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How do basketball players get their numbers
What Are NBA Jersey Number Rules (Quick Explanation)
When you watch an NBA game, the last thing you are probably thinking is, “what’s the story behind that guy’s jersey?”
A jersey is part of the NBA uniform. Everyone wears one, and every NBA player has a number that helps teammates, opponents, referees, and fans identify them. But did you know how intricate jersey number rules can be? And do you realize just how much thought is put into a player selecting their jersey number?
This article will break down the NBA jersey rules and retell some of the most interesting stories behind famous players and their numbers.
NBA Jersey Rules
I will admit it: I was one of those fans who never thought about jersey rules. To me, the game and the players who excelled at it was the only thing that mattered. I also played basketball in high school and college. As someone who chose the number 33 after Larry “Legend” (and because shooting was my specialty), I thought I knew all there was to a number.
I was wrong.
First, we’ll look at the jersey rules from the NBA’s perspective. Then, we’ll talk about what goes into the process from the player’s side.
The league’s rules behind jersey number selection are pretty straightforward: players can wear any number combination between 00 and 99—almost. The one number not allowed is 69 for . . . obvious reasons. The NBA can thank rebounding great and Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman for this little wrinkle.
The Dennis Rodman Story
Always the rabble-rousing contrarian (to put it nicely), Rodman decided on pushing the envelope when he joined the Dallas Mavericks late in his career. He chose #69 as his jersey number. The team almost went ahead with it, even printing some jerseys with the number.
It wasn’t until Mavs owner Mark Cuban and NBA commissioner David Stern caught wind that the number switch was mandated. Now, on the scale of Rodman antics during his illustrious career, this is one of the mildest transgressions. It still caused a stir in the league, though. Rodman backed down without much of a fight and chose jersey number 70 (69+1) instead.
When A Number Can’t Be Used
There are a few instances when you cannot choose a number as a player. The first is when the number is retired by the team for which you play. For example, if you play for the Chicago Bulls, you will never wear Michael Jordan’s famous number 23.
There are exceptions to this rule. If a player asks the retired number owner’s permission, only the retiree can allow it. Good luck getting MJ to do that, Bulls players.
The second instance in which a number can’t be used is if another current player already owns it. Let me dream for a minute. Let’s pretend that I make the Golden State Warriors roster, and my desired jersey number was 30. I am going to be unable to get that number because Steph Curry wears it. Granted, I could ask him to switch numbers with me, but I highly doubt that would happen.
In the ’90s and ’00s, if someone had a number you wanted, you could simply buy it from them. The jersey market got a bit outrageous—although more so in the NFL than the NBA—and players buying a number has slowed down. This trend has slowed: we live in an age where pro athletes value their money and have learned from the mistakes of their predecessors. But it just goes to show you how important a jersey number can be.
How Jersey Numbers Are Chosen
There are several reasons that players choose their number. Some choose dates like birthdays of relatives. Some choose numbers based on their childhood idols. And some are given a number in youth basketball that stays with them for years.
Athletes tend to be superstitious. They often have routines before, during, and after a game that they stick to religiously. They might have special handshakes with each of their teammates. They perform rituals on the foul line before each shot they take. They wear certain items under their uniforms—sweatbands, sneakers, socks. The jersey number is a part of this, and many will go to great lengths to keep them.
Some may wonder why more players don’t use jersey numbers that are higher than 5. Current star Luka Doncic is one of the only notable players with a number north of 5 on his jersey, choosing to don the number 77. Why?
For one, many players keep their college numbers when entering the league. The NCAA has stricter rules regarding the numbers you can wear, not allowing their players any number past #55. The reason behind this? Referees.
When communicating fouls and other violations to the scorer’s table, refs use two hands to note the player number. For instance, if #21 commits a foul, the ref will hold up two fingers on one hand and one finger on the other, indicating the player number. Many would argue that the communication between the ref and the scorer’s table can change, and the silly number limitations can be updated.
As of now, however, that is the rule.
Also Read:
Famous NBA Players Who Wore/Wear Number 12
Which Famous Basketball Players Wore the Number 34
Final Thoughts
As you can see, much thought and deliberation go into jersey numbers. The NBA does a good job of allowing players to choose almost any number they want, barring certain exemptions—a player already wearing it, a team’s retired numbers, the number 69.
So, next time you are watching the game, take a look at a player’s jersey number and wonder why the heck it is they chose it. Was it superstition? Does that number have a special meaning to them? Or maybe that player next to them on the bench already had their favorite number locked up. Either way, a lot goes into a number.
What number did you wear playing sports and why is it special? Let us know in the comments section below!
What are the NBA Jersey number rules? – Basketball Noise
All NBA Jersey numbers are intrinsic to NBA players. Numbers can be chosen by a player for a sentimental reason or there can be no reason at all. We’ve mentioned before how number 23 is iconic with Michael Jordan. But are there any rules that’s determined what numbers that can be put on the back of an NBA Jersey.
What are NBA jersey number rules? NBA players can pick numbers from 00 – 99. If the jersey a player wants is retired, then the player has to write to the individual to ask permissions to wear that jersey number.
We have taken a look at the rules in relation to jersey numbers. Are there any jersey numbers that NBA players not allowed to wear? What happens when an NBA player goes to a team and their jersey number is retired?
