lamous Brown – C, USU Eastern (sophomore) Kareem Canty – G, Auburn (junior) Robert Carter Jr. – F, Maryland (junior) Marquese Chriss – F, Washington (freshman) Deyonta Davis – F, Michigan State (freshman) Cheick Diallo – F/C, Kansas (freshman) Kris Dunn – G, Providence (junior) Henry Ellenson – F, Marquette (freshman) Kay Felder – G, Oakland (junior) Brannen Greene – G/F, Kansas (junior) Daniel Hamilton – G/F, Connecticut (sophomore) Cedric Happi Noube – F, Virginia Union (junior) Jordan Hare – F, Rhode Island (junior) Brandon Ingram – F, Duke (freshman) Demetrius Jackson – G, Notre Dame (junior) Julian Jacobs – G, USC (junior) / Stefan Janković – F, Hawaii (junior) Anthony January – F, Cal State San Bernardino (junior) Damian Jones – F/C, Vanderbilt (junior) Derrick Jones Jr. – F, UNLV (freshman) Nikola Jovanović – C, USC (junior) Skal Labissière – F/C, Kentucky (freshman) Jermaine Lawrence – F, Manhattan (sophomore) / Thon Maker – F/C, Orangeville Prep/Athlete Institute (postgraduate) / Emmanuel Malou – F/C, Yuba College (sophomore) Patrick McCaw – G, UNLV (sophomore) Zak McLaughlin – F/C, Gadsden State CC (freshman) Dejounte Murray – G, Washington (freshman)