NBA:Draft

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Two rounds, 30 picks each. Every undrafted player enters free agency.

When

The draft runs in the off-season, after re-signing and before free agency. For 2027 it was August 9. See Off-Season.

A draft is named for the year it is held, and feeds the following season. The 2026 draft produces players for the 2027 season, so a pick made in it is written (2030, 2031x) — see rookie contracts below.

Draft order

The lottery

14 non-playoff teams enter the lottery, and the top 4 picks are drawn. The rest fall into place by record, as in the real NBA.

Seed	Combinations	Chance at #1
1	140	14.0%
2	140	14.0%
3	140	14.0%
4	125	12.5%
5	105	10.5%
6	90	9.0%
7	75	7.5%
8	60	6.0%
9	45	4.5%
10	30	3.0%
11	20	2.0%
12	15	1.5%
13	10	1.0%
14	5	0.5%

Drawn using the ZenGM universal draft lottery simulator.

1st-round order

Lottery teams take the order the draw gives them. Everyone else is ordered by record, worst first.

Ties are broken in this order:

	Two teams tied	Three or more tied
1st	Head-to-head matchup	Division record
2nd	Division record	Total categories
3rd	Total categories	Points scored
4th	Points scored	—

2nd-round order

Reverse order of the standings, ignoring the lottery result.

Rookie contracts

A drafted player is signed the moment he is selected. His salary counts against your cap as soon as the pick is posted — there is no separate signing step, so enter the draft already holding room for every pick you intend to make.

1st-round contracts

4 guaranteed years plus a 5th-year team option, at the salary for that slot:

Pick	Salary	Pick	Salary	Pick	Salary
1	$3,617,100	11	$1,495,200	21	$918,900
2	$3,236,600	12	$1,420,400	22	$882,200
3	$2,906,200	13	$1,349,400	23	$847,000
4	$2,606,200	14	$1,282,000	24	$813,000
5	$2,372,800	15	$1,217,800	25	$780,500
6	$2,155,100	16	$1,157,000	26	$754,700
7	$1,967,400	17	$1,099,100	27	$732,400
8	$1,802,400	18	$1,044,200	28	$728,400
9	$1,656,800	19	$997,100	29	$723,100
10	$1,573,900	20	$957,300	30	$717,800

A 2026 1st-rounder is written (2030, 2031x) — guaranteed through the four seasons 2027–2030, with 2031 as the option.

2nd-round contracts

$495,000. One guaranteed year plus four team options — five seasons in total.

A 2026 2nd-rounder is written (2027, ~2031x).

Draft-and-stash

A drafted player who does not come to the NBA immediately is paid his slot salary straight away, but his contract has no end date until he arrives:

Juan Nunez $495,000 (----)

When the contract starts

He arrives	Contract
On or before the end of week 9 — the off-season included	Starts immediately
After the end of week 9	Your choice: start it immediately, counting the rest of this season as year 1 regardless of games played — or defer to next season, making him ineligible for the remainder of this one including the playoffs

Coming over means joining an NBA or G League roster. Verify arrival dates against basketball-reference.com.

Waiving a stashed player before he comes over carries a one-year cap hit rather than the usual calculation — see Waivers.

Trading picks

Picks may be traded up to two years out, once the window opens at check-in. See Trades.

How to post

Selections are made in the draft thread in the NBA: Draft Room forum, in this format:

Patrick Ewing | C | Georgetown (NYK)

Name | Position | School (NBA team).

Then add him to your roster post with his contract:

Patrick Ewing (NYK - C) $3,617,100 (2030, 2031x)