If you are thinking of buying a NBA players jersey, then click here to be taken to Fanatics who are the official supplier of NBA jerseys.
Is the number 69 banned in the NBA?
Any request for jersey number needs to be approved by the NBA. Dennis Rodman moved to the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 and requested that he had the number 69 jersey. Mark Cuban was so excited to have Rodman on his team that he agreed and even had some jerseys made up. Even though Cubans purchase of the Dallas Mavericks had yet to be ratified by the NBA. David Stern reviewed Rodmans request and felt the number 69 had negative connotations particular for such a high profile player such as Dennis Rodman.
When Rodman heard that he had has number choice rejected, he chose to have number 70 instead. As a point of reference no player has have worn the number 69 jersey in the NBA.
The NBA only allows two digit numbers on the back of their Jersey.
The NBA only allows numbers which have two digits. For instance you can have 00 however, you cannot have 000. Therefore, the numbers which NBA players can choose from are 00-99 (with the exception of number 69).
How often can NBA players change their numbers during the season
NBA players can change their number in the off-season. NBA players don’t usually change their jersey numbers.
What happens when a players number is retired ?
If a players moves to a team and their jersey number is retired then the team/player have to write to the retired player and request use of the number. This is less likely to happen with players who have recently retired as it would be seen as inconsiderate. Also you have to have a big ego to go to a team like the Boston Celtics and request to wear the number 33 of Larry Bird.
Special exemptions for jersey number changes?
Yes, when Kobe Bryant tragically passed away with his daughter in a helicopter in January 2020. The NBA authorised a number of players to change their Jersey number to 8 or 24 in honour of Kobe Bryant.
By Author James
Posted on Last updated:
Categories Leagues, NBA
Numbers "0" and "00" are iconic in the NBA, and now even teammates can take them. But earlier only freaks and dudes played under zeros - Blogg on the floor - Blogs
There are many numbers in the basketball world tied to specific players, positions, eras, stories. You look at them without context and immediately a form with these numbers on the back pops up before your eyes.
For example, number 33 is synonymous with the great center, Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Patrick Ewing played under him, he wanted to take Shaquille O’Neal in the NBA, but he was constantly busy with someone because of mass popularity at 90th.
Or Kobe Bryant's career, which is clearly divided into two halves, their symbols are precisely the numbers on the yellow-purple jersey - 8 and 24. Magic Johnson, Karl Malone and Julius Irving.
#99 is George Mikan. No. 3 - Allen Iverson. No. 11 - Sabas. No. 41 - Dirk. No. 50 - Admiral. No. 47 - Kirilenko. No. 13 - Wilt. No. 30 - Steph. No. 91 - multi-colored Dennis Rodman in "Chicago".
And number 23 doesn't even need to be announced by name, it's part of basketball culture.
And yet, such numbers, although symbolic for basketball, are not unique to this sport. They appear everywhere - in football, in hockey, in Formula 1.
But there are two exclusively basketball numbers that either have not gained popularity in other sports, or are generally prohibited there. This is #0 and #00.
And no, it's not because basketball players can only count from zero to zero.
Where did the zero numbers come from?
Game numbers on uniforms appeared in sports at the very beginning of the 20th century. Rugby, Australian football and other pastimes from this branch of the sports genealogy, including American football, became the first sports where players began to be marked.
It was a necessity - the rules still restrict players of certain positions in receiving the ball or being able to pass, but then they were even stricter. And the referees had to have time to sort out in a bunch of small, who is a fullback, who is the center, and who is the lost fan.
In rugby, instead of permanent numbers for players, there are numbers for positions - the right column always plays under the 3rd number, the inside center - under the 12th, the pulling (aka simply "eighth") - under the 8th (what a surprise , of course), and everything is numbered from 1 to 15.
choose only from a limited number of available. Now in the NFL, quarterbacks (as well as kickers and panthers) wear uniforms numbered 1 through 19., offensive players eligible to receive a pass - from 1 to 49 and 80-89, not eligible - 50-79, the defensive linemen have the same numbers, and so on.
Almost immediately, "football numbers" spread to hockey and baseball, but there is no longer a link to the position, because the rules practically did not differentiate the players according to their capabilities. And if they singled out a separate category (for example, hockey goalkeepers, who received a special No. 1 for their use), then the judges could recognize them even without numbers.
But it was more difficult for the fans in the stands. And so that the athletes on the hockey ice / baseball field at least somehow differ from each other, managers introduced game numbers following the example of football.
(for the longest of all team sports, of course, European football denied uniform numbers, where only in 1939 it became mandatory in England and only in the mid-1950s in the rest of Europe)
Game numbers in all types were immediately limited to double-digit numbers - there were more than 10 people in the teams, but very far from 100, and two numbers are much easier to read than three. This system has come in handy in basketball, where game numbers are rooted in 1930s.
And along with the whole system, the wonderful number 0 came in handy.
Unlike rugby or amfut, players are interchangeable in positions. Unlike baseball, there are only 5 players on the court. Unlike hockey, they play without helmets and are easily recognizable. One is long, the other is bald, the third is with hairy shoulders, the fourth and fifth are twins, but they still play equally badly, and all five are white, because blacks are not yet allowed to compete. Numbers are not required for identification.
