Next June 22, draft day of the NBA, there are just under three months left, but between now and then there are some deadlines to take into account. Let’s see them.
April 23 (11:59 PM ET): Deadline for early entrants to declare in the draft
College players and early international entrants have until the end of the day on April 23 to submit their names in the 2023 NBA draft pool. They can withdraw their names at a later date if they decide they aren’t quite ready to turn pro, even if college players wanted to maintain their NCAA eligibility, they cannot hire an agent who is not certified by the NCAA. Once the roster of early attendees is set, NBA teams can begin conducting or attending workouts for those players.
13-14 maggio: NBA G League Elite Camp
In 2019, the NBA’s recently revamped Elite Camp consisted of 40 invited G League veterans attending the first half of the event, followed by 40 top draft-eligible players (who had not yet been invited) taking part in the second half.
After being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Elite Camp returned in 2021, but featured only 40 draft-eligible prospects, with no G League players. That format has been carried over to 2022, with 44 prospects in attendance, and will presumably continue in 2023.
May 15-21: NBA Draft
This week-long event, held annually in Chicago, allows NBA teams to get a first-hand look at many of the best draft eligible players of the year.
Matchmaking is often especially important for early entrants who have yet to decide whether or not to stay in the draft. The feedback they get at matchmaking could go a long way in deciding whether to keep their names on the draft roster or go back to school for another year.
May 16: NBA Lottery
The 2023 lottery will be the fifth to use the new format, introduced in 2019. With the lottery odds flattened, the worst team in the NBA has a 14% chance of landing the first overall pick, compared to the 25% chance it had before ’19.
The new system has generated some buzz over the past four sweepstakes: Seven of the 16 teams that landed top four picks since 2019 entered the night without a top six spot in the standings.
The Pelicans and Grizzlies climbed from seventh and eighth in the lottery standings in 2019 to claim the top two picks, but one of the worst three teams in the NBA has taken first place in each of the last three lotteries. Will there be surprises in 2023?
May 31 (11:59 PM ET): NCAA Participant Early Withdrawal Deadline
College underclassmen — and seniors who can play for more than one season — who want to maintain their NCAA eligibility will need to withdraw their names from the draft pool by May 31. NBA rules call for a later deadline for pickup, but the NCAA has its own set of rules that say the deadline is 10 days after the end of the fixture.
An early entrant could technically wait until after May 31 to withdraw from the draft and could still retain his or her NBA draft eligibility for a future year. However, he would lose his amateur status in that scenario, making him ineligible to return to his NCAA team. College players who want to play overseas for a year or two before entering the NBA draft could take this route.
– June 12 (5:00 PM ET): NBA Participant Early Retirement Deadline
This is the final NBA deadline for early entrants to withdraw their names from the draft pool and maintain their draft eligibility for a future year.
At this point, we generally know whether or not a college player has decided to keep his name in the draft, but this is an important deadline for international players, who aren’t subject to the same restrictions as college players. We will likely hear of several early international attendees who withdrew during the days leading up to June 12.
June 22: day of the NBA draft
The most exciting weeks of the NBA offseason unofficially begin on draft day, which is often the time when many of the first major trades of the summer are completed and when we learn where some teams are headed.
It’s also worth noting that the hours and days after the draft ends will be extremely important to many of the potential candidates for this year’s draft: Plenty of players who aren’t drafted with one of the 58 picks in the draft will strike deals shortly thereafter. Play for an NBA team’s summer league team, attend training camp with a club, or sign a two-way contract.
