After first being reported as a strong possibility earlier this month, the NBA officially announced on Wednesday that the 2024 NBA Draft will become a two-night event. With both rounds having previously taken place on the same night, the two will now be split, with the first round occurring on Wednesday, June 26, followed by the second round on Thursday, June 27.
While Brooklyn’s Barclays Center will host the first round of the draft, the second round will take place at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York. The first round will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and the ESPN App, with the second round airing on ESPN and the ESPN App.
The move to a two-night format will also result in a slight change for the second round. While the first round will continue to have five minutes in between its picks, the time in between second-round selections will increase from two minutes to four minutes.
“Based on feedback about the NBA Draft format from basketball executives around the league and my own experience in draft rooms, we believe that teams will benefit from being able to regroup between rounds and having additional time to make decisions during the second round,” NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars said in a statement. “Two nights of primetime coverage will also enhance the viewing experience for our fans and further showcase the draftees.”
It will be interesting to see how the new format fares and the NBA deserves credit for being willing to experiment. After fans complained that last year’s draft was too boring, the league is making the most obvious change possible in a move that mirrors the NFL’s current format.
As for the format itself, the standalone first round should be a welcome change to fans who don’t want to sit through the often uneventful second round before diving into their post-draft coverage. Conversely, it will be worth monitoring how the second round fares from a ratings standpoint, as it often largely consists of low-level prospects even casual NBA fans aren’t typically familiar with.
Considering the disparity in the importance between the two rounds, it’s easy to see why the league might think that keeping the entirety of its draft on a single night resulted in diminishing returns. In spreading the draft throughout two nights, the thinking is likely that the appeal of the first round will likely increase and that a standalone night will bring newfound viability to the second round as a TV product.
[NBA]
