2007 NBA draft
The 2007 NBA Draft was held on June 28, 2007 at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN.
The first 14 picks in the draft belonged to teams that had missed the 2007 NBA Playoffs, with their pick order determined through a lottery held on May 22, 2007. The remaining first-round picks and the second-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win-loss record in the 2006-07 NBA season.
This draft was quite forward-heavy and included several quality big-men. The 2007 NBA Draft also marked the first time three players drafted in the top 10 came from the same school (Florida), and for the first time five players in the top 10 all played in the NCAA Basketball National Championship Final. Greg Oden would end up missing the entire 2007-2008 season due to microfracture surgery. Kevin Durant drafted 2nd overall by the Seattle Sonics was named Rookie Of The Year[1].
Round one
Round two
Selections by team
Several trades resulted in players changing teams on draft night. The following represents a team-by-team list showing where players ended up, after those transactions.
- Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford, Acie Law IV
- Boston Celtics: Gabe Pruitt, Glen Davis (via Seattle)
- Charlotte Bobcats: Jared Dudley, Jermareo Davidson (via Golden State)
- Chicago Bulls: Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray, JamesOn Curry
- Cleveland Cavaliers: None
- Dallas Mavericks: Nick Fazekas, Reyshawn Terry (via Orlando), Renaldas Seibutis
- Denver Nuggets: None
- Detroit Pistons: Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, Sammy Mejia
- Golden State Warriors: Brandan Wright (via Charlotte), Marco Belinelli, Stephane Lasme
- Houston Rockets: Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry (via Seattle), Brad Newley
- Indiana Pacers: Stanko Barać (via Miami)
- Los Angeles Clippers: Al Thornton, Jared Jordan
- Los Angeles Lakers: Javaris Crittenton, Sun Yue, Marc Gasol
- Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley, Jr.
- Miami Heat: Daequan Cook (via Philadelphia)
- Milwaukee Bucks: Yi Jianlian, Ramon Sessions
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Corey Brewer, Chris Richard
- New Jersey Nets: Sean Williams
- New Orleans Hornets: Julian Wright, Adam Haluska
- New York Knicks: Wilson Chandler, Demetris Nichols (via Portland)
- Orlando Magic: Milovan Raković (via Dallas)
- Philadelphia 76ers: Thaddeus Young, Jason Smith (via Miami), Derrick Byars (via Portland), Herbert Hill (via Utah)
- Phoenix Suns: Alando Tucker, D.J. Strawberry
- Portland Trail Blazers: Greg Oden, Rudy Fernández (via Phoenix), Petteri Koponen (via Philadelphia), Josh McRoberts, Taurean Green
- Sacramento Kings: Spencer Hawes
- San Antonio Spurs: Tiago Splitter, Marcus Williams
- Seattle Supersonics: Kevin Durant, Jeff Green
- Toronto Raptors: Giorgos Printezis (via San Antonio)
- Utah Jazz: Morris Almond, Kyrylo Fesenko (via Philadelphia)
- Washington Wizards: Nick Young, Dominic McGuire
Notable Undrafted Players
- Blake Ahearn, Missouri State (signed with the Miami Heat)
- Joel Anthony, UNLV (signed with Miami Heat)
- Coby Karl, Boise State (signed with the Los Angeles Lakers)
- Brent Petway, Michigan (signed with the Portland Trail Blazers)
- Mustafa Shakur, Arizona (signed with the Sacramento Kings)
- Ivan Radenović,
Serbia and Arizona (signed with the Los Angeles Clippers) - Jamaal Tatum, Southern Illinois (signed with the Atlanta Hawks)
- Anthony Tolliver, Creighton (signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers)
- Brandon Wallace, South Carolina, (signed with the Boston Celtics)
- Darryl Watkins, Syracuse (signed with the Sacramento Kings)
- Mario West, Georgia Tech (signed with the Atlanta Hawks)
Lottery
Teams were in the 2007 draft lottery either by being eliminated from playoff consideration or through prior trades with non-playoff teams. The NBA performed a tie-breaker on April 20 to determine which teams get which picks.[5] The lottery was held on May 22, 2007 in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Fourteen ping-pong balls, numbered from one to 14, were placed in a bin to create 1,001 four-ball combinations. Each team was assigned a set number of four-ball combinations based on their won-loss record during the 2006-07 NBA season. Combinations were drawn to determine the top three picks, and then the remaining spots were assigned to the remaining teams based on their win-loss records.[6]
The first 14 picks were awarded as follows (with the winning lottery numbers for the top 3 picks).[7]
- Portland Trail Blazers (5–9–14–13)
- Seattle SuperSonics (14–4–11–10)
- Atlanta Hawks (5–6–9–4)
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Boston Celtics
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Charlotte Bobcats
- New York Knicks (sent to Chicago Bulls)
- Sacramento Kings
- Indiana Pacers (sent to Atlanta Hawks)
- Philadelphia 76ers
