The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008, at the Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, including international players from non-North American professional leagues. According to the NBA, 44 players, 39 collegiate players and five international players, filed as early-entry candidates for the 2008 NBA Draft.[1] These numbers do not include players who are automatically eligible for the draft. The Chicago Bulls, who had a 1.7 percent probability of obtaining the first selection, won the NBA Draft Lottery on May 22.[2][3] The Bulls' winning of the lottery was the second-largest upset in NBA Draft Lottery history behind the Orlando Magic, who won it in 1993 with just a 1.5% chance.[4] The Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves obtained the second and third picks respectively.[3]
For the first time in draft history the first three draft picks were all freshmen.[5] The Chicago Bulls used the first overall pick to draft Chicago native Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis, who later went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, making him the first player to be drafted first overall and to win Rookie of the Year since LeBron James in 2003, and also became the youngest player to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2011 at age 22.[6] The Miami Heat used the second pick to draft Michael Beasley from Kansas State University, and the Minnesota Timberwolves used the third pick to draft O.J. Mayo from The University of Southern California.[7] The Seattle SuperSonics used their 4th overall pick to draft Russell Westbrook, who would go on to win the 2017 NBA MVP award and is widely considered the best player in this draft. With five players taken in the draft, the University of Kansas tied University of Connecticut (2006) and University of Florida (2007) for the record with the most players selected in the first two rounds of an NBA draft until the University of Kentucky (2012) broke the record with six players drafted.[5] Another record was set when twelve freshmen were drafted, ten of whom were drafted in the first round.[8] Of the players drafted, 29 are forwards, 19 are guards, and 12 are centers.
The 2008 NBA Draft was the final time that the Seattle SuperSonics made an NBA Draft appearance, as well as the final time that the Sonics appeared in official media publications. In early July, the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder made their first NBA Draft appearance in 2009.[9] This draft also marked the first time that an NBA D-League player was drafted.[10]
^Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.
^a: The franchise relocated to become the Oklahoma City Thunder in July 2008.[9] ^b: Anthony Randolph was born in West Germany to American parents and was raised in the United States. He became a naturalized citizen of Slovenia in 2017 and he has represented Slovenia internationally.[11][12] ^c: Roy Hibbert was born in the United States to a Jamaican father and a Trinidadian mother. He had represented the United States internationally at youth level in 2007.[13] Since 2010, he has represented Jamaica internationally.[14] ^d: Kosta Koufos was born and raised in the United States to Greek parents. He has represented Greece internationally.[15] ^e: Serge Ibaka, who was born in Congo, became a naturalized citizen of Spain in 2011.[16] He has represented Spain internationally since 2011.[17] ^f: Donté Greene was born in West Germany to American parents. He has represented the United States internationally at youth level.[18] ^g: James Gist was born in Turkey to American parents.[19]
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2008 NBA Draft but have played in the NBA.
The first 14 picks in the draft belonged to teams that had missed the playoffs; the order was determined through a lottery. The lottery determined the three teams that would obtain the first three picks on the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the second-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. As it is commonplace in the event of identical win–loss records, the NBA performed a random drawing to break the ties on April 18, 2008.[21]
The lottery was held on May 20, 2008, in Secaucus, New Jersey.[21] The Chicago Bulls, who had the ninth-worst record, won the lottery with just a 1.7% chance to win. The Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves, with the worst and third-worst records, respectively, won the second and third picks.