Therefore, the numbers on basketball jerseys ended up being used for a different, but also functional purpose - uses them to count the number of personal remarks and determine which of the twins or the hairy-shouldered chose the foul limit for the match. The arbitrators quickly signal to the referee's table which number has received the personal foul.
In obscenely formalized student basketball, there is a fixed system of signals - the referee shows the basketball player's game number with the fingers of both hands: one hand signals the first digit of the number, the other - the second. Fist - 0, number of fingers - 1-5. Number 5 broke the rules? One hand is shown. Violated the 22nd - two fingers on both hands. 10th - finger and fist. 76th - stop, there can’t be such a number here, who let the mascot on the floor?
Uniforms in the NCAA are still tuned to this system - no numbers 6, 9 or 69. No 17 or 99.
But 0 (fist) and 00 (two fists) are legal.
Number 00 - what is it anyway? It's not even a number!
True, but if we consider two-digit numbers as a combination of numbers, and not a natural number, then 00 is a completely legal symbolism. In the early days of the NBA, even numbers like "03" or "09" were allowed before they were finally retired.
And this is the only limitation of number rules in the NBA *, but there is no student ban on 6, 7, 8 and 9 here and never was - and it was not introduced into the NCAA immediately, only in the late 1950s. And before that, George Mikan played in college at number 99, Bill Russell - at number 6, moved with these numbers to the NBA. When students switched to numbers made up of 0-5, the NBA continued to use 6-9.
* - yes, yes, we all know the story that the league did not allow Rodman to take # 69 to the Lakers, and then he chose # 70, and the 69th has never been used by anyone, unlike NFL, MLB and even NHL. But this unspoken "rule" is not fixed anywhere.
And still, 0 and 00 were not used in the NCAA, NBA, or high school competitions under 1970s. In those years, many did not attach importance to the game number, it was simply assigned, the supply manager simply brought some T-shirts from the warehouse, and so they were distributed to schoolchildren / students / even early NBA players. Number 0 or 00 would have to be requested by special order. What kind of strange person are you who wants to be zero? Definitely a communist.
The first NBA #0 is probably a phantom
The earliest recorded use of #0 in basketball is Johnny Jorgensen in 19470080 from the Chicago Stags.
There are doubts that Johnny really ran with the number 0 on his form. It was the first match of the season, and it could have been originally planned as a pre-season, and later re-qualified as a full-fledged one. The NBA (more precisely, BAA) of the 1940s was a very dubious organization, where one of the coaches made the calendar on the knee.
The Stags had 13 players in that game instead of the allowed 10. Johnny entered the court last and never played for the Stags again (and later played for the Lakers at No. 16) - so he might simply not have been assigned any number, he could wear someone else's uniform or just a jersey without a number, and later in historical reference books, the empty column turned into zero.
After phantom Johnny, zeros disappeared from basketball for many years. No one even guessed that you can take 0 or 00. Equipment managers simply did not sew such numbers on jerseys.
Two zeros instantly became noticeable
Discovered this number - and soon made a cult one - center Robert Parish , who started playing under it at school in the early 1970s. He says that he started playing basketball only in the 7th grade, and when the coaches handed out jerseys with numbers, he, as the worst basketball player in the school, was the last in line - so he got "00". It sounds like a joke, because why would a school have such a T-shirt in the first place?
Whatever the reason, the Zeros went with Parish through high school, college, four modest years at the Golden State—and shone with the Boston Celtics. After Byrd's #33 and Russell's #6, Chief's #00 is perhaps the most recognizable number on the banners under the arches of the Boston arena due to its originality.
Extravagant point guard tried to keep the trend at 00 Donald "Slick" Watts - skinny, long-armed, shaved bald (extremely unusual for the 70s), with a disproportionately large head topped with a bandage worn on one side (even more unusual for the 70s) . But even he only wore 00 for a year and a half.
The next 00 used Johnny Moore full-time, and that San Antonio quarterback's number has also been retired. In Moore's case, the choice of two roundnesses is easy to explain: they occur both in the player's last name (Moore) and in the name of the player's hometown (Altoona).
Yet it was Parish, not Moore or Watts, who set the fashion. And 00 has established itself in the NCAA and NBA as a center number. Followers of Parish:
• his countryman Benoit (not Benoist) Benjamin of the 1980s Clippers;
• Two-time NBA finalist and two-time All-Star from Portland Kevin Duckworth ;
• also a two-time finalist, but not an all-star at all Greg Ostertag aka Utah Big O;
• and Eric Montross from the University of North Carolina, who was drafted by Boston in 1994 ... just in time to replace Parish. Of course, Robert's 00 was already in line for memorialization, and Montross had to cut his number in half with the Celtics. He played number 0, because in the NBA 00 and 0 are technically different numbers.
Or, as it were, different.
0 and 00 interfered with each other for a long time
Even after the official removal of the number of Parish in the Celtics in 1997, the club continued to issue uniforms with number 0 - Walter McCarthy, NBA champion Leon Powe, Avery Bradley, now under it played by Tatum.
But before 2013, 00 and 0 could not be used in the NBA at the same time. And in student basketball it is still impossible.
And this created conflicts - for example, veteran Alden Polinis (No. 0 after the first letter of his name) moved to Utah, and Ostertag had to not only admit that the almost 40-year-old Alden ousted him from the start, but temporarily remove No. 00 and put on #39... in honor of his 39 millionth contract.
