| 2017 NBA Draft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | June 22, 2017 |
| Location | Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York) |
| Network(s) | |
| Overview | |
| 60 total selections in 2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Markelle Fultz (Philadelphia 76ers) |
The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.[1] National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.
The draft lottery took place during the playoffs on May 16, 2017. The 53–29 Boston Celtics, who were also the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference and reached the Eastern Conference Finals at the time of the NBA draft lottery, won the #1 pick with pick swapping rights thanks to a previous trade with the Brooklyn Nets, who had the worst record the previous season. The Los Angeles Lakers, who had risked losing their 2017 first round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, moved up two spots to get the second overall pick, while Philadelphia moved up to receive the No. 3 pick due to the Sacramento Kings moving up in the draft, which activated pick swapping rights the 76ers had from an earlier trade. On June 19, four days before the NBA draft began, the Celtics and 76ers traded their top first round picks to each other, meaning the holders of the top four picks of this year's draft would be exactly the same as the previous year's draft. The Celtics intended to draft Duke University player Jayson Tatum with their pick, and correctly believed they would get him at 3rd as well, a decision which ended up being the best one as Tatum developed into an MVP candidate and led the Celtics to their 18th championship in 2024.[2]
The draft class was the youngest draft class to date, with the most freshmen and fewest seniors selected in the first round; the top seven picks in the draft were college freshmen. It was the third time, and the second in a row, that three players were selected from Serbian team KK Mega Basket in the same draft (Vlatko Čančar, Ognjen Jaramaz, Alpha Kaba), with it previously occurring during the 2014 and 2016 NBA draft. It also included the second Finn selected in the first round, and the first Bulgarian player selected since 1985. The draft also received much media coverage from ESPN pertaining to eventual second overall pick Lonzo Ball and his outspoken father, LaVar Ball, much to the chagrin of many sports fans and even some ESPN employees. This was one of the rare occasions where a player drafted from their year did not win Rookie of the Year; the award went to 2016 first overall pick Ben Simmons, the first player since Blake Griffin in 2011 to win the award in a year he was not drafted.[3][4]
- ^ "When is the 2017 NBA draft?". si.com. May 3, 2017. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ "NBA Draft: Celtics officially trade number-one pick to 76ers". June 19, 2017. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
- ^ Shelburne, Ramona (May 15, 2017). "Speak It Into Being". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 15, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ London, Adam (March 26, 2017). "LaVar Ball To Be Back On 'First Take' Despite Objections From ESPN Personalities". NESN. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2021.