Everything you need to know about the NBA 2022 Draft: how it works, the order of selections and which players to watch out for

After the title of the Golden State Warriors, who beat the Boston Celtics 4-2 in the Finals and won their fourth ring in the last eight seasons, this Thursday the nba draftwhich aims to recruit the best players under the age of 23 drawn largely from college basketball in the United States.

Will be held Barclay Center, multipurpose sports pavilion that serves as a stadium for the Brooklyn Nets, in New York. The ceremony will start at 21 (Argentina time) and will be televised on ESPN and Star +. The broadcast will reach 214 countries and will be broadcast in 28 different languages.

What is the draft and what is it for?

Draft is a system for selecting players under the age of 23 to play in the NBA. It takes place at the end of June, when the season ends and a champion is consecrated, and its goal is to recruit the promises of the future to fuel the championship and continue their growth path.

Mostly, they are chosen by college basketball teams in the United States, but also from other countries around the world. This was the case, for example, of the Argentine Leandro Bolmaro, selected by the New York Knicks and then loaned to the Minnesota Timberwolves when he was in Barcelona.

What is sought with this procedure is to equate the different teams, referring to the results of the regular phase of the previous campaign. Therefore, the lower performing franchises will have a better chance of retaining the most promising players.

There are two rounds in which at least one basketball player can be chosen. Those franchises that have not qualified for the playoffs, which are fourteen in total, will have priority in the first selection round.

However, This does not mean that the worst placed is the first to choose, but it does mean that the one with the most probabilities issince a tie is made, known as Lottery draft. Fourteen balls, numbered from 1 to 14, are placed in a kind of bowling alley, the combination of which determines the winner of the first choice. The same goes for the second and third. From that moment on, the next eleven will respect the previous season’s record of wins and losses, in this case 2021-22.

It is worth clarifying that in order to avoid tank, that is, when the teams lose on purpose to be better positioned in the draft, the chances of the three worst placed have been equalized. All of them have 14%.

Then, the remaining 16 places, which correspond to those who qualified for the playoffs, are distributed following the reverse order of the ranking, choosing the best team of the regular phase last. It was the following:

• 15th New Orleans Pelicans (36-46)
• 16th Atlanta Hawks (43-39)
• 17th Brooklyn Nets (44-38)
• 18th Chicago Bulls (46-36)
• 19 MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (46-36)
• 20th Toronto Raptors (48-34)
• 21st Denver Nuggets (48-34)
• 22nd Utah Jazz (49-33)
• 23 Philadelphia 76ers (51-31)
• 24 Milwaukee Bucks (51-31)
• 25th Boston Celtics (51-31)
• 26th Dallas Mavericks (52-30)
• 27th Miami Heat (53-29)
• 28th Golden State Warriors (53-29)
• 29 ° Memphis Grizzlies (56-26)
• 30th Phoenix Suns (64-18)

The 3 players to consider in the Draft, according to the specialists

1. Chet Holmgren

Chet Holmgren, born in Minnesota just over 20 years ago, is on everyone’s lips. He is pivotal and power forward, integrates the Bulldog Gonzaga, team with which he was a finalist for the NCAA Division I championship in 2021 e he was chosen MVP and included in the ideal quintet of the U-19 World Cup who crowned the United States in 2021.

Penny Hardawayformer Orlando Magic star and current University of Memphis coach, he praised him a lot: “I see a Kevin Garnett. He handles the ball, he knows how to shoot, he is able to make good passes And I’ve always loved his game. He is a great player. Every part of your game that I love. He is simply a winner. He is able to compete, he can achieve excellence, he is tough. I was amazed “. Big words.

He also stands out for his defensive game, but it is clear that he will have to work to strengthen his body, since he weighs 86 kilos, very light being 2.13 meters tall. At the college level they have been known for trying with their speed and good mobility, but the NBA is a completely different reality.

2. Jabari Smith Jr.

Jabari Smith Jr. Born in Atlanta and the son of Jabari Smith Sr, who played in the NBA for much of the 2000s, he is the most complete scorer in the Draft and has a wide variety of resources for scoring points. He can pull off the screens, running on the break, with setbacks.

Proof of this is that the gutter copper tigers, with just 19 years old last May, he made 79 triples in the 2021-22 season, a record for a freshman in terms of the number of shots from the perimeter.

Like Holmgren, he has excellent defensive play, but has a significant physical advantage (2.08 meters and 100 kg). He was the FIBA ​​Americas U-16 champion with the US team and looks like one of the great projects of international basketball.

3. Paolo Banchero

Category 2002,paolo banchero Born in Seattle, but of Italian nationality on his father’s side, he chose to represent Azzurra. He is part of the Duke Blue Devilsof Duke University, and had a real teacher there. Mike Krzyzewskithe most successful manager in NCAA Division 1 history followed him closely until his retirement at the end of last season.

He scored an average of 16.7 points in the 2021-22 campaign, always gaining a lot of advantage in one-on-one thanks to his enormous ability to dribble and get strong in pick and roll. In addition, he has a great ability in long range shots, which he tries very frequently.

He is a very technical player, a great passer, which opens up the possibility that the NBA will see him as an alternative to playing in the position of a small forward. He is physically very powerful at 2.08m, which helps him handle the low post perfectly, but he lacks that flurry that elite players have.