2024 NBA Draft preparing to adopt two-day format, per report

The NBA is about to take a page from the NFL's book.

Instead of the usual one-night extravaganza, the 2024 NBA draft is preparing to move to a two-day format scheduled for June 26-27 in Brooklyn, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday.

While the move is pending final approval from the NBPA, reports have been circulating since November about the league's inclination to make the change.

The concept was increasingly discussed in meetings with league officials, as team executives believe they could benefit from more time to make selections in both the first and second rounds, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

For the NFL, the first round of the draft is broadcast as prime-time viewing on a Thursday before the second and third rounds play out Friday. The fourth through seventh rounds are on Saturday.

Obviously, the NBA doesn't have as many picks to churn through as the NFL. But the extended format could present some interesting TV opportunities for the league's newest stars, potentially allowing for more storytelling and content.

The push from general managers comes from a desire to weigh options between prospects. As the value of draft capital increases for the NBA every year, it's crucial to make the right decisions beyond lottery picks and first-round players. Under the current model, NBA teams get just five minutes to make their selections, an allotment of time that drops to two minutes in the second round.

When the NBA was just a young league, there were 21 rounds in the draft. In 1974, it was limited to 10. The league finally reduced the draft to two rounds in 1989 after the event started being televised in 1980.

In today's NBA, the emphasis on finding sleepers in the second round will be higher than ever with an additional day, but many of those players are still likely to struggle for consistent roles in light of the league's restricted roster spots. That said, it doesn't seem like a third round will be reintroduced.