But we are not talking about #39 today.
Such conflicts were still rare - 00 and 0 fell into the trend at different times. When 0 became popular, 00 was already out of fashion.
The first rare #0s appeared in the 80s and almost always marked the player's initials. First it was forward Orlando Woolridge (yes, the one who did not want to share fame with the young Jordan in Chicago and left the team), then already designated Alden Polinis - Apocryphal says that he wanted to play at least half as well as Parish. In fact, at the start of his career, Alden played under a different number, but then he met and became friends with Woolridge - and adopted the chip with the initial number from him. Neither Woolridge, nor Polinis, nor the next NBA No. 0 cameos even used a zero in college.
The number remained rare, and more often there were battles between teammates with 00 and with 0 for whose zero is stronger than the competition for 0 in one team. Woolridge and Polinis just got into this situation when they clashed in Detroit-1992. Won as a veteran Orlando, although Alden even gave him a bribe if he gave up the symbol number. But Woolridge would never have given up the “suffered” number - a year before he was prevented from taking a zero in the Pistons by two-zero William Bedford!
Wave #0 was launched, of course, by the one and only Gilbert Arenas.
How Agent Zero made zero super trendy
"I got paid 62 million for 17 matches - that's why I'm the greatest player in history." Gilbert Arenas was too cool for NBA
He actually wore #25 at school. It was a small school in Los Angeles, and when its leader was invited to the powerful University of Arizona (NCAA-1997 champion), experts doubted the talent of the little-known defender. How can he replace Mike Bibby and Jason Terry, the top players in the conference over the past two seasons?
No. 25 in Arizona was unavailable: retired in honor of Steve Kerr. Evil tongues believed that Arenas could not follow in the footsteps of Kerr, Bibby, Terry, Damon Stoudemire, that rookie will fail and play for the university for 0 minutes.
Arenas used this as motivation, put on a uniform with an estimated number of minutes, and two years later sported it in the finals of March Madness. And then he put forward his candidacy for the NBA draft.
But doubts continued in the NBA. The best player on the NCAA finalist team wasn't just drafted below fellow student Richard Jefferson - Arenas actually fell in the second round.
Number 0 remained, Arenas got the nickname “Agent Zero” and continued to preach the cult of zero already in the NBA: “Zero is a strong statement. It's for those who feel undervalued or hear from others that it's worthless."
Prior to Gilbert, only ones wore zero (pardon the binary pun), and they were role players. After Arenas became the Most Improved Player in the NBA and was named to the All-Star Game three times?
A sharp jump at the very end (symbolically) of the 2000s.
For example, two of the top 75 players in history are zeros: Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard.
Both came to the Arenas number at different stages of their careers and were guided by different motives.
Westbrook at UCLA wanted his favorite "four", but it was busy, and he took 0, following the example of countryman Arenas. “That's right, you take 0 when you've been through something and need a fresh start. It helps you move on, helps you get back cool."
Lillard played #1 in college and might even have kept it with Portland - a banner with the number in honor of founding owner Larry Weinberg is posted in the arena, but the number continues to be issued. But Lillard chose 0, or rather, the letter "O". “I was born in Oakland, studied in Ogden, I will play in Oregon” , the defender shared the symbolism in 2012. And since then he has not removed 0 and has not left Oregon - I wonder if he will change his number if he moves to a team from the city /state not starting with "O" (only Orlando, Oklahoma, and Cleveland from Ohio work)?
Lillard and Westbrook aren't the only notable NBA players with a steering wheel on their backs. Nulls like Kevin Love, Jason Tatum, Andre Drummond, Jeff Teague went to the All-Star Game and DeMarcus Cousins (played under No. 0 in New Orleans).
Also picked by 2010 NBA Most Improved Player ( Aaron Brooks ), two-time defensive team member ( Avery Bradley ), and a bunch of young and rising: Miles Bridges from Charlotte , Jaylen Green from Houston and both Tyrees - Halliburton from Indy and Maxi from Phila.
9 had zero numbers in the NCAA0079 by Jaylen Brown, De'Aaron Fox, Terry Rozier , and by Jared Sallinger and Glen Davis, which emphasized their very rounded shapes. But on their first NBA teams, #0 was already occupied by someone (note how many Celtic rookies are here - the problem with the availability of numbers in Boston is not only that almost three dozen have already been retired).
And Nick Young to the Lakers, Where would Nick Young be to the Lakers.
0 and 00 can now be worn by two players on the same team
When Arenas enthralled the entire league in his early seasons and was stolen from Golden State by the Washingtons in 2003 (leading to the Gilbert Arenas Amendment to NBA contract rules), he took No. 0 to the US capital, but to the Wizards "already played by a man at number 00 - Brendan Haywood. Haywood had to change his number - now there would be no such problem.
In 2013, the NBA lifted the restriction - the first teammates with zero numbers were Spencer Howes (No. 00) and Jeremy Pargo (No. 0) from Philadelphia - the league simply did not seem to notice this in the middle of the season when Pargo signed for ten-day contract with the Sixers. And since this did not cause problems, the ban was lifted.
