The NBA and the NHL share plenty of similarities, but their drafts are quite different. With both drafts happening this week, here’s an overview of the similarities and the differences.
Length
The NHL draft spans seven rounds. The first round typically takes place on a Friday evening and the second through seventh rounds follow the next morning.
The NBA draft is also a two-day deal, but because it’s only two rounds long, each day consists of just one round.
Lottery
Both leagues hold draft lotteries. In the NBA, the lottery determines the order of the first 14 picks, while in the NHL it’s just the first two — though if a team that’s ineligible for a top-two pick wins, it gets a lower pick (that’s how the Utah Mammoth got the fourth pick this year).
Strategy
NBA teams often draft for specific needs, because the players they draft often contribute the following season. NHL teams almost always resort to taking the best player available, as the bulk of drafted players won’t see consistent NHL action until three to five years later — and there’s no way to truly know what needs your team will have at that point.
Simply put, in the NBA, you draft players; in the NHL, you draft prospects.
Selection process
When they hear their names called, first-round NBA draftees often join the commissioner on stage, accept a team hat and take a photo.
In the NHL, the stage typically consists of the commissioner, the team’s entire management and scouting staffs and often a celebrity, a franchise legend or a child of one of the representatives on stage. The player then ditches his suit jacket for both a personalized jersey and a special-edition team hat.
That said, the NHL is trying something different this year. The teams will make their selections from their home arenas for the first time since the pandemic. There’s a lot of speculation that they’ll go back to the old format next year, but nothing has been decided yet.
Declaring for the draft
In the NBA, a player must declare for the draft before he is eligible to be selected. In the NHL, anyone age 18 or older by Sept. 15 of the draft year is considered draft-eligible — no declaration needed.
It was for this reason that the 1974 Buffalo Sabres were able to select Taro Tsujimoto, a name they found in the phonebook, out of protest for the length of the draft (it went 25 rounds that year). The same rule allowed the Montreal Canadiens to draft Logan Mailloux in 2021, despite the fact that he’d asked teams not to select him.
Draft age
As mentioned, NHL draft candidates are eligible at age 18. In the NBA, it’s 19.
Undrafted free agency status
In both leagues, the draft is the primary way for players to enter the league. And, in both leagues, players can also sign with teams as undrafted free agents.
The difference is that in the NBA, undrafted players are free to sign with any team at the conclusion of the first draft for which they were eligible. In the NHL, players must be passed up in three drafts before signing as free agents.
Entry-level salaries
In both leagues, entry-level players’ salaries are capped at certain amounts. In the NBA, the amount players can make is largely based on where they are selected in the draft; in the NHL, all entry-level players can make a maximum of $975,000, plus performance bonus money.
Where to watch the 2025 NHL and NBA drafts
The NHL draft, which begins at 5 p.m. MDT on Friday, June 27, will be available on the following networks:
- ESPN
- ESPN+
- Fubo
- NHL Network (Saturday only)
- Mammoth+
The NBA draft begins at 6 p.m. MDT on Wednesday, June 25. It can be viewed on the following platforms:
- ESPN
- ABC
- Fubo
- DirecTV