The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

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. The draft started at 7:00 pm

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(2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on

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. In this

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S.

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

players and other eligible players, including international players. The New Orleans Hornets, who had a 13.70 percent probability of obtaining the first selection, won the NBA draft lottery on May 30. The Charlotte Bobcats and the Washington Wizards were second and third, respectively. This draft marked the first time that the first two players selected were from the same school ( Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were teammates at

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

). It also set a record of having six players from one school (Kentucky) being selected in the two rounds of the draft and was the first draft to have the first three selections be college freshmen all from the same conference (

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

). Bernard James was the oldest player drafted in an NBA draft, being 27 years old at the time of the draft. The draft contained seven players who combined for 10 championships as well as having Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard both named to the

NBA 75th Anniversary Team The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the fourth and most recent anniversary team in the league. S ...

in 2021. Six players have participated in an

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

Draymond Green Draymond Jamal Green (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the Power forward (basketball), power forward pos ...

won NBA championships with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, 2017,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, as well as being named an All-Star in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

–

and

. Green was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, while also leading the league in steals that season. Anthony Davis won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and was an All-Star from

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

–

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

–

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, as well as the NBA All Star Game MVP in 2017. He also was the NBA blocks leader in

, and

. Damian Lillard became the fourth player to be unanimously named Rookie of the Year. Lillard was an All-Star in 2014,

, 2018–2021, and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

–2025, the All-Star Game MVP in 2024, as well as the winner of the Three-Point Contest in 2023 and 2024. Khris Middleton won a championship with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

and was selected as an All-Star in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

–

, and 2022. Of the players drafted, 30 were forwards, 21 were guards, and 9 were centers. The draft marked the first appearance of the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

and the last draft appearance for the New Orleans Hornets. After the 2012–13 season, the franchise was renamed as the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. New Orleans made their first draft appearance as the Pelicans in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. Four of the players selected in this draft never played in an NBA game throughout their professional basketball careers. Two of those players were the sole selection of the draft by their respective teams: İlkan Karaman (Brooklyn's only pick) and Marcus Denmon (San Antonio's only pick).

Draft selections

Source:

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 2012 NBA Draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.

Draft lottery

The first 14 picks in the draft belong to teams that missed the

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; the order was determined through a lottery. The lottery was only used to determine the teams that obtained the first three picks in 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. To determine the top three picks, fourteen ping pong balls numbered 1–14 were placed into a lottery machine. Four random balls were selected for each of the three picks and there were a total of 1,001 combinations. The lottery was weighted so that the teams with the worst records had better chances at the first pick. For example, the Charlotte Bobcats had the worst record from the previous season, so they were assigned 250 of the 1,001 combinations, which meant they had a 25% chance of getting the first pick. The lottery was held on May 30, 2012, in the Disney/ABC Times Square Studio in New York City. The New Orleans Hornets won the rights to the first overall selection with a 13.7% chance to win. The Hornets were a league-owned team at the time, leading to continued conspiracy theories about the lottery process. The Bobcats won the second overall pick, despite having the highest odds to win the lottery. Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2012 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places.

Eligibility rules

The draft was conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's now-expired 2005 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its players union. The CBA that ended the 2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft, but called for a committee of owners and players to discuss future changes. The basic eligibility rules for the draft are listed below: * All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players eligible for the 2012 draft must be born on or before December 31, 1993. * Any player who is not an "international player", as defined in the CBA, must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class. The CBA defines "international players" as players who permanently resided outside the U.S. for three years prior to the draft, did not complete high school in the U.S., and have never enrolled at a U.S. college or university. * The basic requirement for automatic eligibility for a U.S. player is the completion of his college eligibility. Players who meet the CBA definition of "international players" are automatically eligible if their 22nd birthday falls during or before the calendar year of the draft (i.e., born on or before December 31, 1990). U.S. players who were at least one year removed from their high school graduation and have played minor-league basketball with a team outside the NBA are also automatically eligible. * A player who is not automatically eligible must declare his eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. For the 2012 draft, this date fell on April 29. Under NCAA rules, players will only have until April 10 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility. A player who has hired an agent will forfeit his remaining college eligibility, regardless of whether he is drafted. Also, while the CBA allows a player to withdraw from the draft twice, the NCAA mandates that a player who has declared twice loses his college eligibility.

Entrants

Early entrants

On May 3, 2012, the league announced a list of 67 early entry candidates which consisted of 50 collegiate players and 17 international players. At the withdrawal deadline, 11 early entry candidates withdrew from the draft, leaving 49 collegiate players and 7 international players as the early entry candidates for the draft.

