2017 NBA Draft Preview — Picking Order, Start Time, How to Watch
The Finals wrapped up just two short weeks ago, but already the NBA is back to grab your attention. The 2017 draft starts tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at 7 o'clock (ET), when Commissioner Adam Silver officially puts the Philadelphia 76ers on the clock.
What happens next won't be a surprise: With the first pick, the Sixers will choose Markelle Fultz, a point guard out of Washington. This could, could make the Sixers a good team even next year, if Fultz coheres well with Philadelphia's existing young core of 2016 first-overall pick Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric. But just about nothing has gone right in Philly for a long time, so we'll wait and see on that.
At No. 2, the Lakers will almost certainly choose Lonzo Ball, another point guard who's also a Los Angeles native who played one year at UCLA. (He also has an interesting father, in case you haven't heard.)
Just about every mock draft agrees on those two picks. After that, though, it's anyone's guess. The Celtics have the third pick (which they acquired after trading the top overall choice to the Sixers), and they seem equally likely to trade that pick as they are to use it on Duke's Jayson Tatum or Kansas's Josh Jackson. Or someone else, the Celtics are unpredictable like that.
You can watch the draft live on ESPN or stream it via the WatchESPN app or at the network's site. Here's the order of picks:
Round 1:
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Celtics via Nets)
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Boston Celtics (from 76ers via Kings)
- Phoenix Suns
- Sacramento Kings (from 76ers)
- Orlando Magic
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New York Knicks
- Dallas Mavericks
- Sacramento Kings (from Pelicans)
- Charlotte Hornets
- Detroit Pistons
- Denver Nuggets
- Miami Heat
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Chicago Bulls
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Indiana Pacers
- Atlanta Hawks
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Grizzlies)
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Brooklyn Nets (from Wizards)
- Toronto Raptors (from Clippers)
- Utah Jazz
- Orlando Magic (from Raptors)
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Cavs)
- Brooklyn Nets (from Celtics)
- Los Angeles Lakers (from Rockets)
- San Antonio Spurs
- Utah Jazz (from Warriors)
Round 2:
- (31st overall) Atlanta Hawks (from Nets)
- Phoenix Suns
- Orlando Magic (from Lakers)
- Sacramento Kings (from 76ers via Pelicans)
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Knicks via Jazz and Raptors)
- Boston Celtics (from Timberwolves via Suns)
- Chicago Bulls (from Kings via Cavs)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Mavericks)
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Charlotte Hornets
- Utah Jazz (from Pistons)
- Houston Rockets (from Nuggets)
- New York Knicks (from Bulls)
- Houston Rockets (from Blazers)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Heat via Hawks)
- Indiana Pacers
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Denver Nuggets (from Grizzlies via Thunder)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from Hawks)
- Denver Nuggets (from Thunder)
- Washington Wizards
- Boston Celtics (from Cavs)
- Phoenix Suns (from Raptors)
- Utah Jazz
- Boston Celtics (from Clippers)
- Brooklyn Nets (from Celtics)
- New York Knicks (from Rockets)
- San Antonio Spurs
- Atlanta Hawks (from Warriors via 76ers and Jazz)