- New Orleans Hornets
- Los Angeles Clippers
Despite having the three highest probabilities of earning a top-three pick, neither the Memphis Grizzlies (.643 probability of drawing a top three pick), Boston Celtics (.558), nor Milwaukee Bucks (.468), received a top-three pick. Mathematically, this situation occurs only 4.05% of the time.[8] Memphis, Boston and Milwaukee received the fourth, fifth and sixth picks, the lowest possible picks they could be awarded through the lottery.[9]
Below were the chances for each seed to get specific picks in the 2007 lottery (rounded to 3 decimal places)[10] (actual results in bold):
| Seed | Chances | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis Grizzlies | 250 | .250 | .215 | .178 | .357 | ||||||||||
| Boston Celtics | 199 | .199 | .188 | .171 | .319 | .123 | |||||||||
| Milwaukee Bucks | 156 | .156 | .157 | .156 | .226 | .265 | .041 | ||||||||
| Atlanta Hawks/Phoenix Suns* | 119 | .119 | .126 | .133 | .099 | .350 | .161 | .013 | |||||||
| Seattle SuperSonics | 88 | .088 | .097 | .107 | .261 | .359 | .084 | .004 | |||||||
| Portland Trail Blazers | 53 | .053 | .060 | .070 | .439 | .331 | .046 | .001 | |||||||
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 53 | .053 | .060 | .070 | .572 | .226 | .018 | ||||||||
| Charlotte Bobcats | 19 | .019 | .022 | .027 | .725 | .196 | .011 | ||||||||
| Chicago Bulls (from New York Knicks) | 19 | .019 | .022 | .027 | .784 | .143 | .005 | ||||||||
| Sacramento Kings | 18 | .018 | .021 | .025 | .846 | .087 | .002 | ||||||||
| Atlanta Hawks (from Indiana Pacers)** | 8 | .008 | .009 | .012 | .907 | .063 | .001 | ||||||||
| Philadelphia 76ers | 7 | .007 | .008 | .010 | .935 | .039 | .001 | ||||||||
| New Orleans Hornets | 6 | .006 | .007 | .009 | .960 | .018 | |||||||||
| Los Angeles Clippers | 5 | .005 | .006 | .007 | .982 |
*Pick would remain with Atlanta if it was in the top three. If it was not in the top three it would be transferred to the Phoenix Suns.
**Pick would remain with Indiana if it was in the top ten.
Eligibility rules
Beginning with the 2006 draft, high school players are not eligible for selection. The collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players union raised the age limit for draft eligibility from 18 to 19.[11][12]
- All drafted players, regardless of nationality, must be born on or before December 31, 1988 (i.e., they must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft).
- Players who graduated from a United States high school, regardless of nationality, must be at least one year removed from high school graduation.
References and Notes
- ^ a b The Celtics traded the #5 pick along with Delonte West, and Wally Szczerbiak to the Supersonics for Ray Allen and the #35 pick on the draft day.
"Sonics' Allen traded to Celts for Wally, West & Green". ESPN.com. June 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-06.{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Warriors trade Jason Richardson to Charlotte for the rights to Brandan Wright". Washingtonpost.com. June 29, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Noah has
American nationality by his birth in New York City, and acquired a 
French passport on April 11, 2007, qualifying through his father. He can also claim 
Swedish nationality via his mother, and is also eligible to play internationally for 
Cameroon through his paternal grandfather.
- ^ The Miami Heat traded the rights for Jason Smith to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the rights to Daequan Cook along with a 2009 2nd round draft pick
"Heat acquire Daequan Cook for Jason Smith". Miamiheat.com. June 28, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-07.{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Draft Express (2007-04-20). "Ties Broken for 2007 NBA Draft Order of Selection". Retrieved 2007-04-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^
"Inside The Numbers: 2007 Draft Lottery Demystified". Celtics.com. 2007-04-23. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "NBA.com: Knowing The Numbers". NBA.com. 2007-23-05. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Dr. Matthew Leingang (2007-05-23). "Lottery Mania". Retrieved 2007-08-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^
Wallace, Michael (2007-05-24). "Riley joins lottery critics". Miami Herald.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^
Zuckerman, Rich (2007-05-16). "For better or worse -- NBA draft lottery probabilities". NBCSports.com. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Beck, Howard (2005-06-28). "N.B.A. Draft Will Close Book on High School Stars". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "ARTICLE X: PLAYER ELIGIBILITY AND NBA DRAFT". NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. NBA Players Association. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
External links
- "NBA.com Draft 2007". NBA.com. Retrieved 2007-06-28.