The first teammates who from the very start of the season were under 0 and 00 in the application were Emmanuel Mudiay and Darrell Arthur in Denver 2015-2017, and the first ones who were really noticed were Damian Lillard and Enes Kanter, and later - Lillard and Carmelo Anthony, who saw in 00 not zeros, but an infinity symbol.
In the current NBA season, 22 players used #0 (one of the most popular in the league, second only to #3 and #7), and only eight used #00. Five teams now have both numbers: is Phoenix (Craig and McGee), Golden State (Payton and Cuminga), Cleveland (Love and Goodwin), Utah (Pascall and Clarkson) and Denver (Jamichael Greene and Marcus Howard), and in the middle of the season there was Philadelphia (Maxi and Cowley-Stein, who had already left the club).
Technically, we can assume that 0 and 00 are also in Portland - the expiring contract of the injured Joe Ingles was traded from Utah at the deadline, the Australian will not play a second for the new club, but he was still assigned No. 00.
This is the "Johnny Jorgensen case" where the player was simply assigned a number on the score sheet. You can't be naked on the record.
What about other sports?
In the NFL, numbers 0 and 00 were once the norm, but began to disappear in the 1950s, and with the regulation of numbers by position in 1973, they became illegal altogether. Prior to that, several players managed to play under zeros, the most famous being Hall of Famer center Jim Otto (00 symbolized the name of the Raiders legend, because 0 in English is not necessarily pronounced like zero or nil, but also like “aught” or “oh ", here you have "from-o").
There is no ban in Major League Baseball, but 0 and especially 00 are rare guests. 0, however, is sometimes chosen by baseball players with a first or last name starting with “o” (Oscar, Omar, Oliver, Ortiz, Ottavino).
The NHL has had only one player with the number 0 and two with the number 00. The first was Rangers goaltender John Davidson in 1977. NHL veteran Phil Esposito himself wore the then-extravagant #77 and encouraged the young goaltender to wear #00. But Davidson returned to the classic #30 after just one season.
The last case lasted only three matches - Buffalo goalie Marten Biron in 1995 put on a sweater with two zeros, but it turned out that the NHL's digital statistics system was not adapted to zero in the "number" column, and even more so to double. Since then, 0 and 00 have been banned from hockey, although there are no technical barriers anymore.
In European football, with all its conservatism and formalism, there was only one case at all - Hisham Zeruali, nicknamed "Zero", played one season at number 0 for Aberdeen under the special permission of the Scottish Football Federation. And then it was banned again.
The NBA won't ban the 0 - at the current rate of use, it's more likely to disappear for another reason: because it will be retired from all clubs. While most of the "nulls" are still active players, so only the "double" Parish and Moore are still immortalized.
“When I wore that zero, I always knew that I would definitely overcome it. No zeros, I can't have zero points or zero rebounds,” recalls Alden Polinis. Zero symbolizes the beginning. There is a beginning, there is no end. From here, just go forward."
Photo: REUTERS/Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports; Gettyimages.ru/Abbie Parr, Otto Greule Jr / Stringer, Streeter Lecka, Bruce Bennett, Stacy Revere, Kevin C. Cox
NBA Draft. How it works? - Blogg on the floor - Blogs
Everything you wanted to know about the draft but were afraid to ask.
The text of the educational program was first published before the 2016 draft
The NBA draft will take place today - an event that attracts many even more than the final series, especially fans of teams that did not make the playoffs or were eliminated early stages.
What is a draft?
Draft - translated from English as "call" - is held every year at the end of the season in the NBA. At the ceremony, which is traditionally held in New York (until 2010 the draft was held in the legendary Madison Square Garden, since 2011 - at the Nets' home arena, first in New Jersey, now in Brooklyn), NBA clubs take turns declaring their rights for young basketball players.
If you are familiar with the European sports system, where children are made into athletes in academies and clubs, you may not immediately understand the idea of a draft. But in America there is a clear vertical of sports, which is integrated into the education system: schools - universities - professional sports. Different sports have their own nuances, but in basketball the scheme is the simplest. After school, the best players are offered sports scholarships at universities, the competitions of which are supervised by the NCAA association, and from there students are drafted by NBA teams.
From 2022, the NBA plans to once again allow a player to be drafted straight from school, bypassing college, as Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James and others did in 1995-2005.
How long has the draft been in existence?
The first NBA draft passed after the first season of the Association - in 1947. The NBA adopted the amateur draft system from the National Football League, where it had existed since 1936, with NFL teams allocating rights to players who were not yet professionals. If you dig deeper, the origin of the draft lies in baseball - from 19For 21 years, Major League Baseball teams have been drafting players from the minor leagues.
Why is it needed?
The main idea of the draft is to give all clubs a chance to get a strong basketball player into the roster. The whole philosophy of the NBA is based on the fact that initially the opportunities of all teams are equal. The Draft makes impossible the situation we're used to in European sports, where rich clubs buy the best stars and their academies and youth teams have a long line of promising athletes. In the NBA, any club can get a chance to win the rights to a future star by drafting her.
How are draft spots determined?
Based on how the club performed last season. The order of the draft is the reverse of the regular season table: the lower the place in the table, the higher the number in the draft (also called the "draft pick" or simply "pick"), and performance in the playoffs does not matter. However, the first four draft picks are played in the "draft lottery".
