The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. It was televised nationally on ESPN. State Farm was the presenting sponsor of the NBA draft for the eighth consecutive year. This draft was the first to feature a new weighted lottery system in which the three worst teams each had a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery; these teams were the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Phoenix Suns. The lottery took place on May 14, during the NBA playoffs. Three of the four teams who held the top four picks of the draft this year rose up from at least six spots in the lottery, including the New Orleans Pelicans, who won the first pick with 6 percent odds. The Pelicans used that pick on Duke forward Zion Williamson. After Williamson, his college teammates R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish were drafted in the top 10 as part of a talented Duke roster. This draft included the first Japanese player to be selected in the first round (Rui Hachimura), as well as the first Angolan player to be selected (Bruno Fernando).
Draft selections
PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center
Player Team 11+PF United StatesNew Orleans PelicansDuke (Fr.)12*~PGMemphis GrizzliesMurray State (So.)13SG/SF CanadaNew York KnicksDuke (Fr.)14SFLos Angeles Lakers (traded to Atlanta via New Orleans)Virginia (So.)15+PGCleveland CavaliersVanderbilt (Fr.)16SGPhoenix Suns (traded to Minnesota)Texas Tech (So.)17PGChicago BullsNorth Carolina (Fr.)18CAtlanta Hawks (traded to New Orleans)Texas (Fr.)19PF JapanWashington WizardsGonzaga (Jr.)110SFAtlanta Hawks (from Dallas)Duke (Fr.)111SFMinnesota Timberwolves (traded to Phoenix)North Carolina (Sr.)112PFCharlotte HornetsKentucky (So.)113+SGMiami HeatKentucky (Fr.)114SGBoston Celtics (from Sacramento via Philadelphia)Indiana (Fr.)115SF FranceDetroit PistonsLimoges CSP (France)116PFOrlando MagicAuburn (So.)117SGBrooklyn Nets (traded to New Orleans via Atlanta)Virginia Tech (So.)118C GeorgiaIndiana PacersMega Bemax (Serbia)119PF CroatiaSan Antonio SpursOlimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia)120SF AustraliaBoston Celtics (from L.A. Clippers via Memphis; traded to Philadelphia)Washington (Sr.)121PFOklahoma City Thunder (traded to Memphis) Gonzaga (Jr.)122PFBoston CelticsTennessee (Jr.)123SFUtah Jazz (traded to Oklahoma City via Memphis)Princeton HS (Sharonville, Ohio; HS Sr.)124PGPhiladelphia 76ers (traded to Boston; traded to Phoenix)Virginia (Jr.)125SFPortland Trail BlazersNorth Carolina (Fr.)126SFCleveland Cavaliers (from Houston)Belmont (Sr.)127CBrooklyn Nets (from Denver; traded to L.A. Clippers)Florida State (So.)128SGGolden State WarriorsMichigan (So.)129SFSan Antonio Spurs (from Toronto)Kentucky (Fr.)130SGMilwaukee Bucks (traded to Detroit; later traded to Cleveland)USC (Fr.)231PF U.S. Virgin IslandsBrooklyn Nets (from New York via Philadelphia)Georgia (So.)232SF NigeriaPhoenix Suns (traded to Miami)Stanford (So.)233PGPhiladelphia 76ers (from Cleveland via New York and Orlando; traded to Boston)Purdue (Jr.)234C AngolaPhiladelphia 76ers (from Chicago via L.A. Lakers; traded to Atlanta)Maryland (So.)235SFAtlanta Hawks (traded to New Orleans)Sesi/Franca (Brazil)236SFCharlotte Hornets (from Washington via Atlanta, Denver, and Orlando)Nevada (Sr.)237SFDallas Mavericks (traded to Detroit)Rytas Vilnius (Lithuania)238CChicago Bulls (from Memphis)Arkansas (So.)239C SerbiaNew Orleans Pelicans (traded to Golden State)Santa Cruz Warriors (G League)240SGSacramento Kings (from Minnesota via Cleveland and Portland)Wyoming (Sr.)241PFGolden State Warriors (from L.A. Lakers via Indiana, Cleveland and Atlanta)Villanova (Sr.)242SFPhiladelphia 76ers (from Sacramento via Milwaukee and Brooklyn; traded to Washington)Tennessee (Sr.)243SGMinnesota Timberwolves (from Miami via Charlotte)Washington (So.)244CMiami Heat (from Charlotte via Atlanta; traded to Denver)Oregon (Fr.)245SFDetroit Pistons (from Detroit via Oklahoma City and Boston; traded to Dallas)Nebraska (Jr.)246SGOrlando Magic (from Brooklyn via Charlotte and Memphis; traded to L.A. Lakers)Iowa State (Fr.)247SFSacramento Kings (from Orlando via New York; traded to New York)Michigan (Fr.)248SFLos Angeles ClippersFlorida State (Sr.)249 SGSan Antonio SpursMississippi State (Sr.)250PFIndiana Pacers (traded to Utah)Charleston (Sr.)251PG Puerto RicoWaters was born in the United States to Puerto Rican parents. He plays for the Puerto Rico national basketball team.Boston CelticsLSU (So.)252PFCharlotte Hornets (from Oklahoma City)San Diego State (So.)253PGUtah JazzHofstra (Sr.)254SGPhiladelphia 76ersIowa State (Sr.)255SGNew York Knicks (from Houston; traded to Sacramento)Virginia (Jr.)256#PGLos Angeles Clippers (from Portland via Orlando and Detroit; traded to Brooklyn)UCLA (So.)257PGNew Orleans Pelicans (from Denver via Milwaukee; traded to Detroit via Atlanta and Philadelphia)Tennessee (Jr.)258SGGolden State Warriors (traded to Utah)Yale (Jr.)259PFToronto RaptorsMiami (Jr.)260#SGSacramento Kings (from Milwaukee)Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) Draft order and selections adapted from NBA website.
