The NBA draft is a player’s best opportunity to be drafted into the league. Since 1947, the NBA has drafted eligible players, typically from college to the league. Below, we are going to review the history of the number 30 draft pick in the NBA.
What is the NBA Draft?
The NBA draft is an annual ceremony, in which NBA teams, through a lottery system, select eligible players from college and the international stage to join their teams. College players who have completed all four years of their education are automatically eligible for the draft.
However, college players who have not completed all four years of their education, but are one-year removed from high school, must declare their eligibility for the draft. In declaring their eligibility, these underclassmen will effectively give up their remaining college eligibility.
For international players, any player older than 22 years old are automatically eligible for the draft. However, any international player younger than 22 years old must declare their eligibility.
How Does the Lottery System Work?
The NBA draft lottery system was revamped for the 2018 season. Looking at these new rules, the 14 NBA teams which did not make the playoffs will be eligible for the first 14 picks in the draft. Under the new system, the NBA Draft Lottery will ensure that the team with the worst overall record in the league will receive no worse than the fifth overall pick.
Similarly, in the new system, the three NBA teams with the worst regular-season records will each have a 14% chance of winning the lottery and the first overall pick. Once the first four teams with the worst records have been selected, the remaining ten teams will continue to pick in inverse order of their regular-season record.
How Does the NBA Draft Work?
Going a bit deeper, and speaking only of the new system, the NBA draft will be televised on ESPN, who will air the results live. Drawings will be conducted to determine the first four picks, with the remaining ten picks being doled out in inverse order of an NBA teams regular-season record.
The actual lottery procedure, however, takes place in a separate room before ESPN announces the results. In this room, a member of the media, an NBA official, and a representative of the accounting firm Ernst & Young are present to ensure no foul play or tampering with the machine.
In this separate room, fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1-14 will be placed in the lottery machine. The lottery machine used by the NBA is manufactured by Smart Play Company. This company also weighs, measures, and certifies the ping-pong balls before the drawing.
There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating NBA teams.
Once all 14 balls have been placed into the machine, they will be mixed for 20-seconds before the first ball is removed. Similarly, the balls will be mixed for another 10-seconds before the second ball is drawn. Again, the machine will be mixed for another 10-seconds for both the third and fourth picks.
Full History of all 30th Overall NBA Draft Picks
| PLAYER | TEAM | AFFILIATION | YEAR | |
| Santi Aldama | Utah Jazz | Loyola-Maryland | 2021 | |
| Desmond Bane | Boston Celtics | Texas Christian | 2020 | |
| Kevin Porter Jr. | Milwaukee Bucks | Southern California | 2019 | |
| Omari Spellman | Atlanta Hawks | Villanova | 2018 | |
| Josh Hart | Utah Jazz | Villanova | 2017 | |
| Damian Jones | Golden State Warriors | Vanderbilt | 2016 | |
| Kevon Looney | Golden State Warriors | California-Los Angeles | 2015 | |
| Kyle Anderson | San Antonio Spurs | California-Los Angeles | 2014 | |
| Nemanja Nedovic | Phoenix Suns | BC Lietuvos rytas (Lithuania) | 2013 | |
