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NBA Draft 2021: Draft day to be on July 29, combine and lottery dates also announced

All of the dates are pushed back one month due to the season starting a little later than usual.

By Albert Lee
2020 NBA Draft
Deni Avdija was the Washington Wizards’ most recent draft selection. Who will it be this time?
Photo by Courtesy of Deni Avdija/NBAE via Getty Images

On Monday, the NBA announced several key dates for the 2021 Draft. The draft itself will be on Thursday, July 29 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. ABC will also air the first round of the draft.

In addition, the league announced the following dates:

  • Early Entry Application: Technically, NBA players are not eligible for the draft unless they are four years out of high school or are a senior in college programs. But as we know, most of the top drafted players are freshmen and sophomores in college. The deadline for someone like ... Cade Cunningham to get into the draft is by Sunday, May 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Early entries can withdraw as late as July 19 at 5 p.m. ET.
  • Draft Combine: It will be from June 21 to June 27. If the coronavirus situation continues to improve, we’ll see a version of this that’s not unlike 2019’s!
  • Draft Lottery: This is the most important date for us as Washington Wizards fans since a playoff appearance is unlikely. It will be on Tuesday, June 22 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Currently, the Wizards are among the teams with the best chances of getting a Top-4 pick in this year’s draft.

These dates are all about one month after their pre-coronavirus pandemic dates, mainly because this season was pushed back to December instead of its usual late October one.