NBA Draft 2021: Time, Draft Order, Top Prospects, How To Watch

ACROSS AMERICA —With the 2021 NBA Draft set for Thursday night, teams across the league will have an opportunity to better their chances for a future championship. That’s not an empty hope, as current NBA stars range from players picked No. 1 overall to those selected near the end of the second round.

An NBA Draft preview and analysis from Bleacher Report details the top needs for every team, even the Milwaukee Bucks, who won the 2021 NBA Championship just a week ago.

Related: Bucks Capture Milwaukee's First Basketball Title In 50 Years

Top Prospects

The Detroit Pistons have the No. 1 pick in the draft after winning the draft lottery, which is held yearly among the teams that did not qualify for the previous season’s playoffs. The Pistons are widely expected to take Cade Cunningham, a guard from Oklahoma State University, with the pick.

Jalen Green, a shooting guard from League Unite, is who Sports Illustrated in its latest mock draft projects the Houston Rockets will select. Evan Mobley, a forward/center from the University of Southern California, is slated to go No. 3 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in their mock draft.

Best Of The Rest

In all, NBA.com lists 86 prospects who could be taken with one of the 60 picks in the first and second rounds of the draft. Both rounds are set to be completed Thursday night.

Draft Order

via NBA.com

First Round:

1. Detroit Pistons

2. Houston Rockets

3. Cleveland Cavaliers

4. Toronto Raptors

5. Orlando Magic

6. Oklahoma City Thunder

7. Golden State Warriors

8. Orlando

9. Sacramento Kings

10. New Orleans Pelicans

11. Charlotte Hornets

12. San Antonio Spurs

13. Indiana Pacers

14. Golden State

15. Washington Wizards

16. Oklahoma City

17. Memphis Grizzlies

18. Oklahoma City

19. New York Knicks

20. Atlanta Hawks

21. New York

22. Los Angeles Lakers

23. Houston

24. Houston

25. Los Angeles Clippers

26. Denver Nuggets

27. Brooklyn Nets

28. Philadelphia 76ers

29. Phoenix Suns

30. Utah Jazz

Second Round:

31. Milwaukee Bucks

32. New York

33. Orlando

34. Oklahoma City

35. New Orleans

36. Oklahoma City

37. Detroit

38. Chicago Bulls

39. Sacramento

40. New Orleans

41. San Antonio

42. Detroit

43. New Orleans

44. Brooklyn

45. Boston Celtics

46. Toronto

47. Toronto

48. Atlanta

49. Brooklyn

50. Philadelphia

51. Memphis

52. Detroit

53. New Orleans

54. Indiana

55. Oklahoma City

56. Charlotte

57. Charlotte

58. New York

59. Brooklyn

60. Indiana

How To Watch

ABC and ESPN will air the first round of the draft beginning at 8 p.m. ET Thursday. The second round can be watched on ESPN.