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2019 NBA draft, but have played at least one game in the NBA.
Player Pos. Nationality School/club team PF/C Tennessee (Sr.) SG Montana State (Sr.) C Duke (Jr.) SF/SG Sydney Kings (Australia) PG Boston College (Jr.) SF Syracuse (So.) SG Houston (Jr.) SF Saint Joseph's (So.) C UCLA (Fr.) SG Murray State (Sr.) PF UNC Wilmington (Sr.) PG Princeton (Sr.) PG Old Dominion (Sr.) SF Arizona State (Sr.) PG Campbell (Sr.) SG Minnesota (Jr.) PF Iowa (Jr.) SG Ole Miss (Sr.) SG Arizona State (Fr.) C UCF (Sr.) PF Washington State (Sr.) PG South Carolina (Sr.) PF/C Alabama (Sr.) SG Montana State (Sr.) PG Auburn (Jr.) SF Wake Forest (Fr.) SG/SF Tulsa (Sr.) SF Oregon (Fr.) SG Purdue Fort Wayne (Sr.) SF Northwestern (Sr.) PG Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire; HS Pg.) SG/SF Nevada (Sr.) PG Memphis (Sr.) SG Lipscomb (Sr.) PF Nebraska (Jr.) SG Mega Bemax (Serbia) SG Texas Tech (Sr.) F Indiana (Sr.) SG Gonzaga (So.) F Texas Tech (Sr.) PG St. John's (Jr.) PF Missouri (So.) SG Penn State (Sr.) PF/C LSU (Fr.) PG Virginia Tech (Sr.) PF South Carolina (Sr.) SG DePaul (Sr.) SG Little Rock (Jr.) PF Kansas State (Sr.) SG Iowa State (So.)
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 below.
Draft-day trades Draft-day trades were made on June 20, 2019, the day of the draft.
Post-draft trades The following trades were reportedly agreed prior to and on the day of the draft and were completed at a later date. Due to salary cap reasons, most of these trades were officially announced on July 6, after the NBA moratorium period ended.
Combine
The invitation-only NBA Draft Combine was held in Chicago from May 15 to 19. The on-court element of the combine took place on May 17 and 18. This year, 66 players were originally invited to the combine, including top prospects Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. The pool of participants also included Croatian Luka Šamanić, postgraduate Jalen Lecque, and Darius Bazley, who took a route similar to Mitchell Robinson with not playing in college or another league for a year before entering the draft. A couple of prospects also returned to the event after entering the previous year's combine, include an injury recovering Jontay Porter and Brian Bowen, a player who entered last year as a collegiate participant last year before heading off to play professionally in Australia this year. In addition, this year also introduced the NBA G League Elite Camp, which gave a certain number of draft hopefuls a chance to transfer into the NBA Draft Combine afterward. This year, eleven participants from that event joined the combine, increasing the number of total invites up to 77. One of the additional invites was Tacko Fall, who broke combine records for height (reaching with shoes on), wingspan, and standing reach.
Draft lottery
The NBA draft lottery took place during the Playoffs on May 14, 2019. This was the first year in which the new NBA draft lottery system is applied, where the draft lottery was expanded to the top four picks (rather than the top three); and where the three teams with the worst records had equal odds. Teams with better records had an increased chance for a top-four pick when compared to the previous system, which was what happened for the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, and Los Angeles Lakers this year.
Denotes the actual lottery result
Team 2018–19record Lotterychances Lottery probabilities 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th New York Knicks 17–65 140 .140 .134 .127 .119 .479 — — — — — — — — — Cleveland Cavaliers 19–63 140 .140 .134 .127 .119 .278 .200 — — — — — — — — Phoenix Suns 19–63 140 .140 .134 .127 .119 .148 .260 .071 — — — — — — — Chicago Bulls 22–60 125 .125 .122 .119 .114 .072 .257 .168 .022 — — — — — — Atlanta Hawks 29–53 105 .105 .105 .105 .105 .022 .196 .267 .088 .006 — — — — — Washington Wizards 32–50 90 .090 .092 .094 .096 — .086 .296 .206 .038 .002 — — — — New Orleans Pelicans 33–49 60 .060 .063 .067 .072 — — .197 .372 .151 .016 .000 — — — Memphis Grizzlies 33–49 60 .060 .063 .067 .072 — — — .312 .341 .080 .005 .000 — — Dallas Mavericks 33–49 60 .060 .063 .067 .072 — — — — .464 .243 .029 .001 .000 — Minnesota Timberwolves 36–46 30 .030 .033 .036 .040 — — — — — .659 .190 .012 .000 .000 Los Angeles Lakers 37–45 20 .020 .022 .024 .028 — — — — — — .776 .126 .004 .000 Charlotte Hornets 39–43 10 .010 .011 .012 .014 — — — — — — — .861 .090 .002 Miami Heat 39–43 10 .010 .011 .012 .014 — — — — — — — — .906 .046 Sacramento Kings 39–43 10 .010 .011 .012 .014 — — — — — — — — — .952
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 2019 draft must be born on or before December 31, 2000. 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 an 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. Starting this year, any undrafted underclassmen in the college system will have the opportunity to return to their college or university for at least one more season, provided they terminate their prior agreements with the agent they signed up with.
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