College underclassmen

(All players are Americans except as indicated.) * Erik Austin – F, Jackson College (sophomore) * Harrison Barnes – SF,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

(sophomore) * Will Barton – G, Memphis (sophomore) * Bradley Beal – G,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

(freshman) * J'Covan Brown – G,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

(junior) * Dominic Cheek – G, Villanova (junior) * Jared Cunningham – G, Oregon State (junior) * Anthony Davis – F/C,

(freshman) * Andre Drummond – C,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

(freshman) * Dominique Ferguson – F, Florida International (sophomore) * Justin Hamilton – C,

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(junior) * Maurice Harkless – F, St. John's (freshman) * John Henson – F,

(junior) * John Jenkins – SG, Vanderbilt (junior) * Perry Jones III – F, Baylor (sophomore) * Terrence Jones – F,

(sophomore) * Xavier Jones – G, Missouri State-West Plains (freshman) * Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – G,

(freshman) * Doron Lamb – G,

(sophomore) * Jeremy Lamb – G/F,

(sophomore) * Meyers Leonard – C,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

(sophomore) * Damian Lillard – G, Weber State (junior) * Kendall Marshall – PG,

(sophomore) * Fab Melo – C, Syracuse (sophomore) * Khris Middleton – F,

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

(junior) * Quincy Miller – F, Baylor (freshman) * Tony Mitchell – SF,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

(junior) * Arnett Moultrie – F/C, Mississippi State (junior) * Reeves Nelson – F,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

(junior) **Nelson left the Bruins in December 2011 and had been playing professionally for Žalgiris Kaunas (

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

) before declaring for the draft. * Austin Rivers – G,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

(freshman) * Peter Roberson – C,

(junior) * Quincy Roberts – G, Grambling State (junior) * Thomas Robinson – PF,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

(junior) * Terrence Ross – G, Washington (sophomore) * Avery Scharer – G, Shoreline CC (WA) (sophomore) * Renardo Sidney – F, Mississippi State (junior) * Jonathon Simmons – G,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

(junior) * Terrell Stoglin – G,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

(sophomore) * Gerardo Suero – G, Albany (junior) *

Jared Sullinger Jared Malcolm Xavier Sullinger (born March 4, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketbal ...

– PF, Ohio State (sophomore) * Marquis Teague – G,

(freshman) * Joston Thomas – F, Hawaiʻi (junior) * Hollis Thompson – F, Georgetown (junior) * Rich Townsend-Gant – F, Vancouver Island U (junior) * Dion Waiters – G, Syracuse (sophomore) * Maalik Wayns – PG, Villanova (junior) * Royce White – F, Iowa State (sophomore) * D'Angelo Williams – G, Notre Dame (CA) (junior) * Tony Wroten – G, Washington (freshman)

International players

Automatically eligible entrants

Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria: * They have completed 4 years of their college eligibility. * If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated. * They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under that contract. Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria: * They are least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players born on or before December 31, 1990, are automatically eligible for the 2012 draft. * They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside the NBA ''within the United States'', and have played under that contract.

Invited attendees

The NBA annually invites 10 to 15 players to sit in the so-called "green room", a special room set aside at the draft site for the invited players plus their families and agents. This season, the following 14 players were invited (listed alphabetically). All players represented the United States of America. * Harrison Barnes,

* Bradley Beal,

* Anthony Davis,

* Andre Drummond,

* John Henson,

* Michael Kidd-Gilchrist,

* Jeremy Lamb,

* Meyers Leonard,

* Damian Lillard, Weber State * Austin Rivers,

* Thomas Robinson,

* Terrence Ross, Washington * Dion Waiters, Syracuse * Tyler Zeller,

Trades involving draft picks

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.

Draft-day trades

The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft

Notes

References

External links

2012 NBA Draft Official Site2012 NBA Draft at ESPN

Real GM 2012 NBA Draft Recap
{{NBA on ABC NBA draft

Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

2010s in Newark, New Jersey Basketball in Newark, New Jersey Events in Newark, New Jersey NBA draft NBA draft

Draft selections

Notable undrafted players

Draft lottery

Eligibility rules

Entrants

Early entrants

College underclassmen

International players

Automatically eligible entrants

Invited attendees

Trades involving draft picks

Pre-draft trades

Draft-day trades

Notes

See also

References

External links