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2008 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places:[22][23]
d 1234 In a three-team trade, Portland acquired the draft rights to 25th pick Nicolas Batum from Houston, Houston acquired the draft rights to 33rd pick Joey Dorsey from Portland and the draft rights to 28th pick Donté Greene and a 2009 second-round draft pick from Memphis, and Memphis acquired the draft rights to 27th pick Darrell Arthur from Portland.[24]
e Portland acquired the draft rights to 27th pick Darrell Arthur from New Orleans in exchange for cash considerations.[24]
gMiami acquired the draft rights to 34th pick Mario Chalmers from Minnesota in exchange for two future second-round draft picks and cash considerations.[24]
h 12 In a three-team trade, Chicago acquired the draft rights to 36th pick Ömer Aşık from Portland, the Trail Blazers acquired a second-round draft pick in 2009 from Denver and two future second-round draft picks from Chicago, and Denver acquired the draft rights to 39th pick Sonny Weems from Chicago.[24]
i 12San Antonio acquired the draft rights to 48th pick Malik Hairston, a second-round draft pick in 2009, and cash considerations from Phoenix in exchange for the draft rights to 45th pick Goran Dragić.[24]
j Boston acquired the draft rights to 47th pick Bill Walker from Washington in exchange for cash considerations.[24]
k Cleveland acquired the draft rights to 52nd pick Darnell Jackson from Miami in exchange for 2009 second-round draft pick.[24]
l The L.A. Clippers acquired the draft rights to 55th pick Mike Taylor from Portland in exchange for a 2009 second-round draft pick.[24]
m Cleveland acquired the draft rights to 56th pick Sasha Kaun from Seattle in exchange for cash considerations.[27]
Pre-draft trades
Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams.
o On June 25, 2008, Charlotte acquired the 20th draft pick from Denver in exchange for a future conditional first-round draft pick.[29] Charlotte used the pick to draft Alexis Ajinça.
q On July 20, 2007, Seattle acquired 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks and Kurt Thomas from Phoenix in exchange for a 2009 second-round draft pick.[31] Seattle used the pick to draft Serge Ibaka.
t On June 28, 2006, Portland acquired a 2008 second-round draft pick from Memphis in exchange for the draft rights to Alexander Johnson.[35] Portland used the pick to draft Joey Dorsey.
w On June 6, 2005, Utah acquired a 2008 second-round draft pick from Philadelphia in exchange for the 60th draft pick in the 2005 Draft.[38] Utah used the pick to draft Ante Tomić.
x On June 28, 2007, San Antonio acquired a 2008 second-round draft pick from Toronto in exchange for the draft rights to Giorgos Printezis.[39] San Antonio used the pick to draft Goran Dragić.
z On September 17, 2002, Phoenix acquired a 2008 second-round draft pick from Cleveland in exchange for Milt Palacio.[42] Phoenix used the pick to draft Malik Hairston.
ab On June 7, 2007, Miami acquired 2007 and 2008 second-round draft picks from Orlando as part of the hiring of Stan Van Gundy as Orlando's head coach.[44] Miami used the pick to draft Darnell Jackson.
ac On February 21, 2008, Houston re-acquired their 2008 second-round draft pick along with Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska from New Orleans in a three-team trade.[45] Previously, Houston and New Orleans agreed to exchange second-round draft picks in a trade that sent Kirk Snyder to Houston on July 14, 2006.[46] Houston used the pick to draft Maarty Leunen.
ad On June 28, 2006, Portland acquired Indiana's 2007 and Phoenix's 2008 second-round draft picks and the draft rights to Alexander Johnson from Indiana in exchange for the draft rights to James White.[47] Previously, Indiana acquired a 2008 second-round draft pick on August 25, 2005, from Phoenix in exchange for James Jones.[48] Portland used the pick to draft Mike Taylor.
ae On June 28, 2007, Seattle acquired New Orleans' 2008 second-round draft pick and cash considerations from Houston in exchange for the draft rights to Carl Landry.[40] Previously, Houston and New Orleans agreed to exchange second-round draft picks in a trade that sent Kirk Snyder to Houston on July 14, 2006.[46] Seattle used the pick to draft Sasha Kaun.
^Powell, Camille (December 22, 2007). "Fast Friends, Big Rivals". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
^Lidz, Franz (January 22, 2007). "Greener Pastures". Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
^"Adanalı Fener'e doğru" [Fener to Adana]. Milliyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Demirören-Karacan. April 28, 2011. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
^"2008 NBA Draft Lottery odds". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. May 20, 2008. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
^"Suns Trade Milt Palacio". NBA.com/Suns. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. September 17, 2002. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2009.
