The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. It was televised nationally by ESPN. State Farm was the presenting sponsor of the NBA draft for the seventh consecutive year. This draft was the last to use the original weighted lottery system that gave teams near the bottom of the NBA draft better odds at the top three picks of the draft while teams higher up had worse odds in the process; the rule was agreed upon by the NBA on September 28, 2017, but would not be implemented until the 2019 draft. It was also considered the final year where undrafted college underclassmen were forced to begin their professional careers early; on August 8, 2018, the NCAA announced that players who declared for the NBA draft and were not selected would have the opportunity to return to their school for at least another year. With the last year of what was, at the time, the most recent lottery system (with the NBA draft lottery being held in Chicago instead of in New York), the Phoenix Suns won the first overall pick on May 15, 2018, with the Sacramento Kings at the second overall pick and the Atlanta Hawks at third overall pick. The Suns' selection was their first No. 1 overall selection in franchise history. They used the selection on the Bahamian center Deandre Ayton from the nearby University of Arizona.
This draft was also notable for its lack of draft-day trades involving NBA veterans. An average of more than five veterans per year were traded on the day of the last three drafts, but this draft was the first since 2003 in which no such trades were announced. At the end of the 2018–19 season the top 5 picks from the draft were picked as the All-Rookie 1st Team, the first time this had happened since the 1984 draft.
Draft selections PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center
Player Team 11CPhoenix SunsArizona (Fr.)12PFSacramento KingsDuke (Fr.)13*~PGAtlanta Hawks (traded to Dallas)Real Madrid (Spain)14+PFMemphis GrizzliesMichigan State (Fr.)15*PGDallas Mavericks (traded to Atlanta)Oklahoma (Fr.)16COrlando MagicTexas (Fr.)17CChicago BullsDuke (Fr.)18SG/PGCleveland Cavaliers (from Brooklyn via Boston)Alabama (Fr.)19SFNew York KnicksKentucky (Fr.)110SFPhiladelphia 76ers (from L.A. Lakers via Phoenix; traded to Phoenix)Villanova (Jr.)111*SG/PGCharlotte Hornets (traded to the L.A. Clippers)Kentucky (Fr.)112SFLos Angeles Clippers (from Detroit, traded to Charlotte)Michigan State (So.)113SGLos Angeles ClippersBoston College (Jr.)114SFDenver NuggetsMissouri (Fr.)115SFWashington WizardsOregon (Fr.)116SGPhoenix Suns (from Miami; traded to Philadelphia)Texas Tech (Fr.)117SGMilwaukee BucksVillanova (So.)118SGSan Antonio SpursMiami (Fr.)119SGAtlanta Hawks (from Minnesota)Maryland (So.)120SGMinnesota Timberwolves (from Oklahoma City via Utah)Georgia Tech (So.)121SGUtah JazzDuke ((Sr.)122SF/SGChicago Bulls (from New Orleans)Boise State (Sr.)123PGIndiana PacersUCLA (Jr.)124SGPortland Trail BlazersIMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida; HSPg.)125PFLos Angeles Lakers (from Cleveland via Portland and Cleveland)Michigan (Jr.)126SGPhiladelphia 76ersWichita State (So.)127PF/CBoston CelticsTexas A&M (So.)128SGGolden State WarriorsCincinnati (Jr.)129SFBrooklyn Nets (from Toronto)Cedevita Zagreb (Croatia)130PFAtlanta Hawks (from Houston via L.A. Clippers)Villanova (Fr.)231PGPhoenix SunsPau-Lacq-Orthez (France)232PGMemphis GrizzliesWest Virginia (Sr.)233*PGDallas MavericksVillanova (Jr.)234PGAtlanta Hawks (traded to Charlotte) Kansas (Sr.)235SFOrlando MagicTulane (Jr.)236CNew York Knicks (from Chicago via Oklahoma City)Chalmette HS (Chalmette, Louisiana; HS Sr.)237SGSacramento Kings (traded to Portland)Duke (Fr.)238SGPhiladelphia 76ers (from Brooklyn, traded to Detroit)Creighton (Jr.)239SFPhiladelphia 76ers (from New York, traded to the L.A. Lakers)Frankfurt Skyliners (Germany)240SFBrooklyn Nets (from L.A. Lakers via Orlando and Toronto)FC Barcelona Lassa (Spain)241SFOrlando Magic (from Charlotte via Memphis and Phoenix, traded to Denver)Kentucky (Fr.)242SGDetroit PistonsMiami (So.)243#SFDenver Nuggets (from L.A. Clippers via Philadelphia and New York, traded to Orlando)Maryland (So.)244#PGWashington WizardsOlimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia)245SGBrooklyn Nets (from Milwaukee, traded to Oklahoma City via Charlotte)Kentucky (Fr.)246SGHouston Rockets (from Miami via Memphis)USC (So.)247SGLos Angeles Lakers (from Denver via Utah and Chicago)Kansas (Sr.)248SFMinnesota TimberwolvesOhio State (Jr.)249PFSan Antonio SpursUSC (Jr.)250PFIndiana PacersMissouri State (Sr.)251#PGNew Orleans Pelicans (from New Orleans via Miami, New Orleans and Chicago)Penn State (So.)252SFUtah Jazz (traded to Houston)Purdue (Sr.)253SGOklahoma City ThunderVirginia (Sr.)254SGDallas Mavericks (from Portland via Denver, traded to Philadelphia)SMU (Jr.)255SFCharlotte Hornets (from Cleveland via Philadelphia and Brooklyn)Orlandina Basket (Italy)256PFPhiladelphia 76ers (traded to Dallas)Louisville (Jr.)257PFOklahoma City Thunder (from Boston)Texas-Arlington (Sr.)258CDenver Nuggets (from Golden State)UCLA (Sr.)259SGPhoenix Suns (from Toronto)Colorado (Sr.)260SF/PFPhiladelphia 76ers (from Houston, traded to Dallas)Dayton (Fr.)