All clubs that didn't make the playoffs have a chance of picking one of the first four picks in the draft. To determine who gets to choose first, second and third, a lottery ceremony takes place in May. During this ceremony, four balls out of fourteen are drawn by lot. Combinatorics says that the number of combinations of four balls out of fourteen is 1001. For an even number, one reserve combination (“11-12-13-14”) is removed, and the remaining 1000 are distributed among teams. The bottom three clubs in the league have 14% to win the lottery, the fourth from the bottom has 12. 5%, and so on; the best club that did not qualify for the play-offs has only a 0.5% chance of winning the toss. The number of wins does not affect the chances, only the place in the table. The procedure is carried out four times, determining the first, second, third and fourth numbers. If a reserve combination falls out or one that has already been (you cannot win the lottery twice in one year), then the balls are taken out of the lottery drum again.
What is the lottery for?
The system when the worst teams are chosen first is inherently flawed - some club can deliberately lose as many matches as possible in order to fall to the very bottom of the table and choose first. This strategy is called "tanking" in jargon. Prior to 1965, the NBA had a "territorial draft pick" rule, where clubs could select players from nearby colleges out of turn. But as the league expanded, that rule was dropped, and first pick was determined by a coin toss—the two bottom-place teams in their conferences had a 50% chance of being number one. So, a coin at 19'79 determined that Magic Johnson went to the Lakers, not Chicago.
In 1985, the league came to the decision that a blind draw would determine the order in which not only the last and penultimate teams in the league, but generally all teams that did not make the playoffs, would be selected. In 1987, the system was adjusted - non-playoff clubs still had equal chances for the first, second and third draft picks, but after the first three places were drawn, the rest were chosen in the standard reverse order.
In 1990, they approved the system that is still in force today, in which the probability of winning the lottery was the higher, the worse the place in the regular season table was. Probability percentages have fluctuated from year to year, the most recent system with the most even odds was introduced only this year and is designed to reduce the number of teams deliberately losing for the sake of a high number in the next draft (previously, the worst team received 25% chances for the first pick).
The reform is believed to have worked - only three teams did not win 20 games last season, of which only the worst - the New York Knicks - won the lottery, and still fell from first place to third.
How many people will be selected today?
The NBA Draft consists of two rounds (once their number reached ten or more - teams chose until they got bored, in 1988 the number of rounds was reduced to three, and the next year to two). Since there are 30 teams in the NBA, 60 people will be selected in the draft now. Each club is assigned a place in the first and second rounds.
Players from the first round of the draft receive guaranteed contracts for two years in certain amounts (clubs also have the opportunity to extend the contract for the third and fourth seasons), players from the second round sign with the club that selected them for any contracts, almost like free agents.
What happens to people who don't get drafted?
They become free agents and are free to sign with any NBA team if they are interested. Every year, about 20 undrafted rookies get a chance to play in the NBA.
So you can get into the NBA without being drafted?
You can get into the NBA without being drafted. But all the players were drafted - they were simply either selected and assigned to some NBA team, or not. How exactly basketball players get into the draft is described below.
Will drafted players play in the NBA next year?
Not necessary at all. The club is obliged to sign the player selected in the draft if the basketball player himself requires it, but the team can agree with the player that he will spend a year in another league, and sign in the NBA later. The rights to the players do not expire until the player signs a contract, so, for example, Atlanta still has the rights to 51-year-old Augusto Binelli, who was selected 30 years ago, but never came to the NBA, and Sacramento there are rights to the legendary Dejan Bodiroga, who ended his career back in 2007 and is considered the best player of our time, who never tried his hand at the NBA.
In most cases, the so-called “stash” basketball players (to stash) play in Europe (Latin America, China, Australia) until they are needed in the NBA: San Antonio has rights to a dozen Europeans, from young Milutinov and Lalanne to veterans Lorbeck and Printezis who will no longer come to North America. But in recent years, NBA clubs have occasionally begun to use their American Farm League (G-League) for these purposes.
But the player can no longer return to college after the draft - the rules of the student NCAA do not allow basketball players entering the draft to change their mind after a certain date (this year the date is before 29May). So a player who enters the draft is sure to become a professional after him - in the NBA or another league. He can continue his education in college (if he finds time for this in the busy schedule of the NBA), but will lose his athletic scholarship, will be forced to pay his own tuition and will no longer be able to play for university sports teams.
What if a player refuses to play for the club that chose him?
A basketball player has no leverage to choose a club - he either plays for the team that has the rights to him, or does not play in the NBA at all. But there have been no such scandals for a long time - not once in the 21st century. If a player for some reason does not want to play for the club that has chosen him, it is better for him to amicably agree with the team and his agent that he will then be exchanged to another club. And no one wants to risk their reputation and spoil relations with the NBA even before their debut. There is too much money at stake now to give it up so easily.
Why does Atlanta have six draft picks this year and the Lakers have none?
In the NBA, clubs do not buy basketball players from other teams, but exchange them for other players. Clubs in the NBA - like in other American leagues - have the opportunity to exchange future draft picks for existing players. So, last summer, San Antonio gave Kawhi Lenard to Toronto, and in return received not only two players, but also the right to choose in the 2019 draft under the Raptors pick in the first round. Last season, Toronto finished second in the regular season – and in 2019, San Antonio will choose not only under “their” 19-th peak, but also under the "Canadian" 29th. And the Lakers, as a result of various exchanges, gave up their picks in the 2019 draft in both the first (not yet official, but already negotiated trade of Anthony Davis) and in the second round, and therefore remained without draft picks at all tomorrow.
