The 2013 NBA draft was held on June 27, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.[1]National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. State Farm was the presenting sponsor.[2] The lottery took place on May 21, 2013. This was the first draft for New Orleans under their new Pelicans name after playing as the New Orleans Hornets previously. It would also be the last draft for the Charlotte Bobcats under their old name, as they resumed playing under their old Hornets moniker that they last used in 2002 once the 2013–14 NBA season was over. Anthony Bennett, the first pick in the draft, had a very limited amount of media outlets considering him as a potential #1 pick in the draft.[3] He bounced around the league and then was finally released by the Brooklyn Nets in January 2017 after averaging just 5.2 PPG.[4]
The highlight of the draft was the Milwaukee Bucks’ selection of Giannis Antetokounmpo with the 15th overall pick, eventually becoming the best player of this class with two NBA MVP awards, one Defensive Player of the Year award, and an NBA championship in 2021. Another player from this draft, Rudy Gobert, won four Defensive Player of the Year awards. Michael Carter-Williams won the Rookie of the Year award that season but had an otherwise lackluster career. The draft also included the first Canadian number one overall selection (Anthony Bennett), the first Canadian pair of lottery picks (Bennett and Kelly Olynyk), the first Iranian draft choice (Arsalan Kazemi), the first New Zealander first round pick (Steven Adams), and the final first round draft selections announced by then-NBA commissioner David Stern, the last of which included a visit by Hakeem Olajuwon, the first pick Stern ever announced from the 1984 NBA draft. He was replaced by current commissioner Adam Silver beginning with the 2014 NBA draft.
^Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.
^Erik Murphy was born in France to an American father and a Finnish mother. He has dual U.S. and Finnish citizenship, but has chosen to represent Finland internationally.[28]
The draft is conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's new 2011 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its players union. The CBA that ended the 2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft, but called for a committee of owners and players to discuss future changes.[35] As of 2012[update], the basic eligibility rules for the draft are listed below.
All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players eligible for the 2013 draft must be born on or before December 31, 1994.[36]
Any player who is not an "international player", as defined in the CBA, must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class.[36] The CBA defines "international players" as players who permanently resided outside the U.S. for three years prior to the draft, did not complete high school in the U.S., and have never enrolled at a U.S. college or university.[37]
Early entrants
Player who are not automatically eligible must declare their eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft.[38][39] For the 2013 draft, this date fell on April 28. Under NCAA rules, players will only have until April 16 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility.[40]
A player who has hired an agent will forfeit his remaining college eligibility, regardless of whether he is drafted. Also, while the CBA allows a player to withdraw from the draft twice, the NCAA mandates that a player who has declared twice loses his college eligibility.
College underclassmen
Forty-five college players declared for the draft.[41][42]
Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:[43]
They have completed 4 years of their college eligibility.
If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated.
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under that contract.
Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
They are least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players born on or before December 31, 1991, are automatically eligible for the 2013 draft.[44]
They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA within the United States, and have played under that contract.[45]
In addition to every college players who has completed their college eligibility and every "international" players who was born on or before December 31, 1991, the following player would also be eligible for selection in the 2013 NBA draft:
The first 14 picks in the draft belong to teams that miss the playoffs; the order was determined through a lottery. The lottery determined the three teams that will obtain the first three picks on the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the second-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season.
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2013 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places.
The NBA annually invites around 10–15 players to sit in the so-called "green room", a special room set aside at the draft site for the invited players plus their families and agents. The following 13 players were invited (listed alphabetically) to the 2013 NBA draft.[48]
^On July 11, 2012, the Atlanta Hawks acquired the 2013 first round pick (the 18th pick) from the Brooklyn Nets as a part of Joe Johnson trade.[10] Previously, on December 15, 2010, the Nets acquired Sasha Vujacic, and a conditional first-round draft pick from the Houston Rockets in a three-team trade.[11]
^ abOn March 15, 2012, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, a conditional 2012 first round pick and the rights to swap the least favorable of 2013 first round picks in exchange for Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga. Cavaliers had their own pick (the 1st pick) and the Miami Heat's first round pick (the 30th pick), hence the option is exercised as Cavaliers received the Lakers' 19th pick and the Lakers received the Heat's 30th pick. Previously, on July 10, 2010, the Cavaliers received the 30th pick in a sign-and-trade deal with Miami for LeBron James.[12]
^ abOn June 11, 2012, the Phoenix Suns received the Los Angeles Lakers' 2013 first round pick (the 30th pick), a 2013 second round pick (the 57th pick), 2014 second round pick, and 2015 first round pick in a sign-and-trade deal for Steve Nash.[17] Previously, on June 23, 2011, the Lakers acquired a future second round pick (the 57th pick) from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for the draft rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum.[18]
^On August 10, 2012, the Orlando Magic acquired a 2013 second round pick (the 51st pick) from the Denver Nuggets in a four team trade involving Dwight Howard. Orlando also received draft picks in 2014, 2015, and 2017.[29]
^On February 21, 2013, Memphis acquired Dexter Pittman and the Miami Heat's 2013 second round pick (the 60th pick) in exchange for the draft rights to Ricky Sánchez.[34]
Draft-day trades
The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.
^ ab"Article X, Section 1(b)(i)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2008.
^"Article X, Section 1(c)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2008.
^"Article X, Section 1(b)(ii)(F)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2008. (non-international players)
^"Article X, Section 1(b)(ii)(G)(3)". 2005 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. National Basketball Players Association. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2008. (international players)