The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after the previous year's draft was held through videoconferencing at ESPN Studios in Bristol, Connecticut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA used a "ceremonial pick" for the late Terrence Clarke, between the 14th and 15th pick of the draft.
Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2021 NBA draft, but have played at least one game in the NBA.
Trades involving draft picks
Pre-draft trades
Prior to the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between teams.
Draft-night trades
Draft-night trades were made after the draft began. These trades are usually not confirmed until the next day or after free agency officially begins.
Combine
Prior to the NBA Draft Combine, the 2021 NBA G League Elite Camp, which took place on June 19–21 at the Wintrust Arena and Marriott Marquis in Chicago, provided another chance for players not originally invited to the combine to impress scouts. The best performers from this camp were given invites to the main combine.
The NBA Draft Combine was held on June 21–27 at the same site sponsored by Microsoft. A total of 69 players attended the NBA Draft Combine 2021, with these players undergoing a series of interviews, five-on-five games, drills, and measurements. Lottery-projected pick Keon Johnson broke the combine's vertical leap record of 45.5 in (1.16 m), set by Kenny Gregory in 2001, with a vertical leap of 48 in (1.2 m). The combine also featured some recent graduates of the inaugural NBA G League Ignite team, which is a developmental basketball program meant to provide prospects with a paid alternative to playing NCAA college basketball. The success of these players, Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Daishen Nix, and Isaiah Todd, may pave the way for more top prospects to participate in the G League system pre-draft.
Projected top picks who decided not to attend the NBA Draft Combine include potential No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham and likely top-four pick Jalen Suggs. Numerous other potential prospects, especially those playing overseas, also decided to skip the Combine.
Draft lottery
The NBA draft lottery was held on June 22. It was also televised nationally on ESPN.
Notes:
Eligibility and entrants
The draft is conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's 2017 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its players' union, with special modifications agreed to by both parties due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous CBA that ended the 2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft. but called for a committee of owners and players to discuss further charges.
- All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In term of dates, players who were eligible for the 2021 NBA draft must have been born on or before December 31, 2002.
- This draft could have possibly been the last in which high school players of any nationality are ineligible for pick after graduation as the two associations sought at first to lower the minimum age back to 18 and end the need to wait one year after their high school class graduated, also called the "one and done" requirement, ahead of next year's edition, as discussed in 2019. If approved, the current CBA may have to be amended and the amendment ratified. However, the ineligibility for the draft shortly after high school remained in place, as reported in 2020, unless there were further discussions about its repeal.
- Since the 2016 draft, the following rules are, as implemented by the NCAA Division I council for that division:
- Declaration for the draft no longer results in automatic loss of college eligibility. As long as a player does not sign a contract with a professional team outside the NBA, or sign with an agent, he retains college eligibility as long as he makes a timely withdrawal from the draft.
- NCAA players now have 10 days after the end of the NBA Draft Combine to withdraw from the draft. Since the combine is normally held in mid-May, the current deadline is about five weeks after the previous mid-April deadline.
- NCAA players may participate in the draft combine, and are allowed to attend one tryout per year with each NBA team without losing college eligibility.
- NCAA players may now enter and withdraw from the draft up to two times without loss of eligibility. Previously, the NCAA treated a second declaration of draft eligibility as a permanent loss of college eligibility.
The NBA announced on February 26, 2021, that for this draft only, all college players who wished to enter the draft, regardless of class, had to formally declare eligibility. In October 2020, COVID-19 led the NCAA to declare that the 2020–21 season would not be counted against the college eligibility of any basketball player. The exact language of the CBA with regard to automatic eligibility of college seniors is "The player has graduated from a four-year college or university in the United States, and has no remaining intercollegiate basketball eligibility." Due to the NCAA ruling, every college senior in the 2020–21 season had remaining eligibility. The league was required to consult with the players' union and the NCAA to determine whether it would require seniors to opt out of the draft (which was implemented by the NFL for its 2021 draft, affected by a similar NCAA ruling for football) or require opt-ins, with the latter option being chosen.
Early entrants
Players who were not automatically eligible had to declare their eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than at least 60 days before the event. For the 2021 draft, the date fell on May 30. Under the CBA a player may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration deadline, which usually falls 10 days before the draft at 5:00 pm EDT (2100 UTC). Under current NCAA rules, players usually have until 10 days after the draft combine to withdraw from the draft and retain college eligibility. They must have withdrawn on or before July 7, 22 days prior to this draft.
