Ex-Cats

NBA Draft guide: Where to watch, how to follow, links to coverage

Herald-Leader Staff Report

Updated June 22, 2017 12:18 PM

De’Aaron Fox is expected to be the first player drafted from Kentucky on Thursday night. Fellow Kentucky freshmen Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo are also projected as first-round selections. Charles Rex Arbogast AP

Sixty players will be presented their professional launch codes during the 2017 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Thursday night.

Here are the tools and information you’ll need to follow all the action.

Questions and answers

What time is the draft?

TV coverage begins at 7 p.m., but the clock won’t start for the first selection until 7:30 p.m. The draft will end between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.

How does the draft work?

There are two rounds of 30 picks each. Teams have five minutes to make their selections in the first round and two minutes in the second round.

Where can I watch on TV?

ESPN and NBA TV will host live coverage of every selection. NBA TV hosts a recap show starting at midnight.

Where can I watch online?

WatchESPN.com and NBA.com will provide live streams of the draft.

The Vertical website, hosted by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, and CBSSports.com will live stream analysis during the draft.

What will I find on Kentucky.com and KentuckySports.com?

Dennis Varney, editor of the Herald-Leader’s Ex-Cats page, will provide a blow-by-blow account of the draft, highlighting Kentucky’s eight draft-eligible players.

John Clay, Herald-Leader sports columnist, will host a liveblog where fans can discuss the draft as it unfolds. Click here to join the conversation, which will get started around 7 p.m.

Jerry Tipton, the Herald-Leader’s UK beat writer, will be providing live updates from Brooklyn throughout the night.

Mark Story, Herald-Leader sports columnist, will post after the draft on how each Kentuckian selected fits in his new NBA home.

Click on the writers’ names above to follow them on Twitter. Also watch for updates on our Kentucky.com and KentuckySports.com Facebook pages.

Who has the No. 1 pick?

The Philadelphia 76ers acquired the first choice from the Boston Celtics this week and are expected to use it to select University of Washington point guard Markelle Fultz.

What’s the draft order after that?

The Los Angeles Lakers pick second, followed by the Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings. Here’s the entire draft order.

Which players with Kentucky ties could be drafted?

UK: De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Bam Adebayo, Isaiah Briscoe, Isaac Humphries, Derek Willis, Dominique Hawkins, Mychal Mulder.

U of L: Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Johnson.

Vanderbilt: Luke Kornet (Lexington native)

What do the experts think?

Here is a look at a few of the mock NBA Drafts:

DraftExpress.com, ESPN, NBA.com, CBS Sports, The Vertical

How much money will drafted players earn?

The No. 1 pick is guaranteed almost $13 million over his first two seasons, according to the NBA’s rookie salary scale. The last pick of the first round (No. 30) is guaranteed around $2.5 million his first two seasons. Contracts of second-round draft picks are not automatically guaranteed but teams may choose to offer them.

Click here to view the 2017-18 rookie salary scale.