2013 NBA draft

The 2013 NBA draft was held on June 27, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. State Farm was the presenting sponsor. The lottery took place on May 21, 2013. This was the first draft for New Orleans under their new Pelicans name after playing as the New Orleans Hornets previously. It would also be the last draft for the Charlotte Bobcats under their old name, as they resumed playing under their old Hornets moniker that they last used in 2002 once the 2013–14 NBA season was over. Anthony Bennett, the first pick in the draft, had a very limited amount of media outlets considering him as a potential #1 pick in the draft. He bounced around the league and then was finally released by the Brooklyn Nets in January 2017 after averaging just 5.2 PPG.

The highlight of the draft was the Milwaukee Bucks’ selection of Giannis Antetokounmpo with the 15th overall pick, eventually becoming the best player of this class with two NBA MVP awards, one Defensive Player of the Year award, and an NBA championship in 2021. Another player from this draft, Rudy Gobert, won four Defensive Player of the Year awards. Michael Carter-Williams won the Rookie of the Year award that season. The draft also included the first Canadian number one overall selection (Anthony Bennett), the first Canadian pair of lottery picks (Bennett and Kelly Olynyk), the first Iranian draft choice (Arsalan Kazemi), the first New Zealander first round pick (Steven Adams), and the final first round draft selections announced by then-NBA commissioner David Stern, the last of which included a visit by Hakeem Olajuwon, the first pick Stern ever announced from the 1984 NBA draft. He was replaced by current commissioner Adam Silver beginning with the 2014 NBA draft.

These players were not selected in the 2013 NBA draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.

The draft is conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's new 2011 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its players union. The CBA that ended the 2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft, but called for a committee of owners and players to discuss future changes. As of 2012^[update], the basic eligibility rules for the draft are listed below.

Player who are not automatically eligible must declare their eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. For the 2013 draft, this date fell on April 28. Under NCAA rules, players will only have until April 16 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility.

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.

Forty-five college players declared for the draft.

Fifteen players who did not attend college in the US or Canada between the ages of 18 and 22 declared for the draft.