the article to read to understand everything about the 2023 draft with Victor Wembanyama headlining

It’s the big night for Victor Wembanyama. The Betclic Elite season over, the Frenchman flew to New York to participate in the NBA draft process, on the night of Thursday June 22 to Friday June 23 (from 2 a.m.), to find out where he will play next. from next season. But he won’t be the only one, as players around the world hope to have their names called out by league boss Adam Silver at the annual ceremony, which is taking place this year at Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets.

Here is what you need to know to understand this major event in the United States, particularly awaited in France this year, since Victor Wembanyama should become the first Frenchman in history called first.

How does it work?

Like many North American sports leagues, the NBA is a closed league, which means there is only one division, and therefore no promotion or relegation from one year to the next. Thus, in order to maintain the dynamism of the league and give a chance to the weakest, the NBA has set up the draft, located each year after the end of the playoffs (the final phase in the playoffs), which awards the title of champion. .

It allows the 30 teams to select the best hopes from around the world during two rounds where, in total, 60 players will be selected (58 this year, as Philadelphia and Chicago lost their second rounds, sanctioned for approaching players outside the allowed recruiting window). Every five minutes, Adam Silver announces the choice of clubs, from 1 to 58 starting with the first, before possible exchanges take place, sending the player directly to a different team than the one that has just chosen him.

In order to give priority to the lowest ranked teams during the last regular season, the NBA sets up a lottery upstream, which allows the dunces of the league to have more chances of obtaining the best choices. Since 2019, the three formations having finished with the worst record each have a 14% chance of obtaining the first choice. The fourth worst team has a 12.5% ​​chance, down to the 14th who has only 0.5%. This year, it is therefore the San Antonio Spurs, penultimate record (22 wins-60 losses), who inherited it, just ahead of the Charlotte Hornets (27-55) and the Portland Trail Blazers (33-49) and so right now.

Who is eligible?

Not everyone can run for the NBA Draft. To hope to see your name announced by Adam Silver, you must be at least in the year of your 19 years, have left high school for a year (one year at university for Americans, in a professional club abroad or within the minor league of the G-League Ignite) and validate their candidacy 60 days before the draft.

Once their university course is complete, American players automatically become eligible for the draft. International players automatically become eligible the year they turn 22. If they weren’t drafted that year, they can no longer qualify and become free agents.

The number of registrants this year peaks at 84 (they were 242 before the withdrawals) for 58 lucky winners, so there will be 26 who failed at the end of the draft on Thursday evening. A total of 14 French will present themselves for the 2023 draft. Apart from Victor Wembanyama, his teammate at Boulogne-Levallois, Bilal Coulibaly, as well as Nadir Hifi and Rayan Rupert are those who should join the NBA in the first round.

How are the players sorted?

Each NBA franchise is free to pick any eligible player, but all have processes in place to determine the best possible pick. Throughout the year, recruiters (“scouts”) are sent to American universities and abroad in order to study the players and identify promising or interesting profiles for the needs of the team. Then come the “draft Combine” and the “workouts”a battery of physical, medical and sports tests in order to refine their choice.

The provisional list of chosen players is gradually being put in place within “mock drafts”, which combine the current level, potential and other parameters, and give an indicator to the teams at the time of their choice. This year, Victor Wembanyama was, without discussion, placed in No. 1 as his potential intrigues all NBA franchises.

What financial impact?

For young players, the NBA draft is also the fastest way to financial safety. In theory, the contract rookie (first-year player) is a four-year contract with the choice for his team to keep him or not from the third year, up to an optional fifth. For players in the first round, the jackpot is assured since their contract is guaranteed and indexed to their position during the ceremony, with an upward negotiation margin of 20%.

For the 2023 draft class, Victor Wembanyama will have a guaranteed salary of $20.4 million for his next two years, which could rise to a total of $55 million if he completes his five years with his team. For comparison, the 14th in the draft will receive 24.6 million after five years, and the 30th and last choice of the first round, 18 million.

For second-round players, the future is much less clear as the contract will not be guaranteed, and will depend on how much space is left in the team’s finances.

What happens if a player is not drafted?

The draft is not the only gateway to the NBA for the disappointed as well as for those who are not eligible. They can choose to represent themselves the following year if the criteria allow it, or simply be signed in contract by an NBA franchise. Thus, several undrafted players have managed to make a career in the NBA, from NBA champions Ben Wallace and Udonis Haslem, to recent Miami finalists Max Strus or Gabe Vincent.