The Philippine Basketball Associationdraft is an annual event dating back to 1985 in which the twelve teams from the Philippine Basketball Association can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. The draft usually takes place between October to December, during the league's off-season. No player may sign with the PBA until he has been eligible for at least one draft.
Eligibility
All players have to be natural-born Filipinos. Persons who chose Filipino citizenship by the age of maturity are considered as natural-born citizens. For local players the requirements are that they must:
Be 21 years old at the day of the draft, previously 23. If under 21, the player must have completed at least four years of college eligibility;
Be a college graduate or four years removed from his high school graduation, if older than 21;
Ensure that, if they graduated from secondary outside the Philippines, but did not enroll in a Philippine or non-Philippine college or university, four years have passed since their secondary school class graduated;
Have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside the PBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under that contract. They also must be released from their contract before they can leave to go to the PBA.
Any person who played for the Philippines men's national basketball team is exempted from the D-League requirement and is automatically eligible for selection. The changes in eligibility rules are in effect starting in the 2015 draft. Imports – non-Filipino citizens, even those born in the Philippines – do not enter the league via the draft. They are directly signed by teams, and only play in some conferences. Naturalized citizens can only play in the league as imports.
Order
The natural drafting order is determined by the teams' final rankings within each conference from the previous season, with rankings from the PBA Philippine Cup having heavier weight; the team with the worst record picks first, and the team with best winning percentage picking last in the first and second rounds. In the third round, the natural drafting order is still followed, however, the team with the second worst winning percentage will pick first then the worst will pick second. The worst and second worst team will change places in the following rounds. The drafting order is also subject to change if a team deals their draft picks in trades. The draft will be finished if all teams have passed.
Draft lottery
Before 2015, a draft lottery determines which team gets the first overall draft pick, but in a much smaller scale; only the two worst-performing teams in the preceding season participate. The team with the worst record has a 67% chance of clinching the #1 seed while the second-worst only gets a 33% chance. The draft lottery is usually held prior to the finals of the final conference of the season. The draft lottery was abandoned after the controversies that aroused during the lottery for the first pick of the 2014 draft.
Number of rounds
From 1985 to 2004 and since 2011, the league has unlimited number of rounds until all the teams have passed, with all undrafted players will become free agents. From 2005 to 2010, the league has limited the draft into two rounds. This restriction was attributed to an agreement between the PBA and the Philippine Basketball League, which also included a development fee to the PBL team from which the player was drafted. This was removed in 2011 as the PBL had folded, and amateur players played in the PBA D-League instead.
Expansion draft
There are three expansion drafts in the league's history. The first was in 1990, in which the new teams Pepsi Hotshots and the Pop Cola Sizzlers selected up to six players from the expansion pool, which is made up of three players from each of the six existing franchises. The second was in 2000, where newcomers Batang Red Bull Energizers selected players from the draft. An expansion draft for new teams Blackwater Elite and Kia Sorento was held on July 18, 2014, so that both team can form its rosters for the 2014–15 season. The 10 existing PBA franchises protected up to 12 players in their roster. Two time MVP Danny Ildefonso of the Meralco Bolts was selected as the first pick of the expansion draft by Blackwater, followed by Reil Cervantes of Barako Bull by Kia.
Carry over amateurs
If a new franchise also has an existing franchise from an amateur league, the franchise, upon approval from the PBA's Board of Governors, may be given an incentive of selecting players from their amateur team to be directly elevated to their PBA team. This was last given to the Welcoat Dragons, who elevated three players from their PBL team.
Flags indicate the country were the player studied college; all players are Filipinos until proven otherwise, like Sonny Alvarado's case where he fled the country as his citizenship was being questioned.
