NBA draft 2023: Start time, draft order, how to watch and stream

The 2023 NBA draft is tonight, but 76ers fans are still looking for a reason to care.

The Sixers don’t have a single pick entering Thursday’s draft. They traded their first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the blockbuster James Harden-Ben Simmons deal, and lost their second round pick following a tampering investigation.

The team hopes to acquire a second-round pick, according to The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, but if they don’t make any deals it’ll be the second-straight year the Sixers lack picks on draft night. Last year, they shipped off the No. 23 pick to the Memphis Grizzlies along with Danny Green in exchange for De’Anthony Melton.

It’s not as if the team doesn’t have needs, including a replacement for Harden if he opts to sign with the Houston Rockets and a three-point shooter if Georges Niang doesn’t resign. But as The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell reports, the Sixers don’t have much in the way of trade capital — the next first-round pick they’re allowed to trade is their 2029 selection — and it seems unlikely they’ll deal away a player for a pick, considering how close they came to advancing to the Eastern Conference finals last season.

» READ MORE: 2023 NBA Draft: Live updates, trades, and rumors

One thing we do know is French superstar Victor Wembanyama will end up with the San Antonio Spurs, who have the No. 1 pick. Most NBA pundits think the No. 2 pick will come down to G Leaguer Scoot Henderson or Alabama’s Brandon Miller.

“That’s a difficult decision,” basketball analyst Jay Bilas said in a recent conference call. “I would lean towards Miller because of the shooting. In a league that values shooting, he can really shoot it, and I think that’s the direction I would lean.”

Here’s everything you need to know to watch and stream this year’s NBA draft:

The 2023 NBA draft is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Eastern. The draft will air on ESPN and ABC, and stream on ESPN+ (along with a host of subscription services that carry the networks).

Here’s how television networks are planning to cover the draft:

ABC

For the third-straight year, ABC will air its own coverage of the first round, focused more on the personal stories of the prospects than their impact on the court. Phoenixville native and Temple alumnus Kevin Negandhi will host ABC’s coverage alongside First Take’s Stephen A. Smith.

ESPN

ESPN will air the first and second rounds, hosted for the second year in a row by NBA Today host Malika Andrews. She’ll be joined by a host of analysts, including Bilas, former Sixer JJ Redick, reporters Andraya Carter, Monica McNutt, and front office insider Bobby Marks.

NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski will join the broadcast, and for the first time since joining ESPN in 2017 there won’t be any “Woj Bombs” tipping off picks on Twitter before they’re announced.

”I think now for me it’s important to stay on top of the trades and the movement, and be able to do a little more storytelling of what’s going on the board in real-time at the draft,” Wojnarowski told the Ringer’s Ryen Russillo last week on his podcast. “Instead of having my head buried trying to get New Orleans pick at 14 that obviously is going to be out momentarily on the show.”

ESPN digital

For the first time, ESPN will also offer coverage of the NBA draft on its digital platforms, lead by The Hoop Collective podcast host Brian Windhorst and featuring New Orleans Pelicans star Trey Murphy III. They’ll be joined by Christine Williamson, Kirk Goldsberry, Kevin Pelton, and King McClure.

The Hoop Collective NBA Draft Show will be available to stream on ESPN’s website and app, YouTube account, Facebook page, and on Twitter.

» READ MORE: How the Sixers nearly drafted Bill Walton 50 years ago, and why he rejected their offer

The draft will be held in the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, which has hosted the event since the Nets’ arena opened in 2013 (though the 2020 draft was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

The 2011 and 2012 NBA drafts were held at the Prudential Center in Newark, the Nets’ previous home. Madison Square Garden in New York City, home of the Knicks, hosted the draft from 2001 to 2010.

You have to travel back all the way to 2000 to find an NBA draft not held in the New York metropolitan area. That year, the event was held at the Target Center in Minneapolis, the home of the Timberwolves.

Zero.

The Sixers traded away their first-round pick — which would’ve been No. 28 — to the Nets as part of the James Harden-Ben Simmons deal.

As for their second-round pick, the Sixers had it taken away by the NBA following an investigation into tampering involving the free-agent signings of P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr.

The Chicago Bulls also lost their second-round pick, meaning there will only be 58 picks.

In addition to the Sixers, five other teams don’t have a first-round pick — the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Bulls sent their top pick to the Orlando Magic in the Nikola Vucevic trade, while the Bucks gave up their first-round pick in a 2021 deal with the Houston Rockets for P.J. Tucker (who is now with the Sixers). The Timberwolves traded their first-round pick as part of the deal for Rudy Gobert, and the Suns’ first round pick was part of the haul they gave up to acquire Kevin Durant.

On the flip side, one team has three first-round picks — the Utah Jazz (Nos. 9, 16, and 28).