NBA announces 2024 draft schedule

After having reached an agreement with the players union to make the 2024 draft a two-day affair, the NBA has officially announced the start times for this year’s event.

According to the league, Day 1 (the first round) will start at its usual time of 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 26. However, Day 2 (the second round) will begin earlier in the day on Thursday, June 27, airing at 4:00 p.m. ET.

As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic points out, the NBA may have initially planned to start Round 2 in prime time on Thursday rather than in the afternoon, but with a U.S. presidential debate scheduled for the evening of June 27, it makes sense to avoid competing with that broadcast.

In past years, the first round of the draft has begun at 8:00 p.m. ET on a Thursday and typically runs for three-plus hours, with the second round not getting underway until closer to 11:30 p.m. ET. 

That has resulted in Round 2 wrapping up well past midnight and post-draft updates about undrafted free agents agreeing to two-way contracts and Exhibit 10 deals continuing well into the early hours of Friday morning.

Having split the draft into two days this year, the NBA should be able to finish up the first night at a more reasonable hour on Wednesday, with the second round concluding in the early evening on Thursday (teams will have four minutes instead of two to make second-round selections this season). 

Those post-draft reports on UDFA signings will likely stream in throughout Thursday evening and into the night following the conclusion of the second round.

The full draft order for 2024, from the Hawks at No. 1 to the Mavericks at No. 58, can be found right here.