The Draft Review's Honorable Draftees comprise an elite group of basketball players throughout history who were on pace to be drafted by the NBA, but did not make it to the pros due to poor off-court behavior, tragedy, or other unforeseen circumstances.

TDR will bestow the Honorable Draftee title solely on the basis of the individual's performance as a basketball player and the potential they possessed to become a major contributor in the NBA.

NBA teams are prohibited from announcing publicly the terms of any potential trade prior to its official completion via a trade conference call with the League Office. This rule applies throughout the year, including on the night of the NBA Draft.

On Draft night, trades will only be announced by the NBA during the Draft telecast, provided the trade call is completed prior to the end of the Draft. If a trade call is completed after the Draft has concluded, the terms of the trade will subsequently be announced by the teams, as per the usual rule, at a time agreed upon by all teams involved in the trade.

NBA Teams are prohibited from publicly disclosing the player(s) they intend to select in the Draft. All such selections will be announced by the NBA during the Draft telecast.

Teams are allowed to trade future draft picks (first and second round) as they would current players. However, NBA teams are restricted from trading away future first-round draft picks in consecutive years.

Source: Wikipedia, NBA.com

This page was created to pay tribute to players who were notably absent on draft night, yet went on to enjoy solid careers in the NBA. To ensure that this list is truly exceptional, certain guidelines were put into place to achieve high standards that we believe truly honor these players. If this list were open to any and all players who have ever made an NBA roster, it would take away from the prestige. These players are the cream of the crop among all undrafted free agents to ever play in the NBA.

Guidelines

• Players must play a minimum of 250 career games.
• Players must have played a minimum of 5 NBA seasons.

Name: National Basketball Association Early Entry timeline: 1971 - Present Day Total Teams: 30 Clubs

Beginning in 1971, underclassmen were allowed to enter the NBA Draft provided they could give evidence of “hardship” to the NBA office. In 1976 the hardship requirement was eliminated in favor of the current Early Entry procedure, whereby any athlete with remaining college eligibility can enter the NBA Draft on the condition that he notifies the league office at least 45 days before the draft. International players could declare eligibility in the calendar year of their 18th birthday, or later.

Starting with the 2006 NBA Draft, the eligibility rules have changed:

1. - All players, regardless of nationality, must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft.

2. - A player who completed basketball eligibility at a U.S. high school, regardless of nationality, must also be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class.

This age limit for draftees is part of the new collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players union.

The NBA has established two draft declaration dates. All players who wish to be drafted, and are not automatically eligible, must declare their eligibility no later than 60 days before the draft. After this date, prospective draftees may attend NBA pre-draft camps and individual team workouts to show off their skills and obtain feedback regarding their draft positions. A player may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, which is 10 days before the draft.

Before 2016, the NCAA only allowed a player to enter the draft once without losing eligibility, but current NCAA rules now allow players to declare for and withdraw from multiple drafts while retaining college eligibility. The CBA allows a player to withdraw twice.

When a player is selected in the first round of the draft, the team that selected him is required to sign him to at least a one-year contract. Teams own the rights to players selected in the second round for three years, but the teams are not required to sign them.

Source: Wikipedia, NBA.com