A TikToker is NBA draft eligible — and he's never played basketball in college or high school
Jordan Haber didn't play basketball in college.
He didn't play in high school or middle school either.
But he's 21 years old and a recent graduate of the University of Florida.
And the lifelong Miami Heat fan had the patience to read through complicated legal documents and fill out a bunch of paperwork.
That's apparently all it takes to become eligible for the NBA draft.
"I am now Jordan Haber, member of the 2023 NBA draft class, uh, soon to be undrafted class," Haber said in a May 18 TikTok video that has been viewed more than 3.1 million times.
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Haber had already garnered a solid following on TikTok through the content he created based mainly on "Star Wars" and anime. A video he posted in February in which he asked Louisiana State gymnastics star Olivia Dunne her favorite "Star Wars" movie (she hadn't seen any of them) has been viewed by more than 2.4 million people.
"With the Livvy Dunne situation, I actually sat back and said, 'OK, I don’t wanna make viral content just to make viral content. I don’t wanna make 'Star Wars' content, I don’t wanna make pop culture content,' " Haber told The Times. "If I do something for social media, I wanna do something that, you know, deserves to be on social media, not just chasing views."
After graduating in December with an undergraduate degree in business and minors in entrepreneurship and communications, Haber said he had some time on his hands at home in Boca Raton, Fla., before attending Cardozo School of Law in New York this fall. One day, Haber said, he got bored, started looking through the NBA's collective bargaining agreement and thought he spotted language that might allow him to enter the draft.
"You really have a three-month, four-month window to really do this," Haber said. "And it’s because of that window, not many people are going to think to do it because they think, oh it’s a waste of time, there’s some paperwork to fill out. And it’s what it really is."
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When Haber told his friends about his discovery, they didn't think he could actually pull off becoming draft eligible. That's all it took to convince Haber to give it a shot.
He emailed the NBA with documentation that proved he met the criteria, then filled out the forms he received from the league and eventually received confirmation from the league that he was eligible for the 2023 draft.
In April, all 30 NBA teams received a league memo with the names of everyone eligible for the draft. Of the nearly 300 names included in the memo, most of them are basketball players that have been verified by the league as having played in college or internationally.
Haber's name is not on that part of the list. His is one of 18 names listed under a separate category for "unknown individuals" who applied for draft eligibility. A spokesman for the NBA declined to comment for this story other than to confirm that people in that category get no special privileges regarding the draft.
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In the last month, Haber shared his NBA draft journey for his nearly 96,000 TikTok followers with almost daily (and often even more than that) posts. So far, that journey has included getting comments on his posts from various NBA and NFL teams and being filmed shooting hoops for ABC's "Good Morning America."
In a few days, he says, it also will include his attendance at the NBA draft thanks to "a few connections" at Barclays Center, the Brooklyn arena hosting Thursday's event. Haber plans on documenting his experience on YouTube, first in a series of short videos (the first of which went live a few weeks ago) and eventually in a full documentary he and a friend have been working on.
"I will forever make content just because I love making stuff and it’s just kind of a medium that I can express myself and do things through," Haber said. "At the same time, I’m able to learn so much about business law and just entertainment in general, because I just wanna do sports entertainment law, that falls under the category.
"So realistically I’m living the life of somebody who I hope to represent and help out one day, whether that be through law or business, because I feel I’ve definitely seen the toll it’s taken on me and the things I’ve gone through and I feel like I’m really well equipped to help somebody through this process."
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