Every year about 10 first round picks and 15 second round picks change hands as a result of past exchanges. In addition, on the day of the draft itself, many picks also go in exchanges: someone wants to "rise" in the draft and exchange several lower picks for one higher one, someone wants to get a young player and exchange one of their basketball players for the right to choose another club in the draft.
How is the draft ceremony?
Representatives of all teams gather in one place and begin to choose players in turn. The choice of a player in the first round is given 5 minutes, after which the club's managers must make a decision and report it to NBA commissioner Adam Silver. After that, Adam enters the stage, announces his choice, invites the player to shake hands (if the player is present in the hall), and the 5-minute countdown begins for the other team.
In the second round, the tired commissioner is replaced by his deputy, only 2 minutes are given to choose, and the players are no longer called on the stage.
What is a green room?
In front of the stage where the NBA Commissioner will announce elections tonight, there is an area called the "Green Room" where the NBA personally invites players to be selected with the highest numbers. Usually the number of invitations varies from 15 to 20. Each player is allocated a table "in the stalls", where he sits with his family.
How cool is it to pick number one?
Of course, the higher your draft number, the more likely you are to get the best player. At different times, such great basketball players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James (pictured) were chosen under the first number.
However, number one is no guarantee of success: of the last 30 first picks in the draft, only five have become champions so far, and only two (Kyrie Irving and Tim Duncan) are on the team that drafted him (LeBrona also once chose Cleveland, but he went to Miami, and returned as a free agent).
In addition, quite often there are cases when a basketball player is chosen with a high number who does not live up to expectations. Drafting and evaluating player prospects is not an exact science, and there are always misses because sports managers have not yet learned to look into the future.
Can I choose a star with low numbers?
Of course. Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry was selected only seventh in 2009. Dirk Nowitzki - ninth in 1998. Kobe Bryant, one of the most popular athletes in history, once fell to number 13, as did the legendary Karl Malone. Defending champion and Finals MVP Kawhi Lenard was selected 15th, after lottery picks, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Nikola Jokic and Draymond Green were selected only in the second round of the draft, where a basketball player appears every year who is capable of becoming a team leader in the future.
Who should be the star of the 2019 draft?
Forward Zion Williamson is recognized as the 2019 Player of the Year. Highly regarded also include two defensemen, RJ Barrett and Ja Morant. Some of them will be able to confirm expectations, someone will disappoint. And someone who wasn't even invited to the Green Room could shoot and make it to the All-Star Game in a few years.
How do players get drafted?
You can get drafted "automatically", or you can apply . Let's consider both options in more detail.
What is automatic draft entry?
There are two categories of players automatically drafted:
Those students who played four seasons in the NCAA - such were Tim Duncan (pictured) in 1997, Draymond Green in 2012, this year - the giant Taco Fall.
Previously undrafted players playing overseas who turn 22 in the year of the draft - that is, now they are basketball players from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, Africa, etc. 1997 year of birth.
Those who studied at an American school or university and then switched to a professional contract abroad also automatically get into the draft. After a year of playing professionally, such players enter the draft - rare cases, but not exceptional (Brandon Jennings in 2009, Emmanuel Mudiay a few years ago).
How do I apply for a draft?
If a player does not intend to study all four years or does not want to wait until he turns 22, he can apply for a draft called “early entry” . To do this, he writes an official letter to the league office with the nomination of his candidacy. The vast majority of players are just such early entry players, for example, this year there are 84 of them, and about fifty will be among the coveted 60 numbers.
To apply, a player must be at least 19 years of age in the year of the draft and must either be playing overseas or be a student. NCAA students can apply after their first year. In the last nine drafts, the first pick has been exclusively freshmen.
Schoolchildren have been banned from drafting since 2006, but in 2016, 19-year-old Ton Maker was able to circumvent this rule by proving that he graduated from school a year ago, and for 2015/16 remained in it of his own free will for additional training. Since then, a few other people, such as Mitchell Robinson of the Knicks, have moved to the NBA from their postgraduate years of high school, bypassing college.
A player cannot enter the NBA without being drafted. Each person either goes there automatically after graduating from college or by age 22, or wants to do it earlier and applies. All NBA players - and generally all people over the age of 22 - were in the draft, just someone was selected, and someone was not.
How many times can a player apply for a draft?
You can only enter the draft once. But a player can submit an application, withdraw it before the deadline (May 29 this year for NCAA students, June 10 for international basketball players), then reapply in another year - and if desired, withdraw again and wait for automatic exit. This year there were 90 people who applied went to screenings, talked to club representatives, and then withdrew the application, feeling that next year their chances of being selected high would be better. Among them is the Russian Nikita Mikhailovsky from Avtodor.
Can I apply for a draft?
This year, of course, not anymore, the application deadline has long passed. But next - if you were born in 1998, 1999 or 2000, or graduated from high school in the US in 2019 - you can apply for the NBA draft. You don't really need to know how to play basketball. And at the age of 22, we all automatically were/will be in the draft, even without any applications.
Are there Russians in this draft?
