The dream of every young basketball player is to get a chance to play in the NBA. This dream is realized by a select few each year in the NBA Draft.
The NBA Draft is a storied tradition that comes around every year. Each June, sixty young men from the NCAA (and overseas) are able to hear their name get called and take the next step into the professional level of basketball. Naturally, when these athletes are allowed to declare for the draft from their freshman year on, there’s bound to be variance in the age of each year’s set of draftees.
The infographic displays the ages of each NBA Draft’s first round since the 1984 draft (which also happens to be considered one of the greatest draft classes ever), meaning the first thirty picks each year. The biggest takeaway from the diagram is how much younger the NBA appears to be getting. As time progresses on the infographic, the later years show that the top picks of each draft more often fell on the younger end of the age range in which they are able to declare.
As time goes on, this trend is bound to continue as younger and younger players move into the NBA. More and more incredible prospects will decide to declare for the draft after minimal time in college. I’m excited to see how the fresh new faces in league continue to impact the game each year.