2011 NBA draft


The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor of the 2011 NBA draft. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The Cleveland Cavaliers had the first pick due to a previous trade they had involving the Los Angeles Clippers, choosing point guard Kyrie Irving of Duke. Of the 60 players drafted, 7 were freshmen, 7 were sophomores, 14 were juniors, 19 were seniors, 12 were international players without U.S. college basketball experience, and 1 was a D-League player.
The 2011 NBA draft marked the final time the New Jersey Nets made an NBA draft appearance. After the end of the Nets' New Jersey Nets season|2011–12 season], the franchise relocated to Brooklyn, New York and was renamed to the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets made their first draft appearance with the Brooklyn moniker in 2012. Four of the first-round picks, including three of the top four picks, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Tristan Thompson, and Iman Shumpert, would all eventually become teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 2011 draft is considered one of the most abundant drafts in NBA history; seven players in the draft would play in at least two All-Star games and six were selected to at least one All-NBA Team, including the final pick of the draft, Isaiah Thomas. As of 2025, eight players from this draft remained in the NBA during its 2025–26 season: Irving, Jonas Valančiūnas, Bismack Biyombo, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vučević, Tobias Harris, and Jimmy Butler.

Draft selections

PGPoint guardSGShooting guardSFSmall forwardPFPower forwardCCenter

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityTeamSchool/club team
11*~PGCleveland Cavaliers Duke
12SF/PFMinnesota TimberwolvesArizona
13CUtah Jazz Stoneridge Preparatory School
14C/PFCleveland CavaliersTexas
15CToronto RaptorsLietuvos rytas Vilnius
16PFWashington WizardsPartizan Belgrade
17CDemocratic Republic of the Congo|name=DR Congoref label|NoteA|A|A 1sortname|Brandon|Knight|dab=basketballUSAsortname|Kemba|WalkerUSAsortname|Jimmer|FredetteUSAref label|NoteA|A|2sortname|Klay|ThompsonUSAsortname|Alec|BurksUSAsortname|Markieff|MorrisUSAsortname|Marcus|Morris|dab=basketballUSAsortname|Kawhi|LeonardUSAref label|NoteB|B|B 1sortname|Nikola|VučevićMNErefn|group=n|Nikola Vučević was born in Switzerland to Yugoslavian parents and raised in Belgium. He holds Montenegrin and Belgian citizenship but represented Montenegro internationally. Vučević became an American citizen in 2024.sortname|Iman|ShumpertUSAsortname|Chris|Singleton|dab=basketball, born 1989USAref label|Note4|d|dsortname|Tobias|HarrisUSAref label|Note5|e|eref label|NoteA|A|3sortname|Donatas|MotiejūnasLTUref label|Note6|f|fref label|NoteC|C|C 1sortname|Nolan|SmithUSAsortname|Kenneth|FariedUSAsortname|Nikola|MirotićESPrefn|group=n|Nikola Mirotić was born in SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia to Montenegrin-Spanish parents. He has represented Spain internationally.ref label|Note7|g|gref label|NoteC|C|2ref label|NoteD|D|D 1sortname|Reggie|Jackson|dab=basketball, born 1990USArefn|group=n|Reggie Jackson was born in Italy to American parents.sortname|MarShon|BrooksUSAref label|NoteE|E|E 1sortname|Jordan|Hamilton|dab=basketballUSAref label|NoteF|F|F 1sortname|JaJuan|JohnsonUSAref label|Note8|h|h 1ref label|NoteE|E|2sortname|Norris|Cole|dab=basketballUSAref label|Note3|c|2ref label|NoteD|D|2ref label|NoteG|G|G 1sortname|Cory|JosephCANsortname|Jimmy|ButlerUSAsortname|Bojan|BogdanovićCROrefn|group=n|Bojan Bogdanović was born in SR Bosnia-Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia, but has represented Croatia internationally.ref label|Note9|i|iref label|NoteG|G|2ref label|NoteH|H|Hrefn|group=n|Bojan Bogdanović played for Cibona Zagreb during the 2010–11 season, but was signed by Fenerbahçe Ülker on June 20, 2011.sortname|Justin|Harper|dab=basketballUSAref label|NoteI|I|Isortname|Kyle|SinglerUSAref label|Note10|j|jsortname|Shelvin|MackUSAsortname|Tyler|HoneycuttUSAsortname|Jordan|Williams|dab=basketball, born 1990USAsortname|Trey|ThompkinsUSAref label|Note11|k|ksortname|Chandler|ParsonsUSAref label|Note12|l|l 1ref label|NoteC|C|3sortname|Jeremy|TylerUSAref label|NoteJ|J|Jsortname|Jon|LeuerUSAsortname|Darius|MorrisUSAref label|Note8|h|2sortname|Dāvis|BertānsLATref label|NoteB|B|2sortname|Malcolm|Lee|dab=basketballUSAref label|Note13|m|mref label|NoteD|D|3sortname|Charles|Jenkins|dab=basketballUSAref label|Note14|n|nsortname|Josh|HarrellsonUSAref label|Note15|o|o 1ref label|NoteK|K|Ksortname|Andrew|GoudelockUSAref label|Note16|p|psortname|Travis|LeslieUSAref label|Note12|l|2sortname|Keith|BensonUSAsortname|Josh|SelbyUSAsortname|Lavoy|AllenUSAref label|Note15|o|2sortname|Jon|DieblerUSAsortname|Vernon|MacklinUSAref label|Note17|q|qsortname|DeAndre|LigginsUSAsortname|Milan|Mačvan||Macvan, MilanSRBrefn|group=n|Milan Mačvan was born in SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia, but has represented Serbia internationally.ref label|Note18|r|rsortname|E'Twaun|Moore||Moore, EtwaunUSAsortname|Chukwudiebere|MaduabumNGAref label|NoteL|L|Lsortname|Tanguy|NgomboQATrefn|group=n|Tanguy Ngombo was born in Congo. He is also a naturalized citizen of Qatar and has represented Qatar internationally.ref label|NoteF|F|2sortname|Ater|MajokAUSrefn|group=n|Ater Majok was born in Sudan and raised in Australia. He is a dual citizen of both countries but represented Australia internationally. He acquired Lebanese citizenship in 2017 and has since played for the Lebanon national basketball team.ref label|Note19|s|ssortname|Ádám|HangaHUNrefn|group=n|Ádám Hanga played for Albacomp during the 2010–11 season, but was signed by Assignia Manresa on May 27, 2011.sortname|Isaiah|Thomas|dab=basketball, born 1989USAref label|Note20|t|t