A player who has hired an agent retains his remaining college eligibility regardless of whether he is drafted after an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee. Players who declare for the NBA draft and are not selected have the opportunity to return to their school for at least another year only after terminating all agreements with their agents, who must have been certified no later than August 1, 2020.
The NBA released its official list of early entrants on June 2, 2021, consisting of 296 players from college and other educational institutions and 57 international players. The current version of the list found in this article omits players who withdrew from the draft after June 2.
College underclassmen
Terrence Clarke, a freshman guard from Kentucky, declared for the draft, but died on April 22, three months before it. At the draft, the NBA honored him with an honorary selection.
- Santi Aldama – F, Loyola (MD) (sophomore)
- Joël Ayayi – G, Gonzaga (redshirt junior)
- Dalano Banton – G, Nebraska (redshirt sophomore)
- Scottie Barnes – F, Florida State (freshman)
- Charles Bassey – C, Western Kentucky (junior)
- Giorgi Bezhanishvili – F, Illinois (junior)
- Brandon Boston Jr. – G, Kentucky (freshman)
- James Bouknight – G, UConn (sophomore)
- Pedro Bradshaw – F, Bellarmine (redshirt junior)
- Greg Brown – F, Texas (freshman)
- Jared Butler – G, Baylor (junior)
- D. J. Carton – G, Marquette (sophomore)
- Justin Champagnie – F, Pittsburgh (sophomore)
- Josh Christopher – G, Arizona State (freshman)
- Sharife Cooper – G, Auburn (freshman)
- Derek Culver – C, West Virginia (junior)
- Sam Cunliffe – G, Evansville (redshirt junior)
- Cade Cunningham – G, Oklahoma State (freshman)
- Ayo Dosunmu – G, Illinois (junior)
- David Duke Jr. – G, Providence (junior)
- Nojel Eastern – G, Purdue (junior)
- Kessler Edwards – F, Pepperdine (junior)
- RaiQuan Gray – F, Florida State (redshirt junior)
- Alan Griffin – G, Syracuse (junior)
- Quentin Grimes – G, Houston (junior)
- Aaron Henry – F, Michigan State (junior)
- Feron Hunt – F, SMU (junior)
- Matthew Hurt – F, Duke (sophomore)
- Bones Hyland – G, VCU (sophomore)
- Isaiah Jackson – F, Kentucky (freshman)
- David Johnson – G, Louisville (sophomore)
- Jalen Johnson – F, Duke (freshman)
- Keon Johnson – G, Tennessee (freshman)
- Kai Jones – F, Texas (sophomore)
- Balša Koprivica – C, Florida State (sophomore)
- A. J. Lawson – G, South Carolina (junior)
- Scottie Lewis – G, Florida (sophomore)
- Tre Mann – G, Florida (sophomore)
- Miles McBride – G, West Virginia (sophomore)
- Mac McClung – G, Texas Tech (junior)
- Davion Mitchell – G, Baylor (redshirt junior)
- Evan Mobley – F/C, USC (freshman)
- Moses Moody – G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Trey Murphy III – F, Virginia (junior)
- RJ Nembhard – G, TCU (redshirt junior)
- Joel Ntambwe – F, Texas Tech (redshirt sophomore)
- Jason Preston – G, Ohio (junior)
- Joshua Primo – G, Alabama (freshman)
- Neemias Queta – C, Utah State (junior)
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl – F, Villanova (sophomore)
- Damion Rosser – G, New Orleans (redshirt junior)
- Day'Ron Sharpe – C, North Carolina (freshman)
- Javonte Smart – G, LSU (junior)
- Jaden Springer – G, Tennessee (freshman)
- DJ Steward – G, Duke (freshman)
- D. J. Stewart Jr. – G, Mississippi State (redshirt sophomore)
- Jalen Suggs – G, Gonzaga (freshman)
- Cam Thomas – G, LSU (freshman)
- JT Thor – F, Auburn (freshman)
- Franz Wagner – F, Michigan (sophomore)
- Kyree Walker – G, Hillcrest Prep Academy (postgraduate)
- Duane Washington Jr. – G, Ohio State (junior)
- Trendon Watford – F, LSU (sophomore)
- Romeo Weems – F, DePaul (sophomore)
- Joe Wieskamp – G, Iowa (junior)
- Aaron Wiggins – G, Maryland (junior)
- Brandon Williams – G, Arizona (sophomore)
- Ziaire Williams – F, Stanford (freshman)
- Bryce Wills – G, Stanford (junior)
- Marcus Zegarowski – G, Creighton (junior)
College seniors
"Redshirt" refers to players who were redshirt seniors in the 2020–21 season. "Graduate" refers to players who were graduate transfers in 2020–21.