The2014NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014,[1] atBarclays Center, Brooklyn.[2]National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S.college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. Thedraft lottery took place on May 7, 2014. TheCleveland Cavaliers won thedraft lottery to earn thefirst overall pick in the draft; this is the fourth number-one pick for Cleveland since 2003 and third number-one pick over a four-year span from 2011 to 2014.[3] This draft would also be the first for the rebornCharlotte Hornets, who played as the Bobcats from 2004 to 2014, since2001, when the original Charlotte Hornets last selected as the Charlotte Hornets before moving to New Orleans and eventually becoming the currentNew Orleans Pelicans.
Television rights in the United States belonged toESPN.[4] It was tipped by many to be one of the deepest and most hyped draft classes in recent years, with several players touted as future stars.[5]State Farm was the presenting sponsor of the draft.[6] College underclassmen that were highly touted by NBA scouts and executives included:Andrew Wiggins,Jabari Parker,Joel Embiid,Aaron Gordon,Julius Randle,Zach LaVine,T. J. Warren, andGary Harris. Other highly sought after talents included Australian playerDante Exum and Croatian playerDario Šarić, who both declared for the draft, andDoug McDermott, who was automatically eligible as a graduating college senior.
Highlights from the draft included the first selections made byAdam Silver as commissioner andMark Tatum as deputy commissioner, the second Canadian to be the first overall pick (Andrew Wiggins), the first pair of Canadian top 10 picks and second pair of Canadian lottery picks (Wiggins andNik Stauskas), three top 20 Canadian selections (Wiggins, Stauskas, andTyler Ennis), the firstNBA Development League player to be selected in the first round (P. J. Hairston), the first time multiple NBA Development League players were selected in the same draft (Hairston andThanasis Antetokounmpo), and the firstCape Verdean player to be selected in the draft (Walter Tavares). In addition, a standing ovation forIsaiah Austin occurred between the 15th and 16th picks of the draft, which included having the NBA itself hold a ceremonial pick to select him as a means of letting his dream of having his name be heard in the NBA draft come true, which happened days after he was diagnosed withMarfan syndrome and originally was never considered to play professional basketball again. Nearly two months after the draft ended,Andrew Wiggins was traded to theMinnesota Timberwolves as part of a three-team deal that broughtKevin Love to Cleveland; this resulted in the second time since theNBA–ABA merger that a first overall draft pick would not play a single game for the team that drafted him (the first time being theOrlando Magic draftedChris Webber first overall in1993 and then minutes later, traded Webber to theGolden State Warriors for Golden State's third overall pick in the 1993 Draft,Penny Hardaway plus three of Golden State's future first-round draft selections).
Three-time MVPNikola Jokić was taken with the 41st pick in the Second Round of the draft, making him the lowest draft selection ever to win the MVP Award and most recently the NBA Finals MVP award.[7]
These eligible players were not selected in the 2014 NBA draft but have played at least one game in the NBA. In April 2015, the undraftedSim Bhullar became the first player ofIndian descent to play in the league.
The draft is conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's new 2011collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its players union. The CBA that ended the2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft, but called for a committee of owners and players to discuss future changes.[70] As of 2014[update], 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 2014 draft must be born on or before December 31, 1995.[71]
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.[71] The CBA defines "international players" as players who permanently resided outside the United States 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.[72]
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.[73][74] For the 2014 draft, this date fell on April 27. 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.[75] Under then-current NCAA rules, players only had until April 16 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility.[76][n 11]
A player who has hired anagent will forfeit his remaining college eligibility, regardless of whether he is drafted.[78] Also, while the CBA allows a player to withdraw from the draft twice,[75] the NCAA then mandated that a player who declared twice lost his college eligibility.[76][n 12]
This year, a total of 45 collegiate players and 30 international players declared as early entry candidates.[79][80] On June 16, the withdrawal deadline, 18 early entry candidates withdrew from the draft, leaving 44 collegiate players and 13 international players as the early entry candidates for the draft.[81]
Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:[89]
They have completed 4 years of their college eligibility.
If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated.
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under that contract.
Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
They are least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players born on or before December 31, 1992, are automatically eligible for the 2014 draft.[90]
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBAwithin the United States, and have played under that contract.[91]
Before the draft, the NBA released a list ofD-League players who are automatically eligible for the draft.[87]
The invitation-onlyNBA Draft Combine occurred in Chicago from May 14 to 18. 60 players were invited.[92] The 2014 D-League Elite Mini Camp, which included 37 players, occurred in Chicago in the two days preceding the combine.[93]
The first 14 picks in the draft belong to teams that had missed theplayoffs; the order was determined through a lottery. The lottery determined the three teams that would 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 theprevious 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 18, 2014.[94]
The lottery was held on May 20, 2014, at theTimes Square Studios in New York City.[95] TheCleveland Cavaliers, who had the ninth-worst record, won the lottery with just a 1.7% chance to win thefirst pick. It was the second year in a row the Cavaliers won the lottery, as well as their third time in four years.[96] It also tied theChicago Bulls ascension in the2008 NBA draft for the second largest upset ever and the largest upset in the current lottery system that started in1994.[97] TheMilwaukee Bucks, who had the worst record and the highest chance to win the lottery at 25%, obtained the second pick. The lottery completed with thePhiladelphia 76ers, who had the second-worst record, obtaining the third pick.[96]
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places:
In the first round of the draft, each team has five minutes to decide which player they would like to select. During the five minutes, the team can also propose a trade with another team before making their final selection.[98] TheNBA commissioner then announce the selection and the player, wearing a basketball cap sporting the team's logo, comes up to the stage to be congratulated and presented to the audience.[99][100] In the second round, each team has two minutes to make their picks while the deputy commissioner assumes the commissioner's role.[101][102]
The NBA annually invites around 10–15 players to sit in the so-called "green room", a special room set aside at the draft site for the invited players to sit with their families and agents.[103] When their names are called, the player leaves the room and goes up on stage. Other players who are not invited, are allowed to attend the ceremony, sit in the stands with the fans and walk up on stage when they're drafted.[104] This year, however, the league decided to invite 21 players to the green room. The 20 players who were invited and attended the draft areTyler Ennis,Dante Exum,Aaron Gordon,Gary Harris,Rodney Hood,Zach LaVine,Doug McDermott,Shabazz Napier,Jusuf Nurkić,Jabari Parker,Adreian Payne,Elfrid Payton,Julius Randle,Dario Šarić,Marcus Smart,Nik Stauskas,Noah Vonleh,T. J. Warren,Andrew Wiggins andJames Young.[105][106]Joel Embiid was invited, but he was unable to attend the draft due to an injury sustained before the draft and its subsequent surgery that prevented him from traveling to New York.[107] Out of the 21 players invited, 19 players were selected in the top 19. The other two, Hood and Napier, were selected 23rd and 24th respectively.
In addition to the above, formerBaylor playerIsaiah Austin, who had declared for the draft but was forced to end his playing career after being diagnosed withMarfan syndrome during a physical for the draft, was invited to attend as a special guest of commissionerAdam Silver.[108] During the draft, he was ceremonially drafted by the league between the 15th and the 16th picks and came up to the stage sporting a generic NBA cap.[109]
Orlando acquiredArron Afflalo,Al Harrington,the lesser of Denver's two 2014 first-round picks (Denver's own pick and New York's pick) and a 2013 second-round pick from Denver
Oklahoma City acquiredKevin Martin,Jeremy Lamb, a 2013 first-round pick,Dallas' conditional 2013 first-round pick (protected top 20 in 2013–14) and a 2013 second-round pick
Utah acquiredAndris Biedriņš,Richard Jefferson,Brandon Rush,a 2014 first-round pick, a 2017 first-round pick, 2017 and 2018 second-round picks, and cash considerations from Golden State
Charlotte acquiredJoel Przybilla,Dante Cunningham,Sean Marks, a 2011 first-round pick,a conditional 2013 first-round pick (protected top 12 in 2013–14) and cash considerations
^abcNationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according toFIBA rules.
^abDante Exum attended the Australian Institute of Sport in conjunction with attending and playing high school basketball forLake Ginninderra Secondary College until January 2014.[85]
^abDario Šarić played for Cibona Zagreb during the 2013–14 season, but was signed byAnadolu Efes (Turkey) on June 24, 2014.[86]
^Shabazz Napier was born in the United States to a Puerto Rican mother. He has committed to representPuerto Rico internationally since 2012, although he is yet to play for Puerto Rico.[26][27]
^Antetokounmpo was born in Greece to Nigerian parents. He holds dual citizenship and plays for theGreece national basketball team.
^Pelle was born in Antigua and Barbuda and raised in the United States; he also holds Lebanese citizenship by naturalization. Since 2017, he plays for theLebanon national basketball team.
^Effective in2016, the NCAA changed its withdrawal date to 10 days after the end of the annualNBA Draft Combine held in mid-May.[77]
^Also in 2016, the NCAA changed its draft declaration rules to allow players to declare for and withdraw from more than one draft without losing college eligibility, as long as they make a timely withdrawal without signing a professional contract outside the NBA or hiring an agent.[77]
^William Alston last played for Community College of Baltimore County in 2011[82]
^About a week before the draft, Isaiah Austin was diagnosed withMarfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects connective tissue. Because the condition frequently has serious and life-threatening effects on the heart and circulatory system, Austin was advised to end his playing career.[83]
^Although Chane Behanan is listed as being from Colorado State, he never played for that school. He was dismissed fromLouisville during the holiday break between the fall 2013 and spring 2014 academic terms. After leaving Louisville, Behanan enrolled in classes at Colorado State with hopes of playing there in 2014–15, but instead chose to enter the draft.[84]
^P. J. Hairston played collegiately forNorth Carolina but was suspended for the 2013–14 season and later left college basketball to play professionally.[88] Although he met the criteria for automatic eligibility for the draft, the NBA still considered him as an early-entrant college underclassman and allowed him to withdraw from the draft.[87]
^ab"Article X, Section 1(b)(i)".2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived fromthe original on February 27, 2008. RetrievedApril 17, 2008.
^"Article X, Section 1(c)".2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived fromthe original on June 21, 2009. RetrievedApril 17, 2008.
^"Article X, Section 1(b)(ii)(F)".2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived fromthe original on February 27, 2008. RetrievedApril 17, 2008. (non-international players)
^"Article X, Section 1(b)(ii)(G)(3)".2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived fromthe original on February 27, 2008. RetrievedApril 17, 2008. (international players)
^ab"Article X, Section 8(c)".2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived fromthe original on October 12, 2008.
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