With the Florida Gators winning the NCAA championship title for the first time since 2007, the 2024-25 regular season has finally concluded. This also means that all the world’s attention is shifting to the NBA Draft.
This year is going to be an exciting one with Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., Duke’s sharpshooter Kon Knueppel, Maryland’s big man Derik Queen, and Colorado State’s versatile Nique Clifford all looking to be drafted.
Who Can Enter The NBA Draft?
Well, first and foremost, age matters. According to the NBA’s rules, you’ve got to be at least 19 years old in the calendar year of the draft to even be considered. So if you’re still 18 when the draft rolls around in June, the player will have to simply sit out. Then there’s the infamous “one-and-done” rule.
This year’s NBA Draft class is special. There are too many “one-and-done” prospects that the NBA could reconsider its rule on declaring for the Draft.https://t.co/ZQLG0FWr08
— Pitt News Sports (@pittnewssports) April 7, 2025
Back in the day, legends like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant jumped straight from high school to the NBA—no pit stops. That is no longer the case. In 2006, there was a change, and the league decided players needed to wait at least a year post-high school before declaring for the draft. And thus, the “one-and-done” era was born.
This meant that top players did a single year of college ball (or other alternatives) and then moved to the pro hardcourts. That’s how the NBA got names like Zion Williamson and Anthony Edwards. More recently, there was also Scoot Henderson, who skipped college altogether and chose the G League path.
Commissioner Adam Silver once hinted at possibly removing the one-and-done rule, but that’s been shelved for now. The newest collective bargaining agreement keeps the rule firmly in place. So yeah, at least one year post-high school is still a must. But what if you’re not from the U.S.?
Well, that brings in a new set of rules. To be considered international, a player must have lived outside the U.S. for three years before the draft and either never attended a U.S. college or finished high school abroad. Names like Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, and Giannis Antetokounmpo all came up under this rule.
There is also another restriction. A player gets only two shots in the draft. If a player misses the first time, they better damn well be ready to step into the second and last time.
KEEP READING: Alex Condon NBA Draft Projections
The 2025 NBA Draft will air on ESPN on Wednesday, June 25, at 8 p.m. ET.
With the next batch of ballers lining up and scouts getting ready to break down tape, the question now is: Who’s next?
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