2006 NBA draft

2006 NBA Draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)June 28, 2006
LocationThe Theater at Madison Square Garden (New York City, New York)
Network(s)ESPN
Overview
60 total selections in 2 rounds
LeagueNBA
First selectionAndrea Bargnani (Toronto Raptors)
← 2005
2007 →

The 2006 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2006, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. This was also the only time the New Orleans Hornets would draft under the temporary name of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets as the city of New Orleans was still recovering from the events of Hurricane Katrina after the 2005-06 NBA season.

Italian Andrea Bargnani was selected first overall by Toronto Raptors, who won the draft lottery.[1] He became the second player without competitive experience in the United States to be drafted first overall. Prior to the draft he was playing with Italian club Benetton Treviso for 3 years.[2] Sixth overall pick Brandon Roy from University of Washington was named Rookie of the Year for the 2006–07 season.[3] Roy was originally drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves but his draft rights were traded to Portland Trail Blazers on draft day. Portland also acquired the draft rights to second overall pick from University of Texas, LaMarcus Aldridge from Chicago Bulls on draft day.[4]

The University of Connecticut had four players selected in the first round, tying the record set by Duke University in 1999 and the University of North Carolina in 2005.[5] These players were Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, and Josh Boone. With Denham Brown also selected in the second round, Connecticut became the first school ever to have five players selected in a two-round draft.[6] Connecticut joined eight other schools that had five players selected in a single draft, second only to the UNLV, who had six players selected in the eight-round 1977 draft.[7] As of 2024, Kyle Lowry and P. J. Tucker are the only remaining active players from this draft class.

  1. ^ "The Long Journey for No. 1". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 28, 2006. Archived from the original on June 20, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  2. ^ "NBA.com: Andrea Bargnani Prospect Profile". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  3. ^ "Trail Blazers' Brandon Roy Named 2006-07 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. May 3, 2007. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference blazers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "UConn ties draft record with four first-round picks". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. June 29, 2006. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
  6. ^ Fittipaldo, Ray (January 16, 2007). "Pitt-UConn the beast of Big East rivalries". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. PG Publishing Co., Inc. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  7. ^ Carey, Jack (June 28, 2007). "First round awaits Gators after second collegiate title". USA Today. Gannett Co. Inc. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2009.