NBA Draft 2022: By the Numbers

It’s that time of year again! 

The NBA wastes little time transitioning from the end of one season to the beginning of the next, and that process kicks off with its annual draft.

This year, the Big Apple is the host of the big affair, and for 58 prospects, there has never been a bigger night in their young lives.

Let’s go inside the numbers on the 2022 NBA Draft.

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When: Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Where: The Barclays Center in Brooklyn will be the home of the NBA Draft for the ninth consecutive year (excluding the 2020 draft, which was virtual). It will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN.

58: There are only 58 picks in this year’s draft, instead of the usual 60. Milwaukee and Miami lost second-round selections due to tampering in free agency.

4: There are two teams with a whopping four picks in the draft: San Antonio (Nos. 9, 20, 25, 38) and Minnesota (Nos. 19, 40, 48, 50). Nine squads have three selections, while six will pick twice. Eight franchises have one selection.

0: Unless they’re active in the trade market, four teams will watch the draft idly, with no current picks to their name. They are Brooklyn, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix and Utah.

6: John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats are known as frequent forces in the draft each year. Two different Wildcats squads own the record for most draft picks from a single school in one draft, with six selections apiece in both 2012 and 2015. They’re tied with the 1977 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in that category.

In fact, another Calipari-led troupe holds the record for most first-round picks in a single draft. The 2010 ‘Cats saw five players go in the first round.

4: Kentucky isn’t the only school with an abundant draft history. Duke lays claim to the most No. 1 overall picks in draft history (Zion Williamson, Kyrie Irving, Elton Brand, Art Heyman). Unsurprisingly though, Kentucky is a close second with three. UNC and Kentucky share the record for most lottery picks in one draft (four) since the lottery’s expansion to 14 teams in 2004.

Five Blue Devils (Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin, Trevor Keels, Wendell Moore Jr. and Mark Williams) have a chance to be drafted this year, while the school has had at least two players taken in the lottery in four of the past seven years.

43: Kentucky leads all college programs with a staggering 43 first-round picks. Duke is just behind, with 40.

2004: The last time the Orlando Magic picked first overall, they landed Dwight Howard, a future Hall of Famer. They’re looking to capture similar magic this year.

12: A college freshman has been drafted first overall in each of the past 12 years. The last non-freshman picked first overall was Blake Griffin in 2009.

5: If Auburn’s Jabari Smith hears his name called in slots 1-5, he’ll become the school’s fifth top-five pick in school history, joining Charles Barkley (1984), Chuck Person (1986), Chris Morris (1988) and Isaac Okoro (2020). 

Chet Holmgren has a chance to become Gonzaga’s highest draft pick since Adam Morrison went third overall in 2006, while Purdue’s Jaden Ivey will likely become the first Boilermaker taken in the lottery since Glenn Robinson was drafted first overall in 1994.

5: The college route isn’t the only one that can carry a player to the big show. Five NBA G League Ignite players — MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels, Michael Foster Jr., Jaden Hardy and Fanbo Zeng — have a chance to be drafted.

There is also a bevy of international prospects, including Hugo Besson (France), Dyson Daniels (Australia), Ousmane Dieng (France), Khalifa Diop (Senegal), Nikola Jović (Serbia), Ismael Kamagate (France) and Jean Montero (Dominican Republic).

11: At least 11 prospects have family ties in either the NBA or WNBA, including:

— Purdue’s Jaden Ivey (mother Niele played five seasons in the WNBA, was an assistant coach with the Grizzlies and now coaches Notre Dame‘s women’s team)

— Duke’s AJ Griffin (father Adrian is an assistant with Toronto, played nine NBA seasons)

— Duke’s Mark Williams (sister Elizabeth was a WNBA All-Star in 2017)

— Rutgers’ Ron Harper Jr. (father played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning five titles)

— Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. (father won six titles with Chicago, member of NBA 75th Anniversary Team)

— St. John’s’ Julian Champagnie (identical twin brother Justin plays for Toronto)