Only those that come out automatically because they were born in 1997. None of them stand a chance of being selected.
Were the Russians chosen in the draft?
Back in 1975, Alexander Belov was selected in the tenth round of the draft. Of course, he did not leave the USSR for the NBA. In 1986, other legendary Soviet basketball players appeared in the draft - Sabonis, Volkov, Tikhonenko. But foreigners went to the NBA only at 1988, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the clubs began to draft our compatriots with the specific goal of inviting them to the NBA.
It still caused a stir in the league, though. Rodman backed down without much of a fight and chose jersey number 70 (69+1) instead.
The jersey market got a bit outrageous—although more so in the NFL than the NBA—and players buying a number has slowed down. This trend has slowed: we live in an age where pro athletes value their money and have learned from the mistakes of their predecessors. But it just goes to show you how important a jersey number can be.
The NBA does a good job of allowing players to choose almost any number they want, barring certain exemptions—a player already wearing it, a team’s retired numbers, the number 69.
David Stern reviewed Rodmans request and felt the number 69 had negative connotations particular for such a high profile player such as Dennis Rodman.
This is less likely to happen with players who have recently retired as it would be seen as inconsiderate. Also you have to have a big ego to go to a team like the Boston Celtics and request to wear the number 33 of Larry Bird.
This is #0 and #00. 
This system has come in handy in basketball, where game numbers are rooted in 1930s. 
Fist - 0, number of fingers - 1-5. Number 5 broke the rules? One hand is shown. Violated the 22nd - two fingers on both hands. 10th - finger and fist. 76th - stop, there can’t be such a number here, who let the mascot on the floor? 
When students switched to numbers made up of 0-5, the NBA continued to use 6-9. 
He says that he started playing basketball only in the 7th grade, and when the coaches handed out jerseys with numbers, he, as the worst basketball player in the school, was the last in line - so he got "00". It sounds like a joke, because why would a school have such a T-shirt in the first place? 
In Moore's case, the choice of two roundnesses is easy to explain: they occur both in the player's last name (Moore) and in the name of the player's hometown (Altoona). 
First it was forward Orlando Woolridge (yes, the one who did not want to share fame with the young Jordan in Chicago and left the team), then already designated Alden Polinis - Apocryphal says that he wanted to play at least half as well as Parish. In fact, at the start of his career, Alden played under a different number, but then he met and became friends with Woolridge - and adopted the chip with the initial number from him. Neither Woolridge, nor Polinis, nor the next NBA No. 0 cameos even used a zero in college. 
“That's right, you take 0 when you've been through something and need a fresh start. It helps you move on, helps you get back cool." 
0 in New Orleans). 
0 to the US capital, but to the Wizards "already played by a man at number 00 - Brendan Haywood. Haywood had to change his number - now there would be no such problem. 
Five teams now have both numbers: is Phoenix (Craig and McGee), Golden State (Payton and Cuminga), Cleveland (Love and Goodwin), Utah (Pascall and Clarkson) and Denver (Jamichael Greene and Marcus Howard), and in the middle of the season there was Philadelphia (Maxi and Cowley-Stein, who had already left the club). 
And then it was banned again. 
In the NBA, any club can get a chance to win the rights to a future star by drafting her. 
5%, and so on; the best club that did not qualify for the play-offs has only a 0.5% chance of winning the toss. The number of wins does not affect the chances, only the place in the table. The procedure is carried out four times, determining the first, second, third and fourth numbers. If a reserve combination falls out or one that has already been (you cannot win the lottery twice in one year), then the balls are taken out of the lottery drum again. 
So, a coin at 19'79 determined that Magic Johnson went to the Lakers, not Chicago. 
Every year, about 20 undrafted rookies get a chance to play in the NBA. 
So, last summer, San Antonio gave Kawhi Lenard to Toronto, and in return received not only two players, but also the right to choose in the 2019 draft under the Raptors pick in the first round. Last season, Toronto finished second in the regular season – and in 2019, San Antonio will choose not only under “their” 19-th peak, but also under the "Canadian" 29th. And the Lakers, as a result of various exchanges, gave up their picks in the 2019 draft in both the first (not yet official, but already negotiated trade of Anthony Davis) and in the second round, and therefore remained without draft picks at all tomorrow. 
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry was selected only seventh in 2009. Dirk Nowitzki - ninth in 1998. Kobe Bryant, one of the most popular athletes in history, once fell to number 13, as did the legendary Karl Malone. Defending champion and Finals MVP Kawhi Lenard was selected 15th, after lottery picks, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Nikola Jokic and Draymond Green were selected only in the second round of the draft, where a basketball player appears every year who is capable of becoming a team leader in the future. 
Let's consider both options in more detail. 
To do this, he writes an official letter to the league office with the nomination of his candidacy. The vast majority of players are just such early entry players, for example, this year there are 84 of them, and about fifty will be among the coveted 60 numbers. 
Each person either goes there automatically after graduating from college or by age 22, or wants to do it earlier and applies. All NBA players - and generally all people over the age of 22 - were in the draft, just someone was selected, and someone was not. 
But next - if you were born in 1998, 1999 or 2000, or graduated from high school in the US in 2019 - you can apply for the NBA draft. You don't really need to know how to play basketball. And at the age of 22, we all automatically were/will be in the draft, even without any applications. 
