NBA Draft 2023 Requirements and Eligibility Rules

The following list shows the ongoing conditions and eligibility rules for a certain group of entrants:

For NCAA Players

• All entrants must be at least 19 years old during the draft calendar year. Players eligible for the 202 draft must have been born on or before December 31, 2004.
• A player must have spent at least one season after graduating from high school.

If not drafted, a player still retains college eligibility and can participate in the draft combine. However, they are only allowed to attend one tryout per year with each NBA team.

For Early Entrants

The players who are not automatically eligible but have declared their eligibility are called "early entrants" or "early-entry candidates."

For the 2023 NBA Draft, the league has confirmed that 242 players, including 48 international players, have filed as early-entry candidates.

College underclassmen, seniors, players from minor leagues, and international players make up the early entrant demographic.

They should follow the following rules to have a chance in the draft:

• Players have to declare their eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA office at least 60 days before the event. They have to do so by strictly writing to the office.
• Their management must be looked after by NBA-certified agents.

If not drafted, the players still retain their remaining college eligibility. However, they have to terminate all agreements with their agents.

For Automatically Eligible Entrants

Players born outside of the United States are known as international players in NBA. Meanwhile, the players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are called automatically eligible entrants:

The automatically eligible entrants can declare for an NBA draft under the following criteria:

• When he has no remaining college eligibility.
• If he graduated from high school in the U.S. but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, precisely four years should have passed since their high school graduation.
• If he signed a contract and played with a professional basketball team anywhere in the world, just not in the NBA.
• If he is at least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. A player born on or before December 31, 2001, is automatically eligible for the 2023 draft.

If not drafted, an automatically eligible entrant can still play for other pro teams in other leagues anywhere in the world.

While these are the rules to declare oneself an eligible candidate for an NBA draft, a player can still make it to the NBA through free agency or direct contact with a team.

The maximum NBA draft age limit for an international entrant is 22. However, no specific age bar has been given to regular NBA NCAA players and early entrants.

As the eligibility rules differed for early and international entrants, the latter must not be over 22 during his draft form submission date. In short, if the player turns 23 during the year of the draft, he is still eligible to enter the draft.

However, one can always secure an NBA career through other chances. Pablo Prigioni is the oldest rookie in NBA history who debuted with the New York Knicks on November 2, 2012, at the age of 35.

Prigoini had signed a one-year rookie minimum contract with the team and played with them until 2015. Hence, his impressive experience of playing in the Argentine LNB League, Liga ACB, EuroLeague, and other international leagues brought him a chance to shine in the NBA.

Interestingly, Pablo had gone undrafted at the 1999 NBA Draft, but his continued efforts in pro basketball finally provided him with an NBA career opportunity through different means of recruitment besides the draft.

Jordan Haber, a 21-year-old university graduate, has found a loophole to be a part of the 2023 NBA Draft. He revealed his verified eligibility through NBA agent Erika Ruiz.

Haber does not have prior experience playing basketball except for his recreational time. However, he was able to meet all the criteria for the draft as an early entrant.

The following list shows the eligible factors that got him in the draft:

• He is at least 19 years old.
• He has been out of high school for four years. He is a recent graduate of the University of Florida, hoping to join a law school later.
• He graduated from a four-year university in the U.S. in the year the draft is being held.
• He waived his NCAA eligibility.

When Jordan realized that he had met all these conditions set forth by the NBA office, he made a trip to the league's front office in Brooklyn. He also filled out the form for the draft and is quickly awaiting the 2023 draft event.

Haber shared his incredible journey of being an NBA draft entrant through his TikTok account, which has quickly accumulated 98k followers so far. He has been updating the basketball fans about his thoughts before the big day.

The video that announced his eligibility has more than 3 million views, and many NBA teams commented on seeing him forward at the draft. 

While the young lad knows that his chances are slim to get one of the 58 draft spaces, he is happy to come this far. Jordan confirmed that it would be his dream come true when he walks into the Barclays Center as an entrant.

Amid Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson's vogue as the top two draft prospects, Haber has grabbed many interviews and appearances on national television. Jordan also made it to Fox News, adding to his growing fandom on TikTok and other social media platforms.