| 2014 NBA draft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Date(s) | June 26, 2014 |
| Location | Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York) |
| Network(s) | ESPN |
| Overview | |
| 60 total selections in 2 rounds | |
| League | NBA |
| First selection | Andrew Wiggins (Cleveland Cavaliers) |
The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014,[1] at Barclays Center, Brooklyn.[2] National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The draft lottery took place on May 7, 2014. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the draft lottery to earn the first 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 reborn Charlotte Hornets, who played as the Bobcats from 2004 to 2014, since 2001, when the original Charlotte Hornets last selected as the Charlotte Hornets before moving to New Orleans and eventually becoming the current New Orleans Pelicans.
Television rights in the United States belonged to ESPN.[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, and Gary Harris. Other highly sought after talents included Australian player Dante Exum and Croatian player Dario Šarić, who both declared for the draft, and Doug McDermott, who was automatically eligible as a graduating college senior.
Highlights from the draft included the first selections made by Adam Silver as commissioner and Mark 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 and Nik Stauskas), three top 20 Canadian selections (Wiggins, Stauskas, and Tyler Ennis), the first NBA 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 and Thanasis Antetokounmpo), and the first Cape Verdean player to be selected in the draft (Walter Tavares). In addition, a standing ovation for Isaiah 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 with Marfan syndrome and originally was never considered to play professional basketball again. Nearly two months after the draft ended, Andrew Wiggins was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of a three-team deal that brought Kevin Love to Cleveland; this resulted in the second time since the NBA–ABA merger that a first overall draft pick would not play a single game for the team that drafted him (the first time being the Orlando Magic drafted Chris Webber first overall in 1993 and then minutes later, traded Webber to the Golden 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 MVP Nikola 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]
- ^ "2013–14 National Basketball Association Important Dates". NBA.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- ^ "NBA Draft will be held at Barclays Center again". netsdaily.com/. April 25, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- ^ "2014 NBA Draft Order". Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
- ^ "2014 NBA Draft Coverage". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ^ "2014 NBA Big Board: Wiggins leads deepest draft in years". SOCCER TO WATCH. September 26, 2013. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- ^ "Activation strong around NBA draft". sportsbusinessdaily.com. June 23, 2014. Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
- ^ "Nikola Jokic wins 2020-21 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award". Nba.com. NBA. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.