Editing NBA draft (section)

==Globalization of the draft==
Collegiate players dominated the NBA draft for decades since its inception in 1950. From 1995 to 2005, NBA teams drafted a slew of just-graduated high school standouts like [[Kobe Bryant]], [[LeBron James]], [[Kevin Garnett]], [[Dwight Howard]], [[Tracy McGrady]] and [[Amar'e Stoudemire]]. To counteract this, the NBA implemented an age requirement in July 2005. This meant that high school seniors were no longer eligible for the NBA draft in 2006 and thereafter.

The league did allow draft eligibility for high school [[postgraduate year|postgraduates]], as long as they were at least one year removed from their high school graduation and were 19 years old by the time they entered the league. This option was exercised first in 2015 when Indian prospect [[Satnam Singh Bhamara]] was drafted in the second round and again in 2016 when South Sudanese–Australian prospect [[Thon Maker]] was drafted in the first round.

===Selecting foreign players===
{{See also|List of foreign NBA drafted players}}
Foreign players have made a large impact on how teams draft. Early on, foreigners were not part of the draft. The NBA's appeal was limited to the United States and the league was not yet attempting to expand internationally. The first foreign player, in the sense of being a national of a country other than the U.S., to be chosen first overall in the draft was [[The Bahamas|Bahamian]] [[Mychal Thompson]] in [[1978 NBA draft|1978]]. However, Thompson's selection was not a true harbinger of the game's globalization, as he had spent much of his childhood in [[Florida]], and had played college basketball at [[Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball|Minnesota]]. One of the first foreign players selected in the draft to play in the NBA was [[Manute Bol]] out of the Sudan in 1983 in the 5th round by the San Diego Clippers. Bol's selection was later deemed ineligible by the NBA. Two years later Bol was drafted again by the NBA this time out of Division II [[Bridgeport Purple Knights|University of Bridgeport]] in 1985 as the 31st pick overall in the second round. Although Bol did not have a stellar career, he is known for being one of the tallest players ever to play the game at 7 feet and 7 inches. He holds the record for being the tallest player ever to hit a 3-point field goal. The following two years saw two players born outside the U.S. selected first overall—[[Nigeria]]n [[Hakeem Olajuwon]] in [[1984 NBA draft|1984]] (he would later gain U.S. citizenship) and [[Jamaica]]-born American [[Patrick Ewing]] in [[1985 NBA draft|1985]].{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

By the late 1990s, the number of foreign-born players drafted had dramatically increased. Some commentators incorrectly designate the top pick in the [[1997 NBA draft]], [[Tim Duncan]], as the third international player picked number 1 overall. But Duncan is from the [[United States Virgin Islands]] and, like all USVI natives, is a U.S. citizen by birth. He also had played U.S. college basketball at [[Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball|Wake Forest]]. Not counting Duncan, 11 international players were selected in the two rounds of the 1997 draft. Like top-pick Duncan, 5 of those 11 players (including the second and third overall picks) had played college basketball in the U.S. The [[1998 NBA draft|1998 draft]] saw another foreign player picked first overall, [[Nigeria]]n [[Michael Olowokandi]], but like Duncan he had played college basketball, in his case at [[Pacific Tigers men's basketball|Pacific]]. The foreign player drafted highest in 2001 was [[Pau Gasol]], selected third overall by the Atlanta Hawks. In 2002, [[Yao Ming]] became the first foreign player without U.S. college experience to be selected number 1 overall. Not only was the first overall pick an international player that year, but five more picks in the first round alone were also from overseas. In total, the 2002 draft produced 17 international players, with only three of them (all second-round picks) having U.S. college experience.

===International players selected number 1 overall===
Four international players had gone first overall before 2002, although all had played college basketball in the U.S., and one of them was in fact a U.S. citizen by birth. It was not until [[2002 NBA draft|2002]] that an international player without college experience went first overall—Yao Ming. His selection was not only a watershed moment for the NBA, but it also had a large impact in Yao's homeland of China. [[Hannah Beech]] (2003) wrote "Yao has single-handedly transformed his countrymen from nameless, faceless millions into mighty men who can jam with the very best".<ref name="beech">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/heroes/yao_ming.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030422082606/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/heroes/yao_ming.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 22, 2003 |title=Yao Ming China's Incredible Hulk of the hardcourt becomes an NBA sensation |last=Beech |first=Hannah |date=April 28, 2003 |work=[[Time.com]] |access-date=June 10, 2011}}</ref> Yao has helped the NBA grow into a worldwide product. Beech (2003) goes on to write "Ratings for NBA games broadcast on Chinese TV have never been higher than this year as the nation keeps track of its new favorite team, Yao's Houston Rockets".<ref name="beech" /> For his career Yao averaged a solid 19.0 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game, 1.89 blocks per game, and shot 82.6 percent from the free throw line. It had later gotten to a point where the last four drafts from 2013 to 2016 all held international prospects as No. 1 selections in their respective drafts before ending the run in 2017.

The [[2002 NBA draft|2002]], [[2005 NBA draft|2005]], [[2006 NBA draft|2006]], [[2011 NBA draft|2011]], [[2013 NBA draft|2013]], [[2014 NBA draft|2014]], [[2015 NBA draft|2015]], [[2016 NBA draft|2016]], [[2018 NBA draft|2018]], [[2023 NBA draft|2023]], and [[2024 NBA draft|2024]] NBA drafts saw international players picked first overall. In 2005, the [[Milwaukee Bucks]] picked [[Andrew Bogut]], from Australia by way of the [[Utah Utes men's basketball|University of Utah]], No. 1. The next year, the [[Toronto Raptors]] drafted [[Andrea Bargnani]] from Italy, making him the second foreign player without U.S. college experience and the first European to be selected number 1 overall. In 2011, Australian born [[Kyrie Irving]] was selected by the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] after having played one year at [[Duke Blue Devils men's basketball|Duke]]. In 2013, the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] selected [[Anthony Bennett (basketball)|Anthony Bennett]], who played at [[UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball|UNLV]], first overall and making Bennett the first Canadian to be drafted at No. 1. In the [[2014 NBA draft]], the Cleveland Cavaliers, again picking No. 1, selected Canadian [[shooting guard]]/[[small forward]] [[Andrew Wiggins]]. During the [[2015 NBA draft]], the [[Minnesota Timberwolves]] selected U.S.-born center [[Karl-Anthony Towns]], also born with [[Dominican Republic]] citizenship by way of his mother, as the first player from the latter country and therefore the first [[Latin Americans|Latin American]] to become the No. 1 selection, teaming up with [[Andrew Wiggins]] in the process. During the [[2016 NBA draft]], the [[Philadelphia 76ers]] selected Australian forward [[Ben Simmons]] to be the No. 1 selection. In the [[2018 NBA draft]], the [[Phoenix Suns]] selected Bahamian center [[Deandre Ayton]] as their first ever No. 1 selection, with Ayton being the second Bahamian taken at No. 1 behind [[Mychal Thompson]], and the third Caribbean-born player after Patrick Ewing and Thompson. In the [[2023 NBA draft]], the [[San Antonio Spurs]] selected Frenchman [[Victor Wembanyama]] with the No. 1 selection, making him the first French player to be drafted at No.1. It also made him the third foreign player without U.S. college experience and the second European to be selected number 1 overall. In the [[2024 NBA draft]], the [[Atlanta Hawks]] selected Frenchman [[Zaccharie Risacher]] with the No. 1 selection.