| Festus Ezeli | Golden State Warriors | Vanderbilt | 2012 | |
| Jimmy Butler | Chicago Bulls | Marquette | 2011 | |
| Lazar Hayward | Washington Wizards | Marquette | 2010 | |
| Christian Eyenga | Cleveland Cavaliers | CB Prat (Spain) | 2009 | |
| J.R. Giddens | Boston Celtics | New Mexico | 2008 | |
| Petteri Koponen | Philadelphia 76ers | Espoon Honka (Finland) | 2007 | |
| Joel Freeland | Portland Trail Blazers | CB Gran Canaria (Spain) | 2006 | |
| David Lee | New York Knicks | Florida | 2005 | |
| Anderson Varejao | Orlando Magic | FC Barcelona Basquet (Spain) | 2004 | |
| Maciej Lampe | New York Knicks | Madrid (ESP) | 2003 | |
| Roger Mason Jr. | Chicago Bulls | Virginia | 2002 | |
| Gilbert Arenas | Golden State Warriors | Arizona | 2001 | |
| Marko Jaric | Los Angeles Clippers | Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna (Italy) | 2000 | |
| John Celestand | Los Angeles Lakers | Villanova | 1999 | |
| Ansu Sesay | Dallas Mavericks | Mississippi | 1998 | |
| Mark Sanford | Miami Heat | Washington | 1997 | |
| Othella Harrington | Houston Rockets | Georgetown | 1996 | |
| Lou Roe | Detroit Pistons | Massachusetts | 1995 | |
| Howard Eisley | Minnesota Timberwolves | Boston College | 1994 | |
| Gheorghe Muresan | Washington Bullets | Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez (France) | 1993 | |
| Sean Rooks | Dallas Mavericks | Arizona | 1992 | |
| Rodney Monroe | Atlanta Hawks | North Carolina State | 1991 | |
| Carl Herrera | Miami Heat | Houston | 1990 | |
| Frank Kornet | Milwaukee Bucks | Vanderbilt | 1989 | |
| Fennis Dembo | Detroit Pistons | Wyoming | 1988 | |
| Nikita Wilson | Portland Trail Blazers | Louisiana State | 1987 | |
| Nate McMillan | Seattle SuperSonics | North Carolina State | 1986 | |
| Calvin Duncan | Cleveland Cavaliers | Virginia Commonwealth | 1985 | |
| Steve Burtt | Golden State Warriors | Iona | 1984 | |
| Mark West | Dallas Mavericks | Old Dominion | 1983 | |
| Wallace Bryant | Chicago Bulls | San Francisco | 1982 | |
| Ed Rains | San Antonio Spurs | South Alabama | 1981 | |
| Kenny Natt | Indiana Pacers | Louisiana-Monroe | 1980 | |
| Gary Garland | Denver Nuggets | DePaul | 1979 | |
| Jeff Judkins | Boston Celtics | Utah | 1978 | |
| Steve Sheppard | Chicago Bulls | Maryland | 1977 | |
| Al Fleming | Phoenix Suns | Arizona | 1976 | |
| Steve Green | Chicago Bulls | Indiana | 1975 | |
| Dennis DuVal | Washington Bullets | Syracuse | 1974 | |
| Wendell Hudson | Chicago Bulls | Alabama | 1973 | |
| Ollie Johnson | Portland Trail Blazers | Temple | 1972 | |
| Spencer Haywood | Buffalo Braves | Detroit Mercy | 1971 | |
| Ernie Killum | Los Angeles Lakers | Stetson | 1970 | |
| Floyd Kerr | Phoenix Suns | Colorado State | 1969 | |
| Don May | New York Knicks | Dayton | 1968 | |
| Sam Singleton | Seattle SuperSonics | Nebraska-Omaha | 1967 | |
| Ed Bodkin | Chicago Bulls | Eastern Kentucky | 1966 | |
| Skip Thoren | Baltimore Bullets | Illinois | 1965 | |
| Hank Finkel | Los Angeles Lakers | Dayton | 1964 | |
| Dave Erickson | Detroit Pistons | Marquette | 1963 | |
| Bob McCully | Syracuse Nationals | St. Bonaventure | 1962 | |
| Tom Chilton | St. Louis Hawks | East Tennessee State | 1961 | |
| Horace Walker | St. Louis Hawks | Michigan State | 1960 | |
| Ed Kazakavich | Boston Celtics | Scranton | 1959 | |
| Julius Peques | St. Louis Hawks | Pittsburgh | 1958 | |
| Ray Radziszewski | Philadelphia Warriors | Saint Joseph’s | 1957 | |
| Frank Ehmann | Syracuse Nationals | Northwestern | 1955 | |
| Chuck Noble | Philadelphia Warriors | Louisville | 1954 | |
| Bill Hagler | Baltimore Bullets | California | 1951 |