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2022 NBA Draft: When is it, times, teams, top picks, draft prospects and more

Kyrie Irving shakes hands with NBA commissioner David Stern selected by Cleveland Cavaliers

The NBA Draft is coming at the end of June, Planet Sport gives you a quick guide to everything you need to know.

The Detroit Pistons took Cade Cunningham as the first-overall pick last year and the Rookie of the Year went to Scottie Barnes, who was picked fourth by the Toronto Raptors.
This year, the draft takes place on Thursday, June 23 and the Orlando Magic have the privilege of picking first overall after winning the Draft Lottery last month.

For the ninth year in a row, the draft will take place at the Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets an event the general public can attend by purchasing tickets online.

How the NBA draft works

All 30 NBA teams will partake in this year's draft, which will have two rounds and 58 picks overall, two less than the traditional 60 after the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat forfeited second-round picks due to a violation of league rules governing the timing of free agency discussions.

A player must be at least 19 by the date of the draft and NCAA players are also eligible after playing one year at their respective college/university or school.

You can also declare for the draft if you have signed and played with an outside league other than the NBA, for example, the NBA G League, while still meeting the age and duration of play requirement as listed prior.

Who are the best draft prospects?

At the time of writing, Auburn Tigers big man Jabari Smith Jr. is projected to go first, and is widely expected to be picked in the first two by the Magic or Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 19-year-old has spent one year in college and averaged 16.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.1 SPG and 1 BPG across 34 games.
Gonzaga freshman, Chet Holmgren, is expected to go second, meanwhile, the Houston Rockets are tipped to pick Duke power forward Paolo Banchero at number three.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons are picking fourth and fifth, respectively, with sophomores Jaden Ivey and Keegan Murray likely to be selected.
The rest of the top ten teams picking are (in order) the Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards.
The Thunder (2 and 12) and Charlotte Hornets (13 and 15) are the only teams with multiple picks inside the top 15.
READ MORE: The five greatest single-game performances in NBA Finals history

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