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 2011 NBA draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.
PlayerPositionNationalitySchool/club team
SGVEF Rīga
PGMarquette
GVirginia Tech
G/FKK Krka
GIowa State
GNotre Dame
GColorado
FWashington
SGBoston University
SGTennessee
FOregon State
G/FSt. John's
SFŽalgiris Kaunas
PGMichigan State
PGKansas State
F/CSaint Louis
GNorthern Illinois
CFresno State
PFUSC
SGUTEP
FSan Diego State
F/GPepperdine
SGPittsburgh
FDayton
PGGeorgetown

Eligibility rules

As of 2010, the basic eligibility rules for the draft are listed below.
  • All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players eligible for the 2011 draft must be born on or before December 31, 1992.
  • Any player who is not an "international player", as defined in the CBA, must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class. The CBA defines "international players" as players who permanently resided outside the U.S. for three years prior to the draft, did not complete high school in the U.S., and have never enrolled at a U.S. college or university.
The basic requirement for automatic eligibility for a U.S. player is the completion of his college eligibility.
Players who meet the CBA definition of "international players" are automatically eligible if their 22nd birthday falls during or before the calendar year of the draft. U.S. players who were at least one year removed from their high school graduation and have played minor-league basketball with a team outside the NBA are also automatically eligible.
A player who is not automatically eligible must declare his eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. For the 2011 draft, this date fell on April 24. Under NCAA rules, players will only have until May 8 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility. This year, a total of 69 collegiate players and 20 international players declared as early entry candidates. At the withdrawal deadline, 41 early entry candidates withdrew from the draft, leaving 42 collegiate players and six international players as the early entry candidates for the draft.
A player who has hired an agent will forfeit his remaining college eligibility, regardless of whether he is drafted. Also, while the CBA allows a player to withdraw from the draft twice, the NCAA mandates that a player who has declared twice loses his college eligibility.

Draft lottery

The first 14 picks in the draft belong to teams that missed the playoffs; the order will be determined through a lottery. The lottery will determine the three teams that will obtain the first three picks on the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the second-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. As it is commonplace in the event of identical win–loss records, the NBA performed a random drawing to break the ties on April 15, 2011.
The lottery was held on May 17, 2011, in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who obtained the Los Angeles Clippers' first-round draft pick, won the lottery. The Cavaliers won the lottery with a 22.7% chance to win, combining a 19.9% chance from their own pick and 2.8% chance from the Clippers' pick. However, their winning lottery combination came from the Clippers' pick, which had a significantly lower chance to win. The Minnesota Timberwolves, who had the worst record and the biggest chance to win the lottery, won the second pick. The Utah Jazz, who obtained the New Jersey Nets' first-round draft pick, won the third pick.
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2011 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places.
^Denotes the actual lottery results

Entrants

Early entrants

College underclassmen

International players

This list is restricted to players who meet the CBA definition of "international" players.

Automatically eligible entrants

Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
  • They have completed 4 years of their college eligibility.
  • If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated.
  • They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under that contract.
Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
  • They are least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players born on or before December 31, 1989, are automatically eligible for the 2011 draft.
  • They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA within the United States, and have played under that contract.

Invited attendees

The NBA annually invites 10 to 15 players to sit in the so-called "green room", a special room set aside at the draft site for the invited players plus their families and agents. This season, the following players were invited :

Trades involving draft picks

Pre-draft trades

Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams.

Draft-day trades

The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.