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2018 NBA draft, but have played at least one game in the NBA.
Player Pos. Nationality School/club team PG St. Bonaventure (Sr.) SF Louisville (Jr.) SG Arizona (So.) SG BYU (Sr.) PG College of Charleston (Sr.) PG Florida (Sr.) PF Cincinnati (Sr.) PF Notre Dame (Sr.) PF Winthrop (Sr.) SF Georgetown (Jr.) C Texas A&M (Jr.) C Seton Hall (Sr.) PG Duke (Fr.) C Oregon State (Jr.) PF Kentucky (So.) SF Xavier (Sr.) PG Florida Gulf Coast (Sr.) SG Clemson (Sr.) SF Wheeling Jesuit (Sr.) SG La Salle (Sr.) SF New Mexico State (Sr.) C Saint Mary's (Sr.) SG New Mexico State (Sr.) PG Arkansas (Sr.) SG Xavier ([Sr.) C/PF Brisbane Bullets (Australia) SF Butler (Sr.) PF Georgia (Sr.) SG Purdue (Sr.) PG USC (Sr.) PF UC Davis (Sr.) SG Kansas (So.) PG Oakland (Sr.) SF North Carolina (Sr.) C LSU (Sr.) SG Tulane (Sr.) SG Michigan (Sr.) SG LSU (Jr.) SG Ohio State (Sr.) SG Rhode Island (Sr.) PF Lincoln Memorial (Sr.) SG Arizona (Jr.) SG/PG UC Santa Barbara (Sr.) SF George Washington (Sr.) PF Gonzaga (Sr.) SF TCU (Sr.)
Combine
The invitation-only NBA Draft Combine was held in Chicago from May 16 to 20. The on-court element of the combine took place on May 18 and 19. A total of 69 players were invited to the NBA Draft this year, with two top talents in Deandre Ayton and Luka Dončić declining invitations for the event that year, with the latter player being involved with the 2018 EuroLeague Final Four at the time. Both mystery man Mitchell Robinson and Chandler Hutchison would remove themselves from the event at the last minute, although two other players would enter the event instead of them, leaving the proper number of official participants at 69. At the end of the draft deadline for international players, 12 players that entered the NBA Draft Combine that year ultimately withdrew from the NBA Draft, with 11 players returning to college and Brian Bowen planning on playing professionally before trying another NBA draft instead.
Draft lottery
The NBA draft lottery took place during the playoffs on May 15, 2018. This year will be the last time it uses what was originally the updated system for the NBA draft lottery to upgrade draft odds for teams in the lower regions of the NBA. Starting in 2019 onward, the newer updated draft lottery will give the bottom 3 teams equal odds for the No. 1 pick, while some of the teams higher up the NBA draft would get an increased chance for a top-four pick instead of a top-three pick like in this year, thus hoping to discourage teams from potentially losing games on purpose for higher draft picks (and potentially better talent in the process). There were also two tiebreakers involved for lottery odds this season; the first involved the Dallas Mavericks having one more result favoring them having the No. 1 pick over the Atlanta Hawks after splitting the odds together, while the second tiebreaker had the Chicago Bulls splitting odds with the Sacramento Kings, resulting in the Bulls having slightly better odds on their end in the process. Funnily enough, both of the teams mentioned that lost the tiebreakers would wind up being in the Top 3 at the end of the NBA draft lottery. Furthermore, the Hawks would trade their Top 3 selection to Dallas for their selection in the draft instead.
Denotes the actual lottery result
Team 2017–18record Lotterychances Lottery probabilities 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th Phoenix Suns 21–61 250 .250 .215 .178 .358 — — — — — — — — — — Memphis Grizzlies 22–60 199 .199 .188 .171 .319 .124 — — — — — — — — — Dallas Mavericks 24–58 138 .138 .142 .145 .238 .290 .045 — — — — — — — — Atlanta Hawks 24–58 137 .137 .142 .145 .085 .323 .155 .013 — — — — — — — Orlando Magic 25–57 88 .088 .096 .106 — .262 .359 .084 .004 — — — — — — Chicago Bulls 27–55 53 .053 .060 .070 — — .440 .331 .045 .001 — — — — — Sacramento Kings 27–55 53 .053 .060 .070 — — — .573 .226 .018 .000 — — — — Brooklyn Nets 28–54 28 .028 .033 .039 — — — — .725 .168 .008 .000 — — — New York Knicks 29–53 17 .017 .020 .024 — — — — — .813 .122 .004 .000 — — Los Angeles Lakers 35–47 11 .011 .013 .016 — — — — — — .870 .089 .002 .000 — Charlotte Hornets 36–46 8 .008 .009 .012 — — — — — — — .908 .063 .001 .000 Detroit Pistons 39–43 7 .007 .008 .010 — — — — — — — — .935 .039 .000 Los Angeles Clippers 42–40 6 .006 .007 .009 — — — — — — — — — .960 .018 Denver Nuggets 46–36 5 .005 .006 .007 — — — — — — — — — — .982
Eligibility and entrants
The draft is conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's 2017 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its players' union. The previous 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 2018 draft must be born on or before December 31, 1999. Since the 2016 draft, the following rules, as implemented by the NCAA Division I council for that division, are: 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 have until 10 days after the end of the NBA Draft Combine to withdraw from the draft. Since the combine is held in mid-May, the current deadline is about five weeks after the previous mid-April deadline. NCAA players may participate in the draft combine and are allowed to attend one tryout per year with each NBA team without losing college eligibility. NCAA players may enter and withdraw from the draft up to two times without loss of eligibility. Previously, the NCAA treated the 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