The 2005NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at
Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft,
NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college
basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from
high schools and non-North American leagues. The NBA announced that 49 college and high school players and 11 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the draft.[1]
This was the last NBA draft for which high school players were eligible. The new
collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players union established a new age limit for draft eligibility. Starting with the
2006 NBA draft, players of any nationality who complete athletic eligibility at a U.S. high school cannot declare themselves eligible for the draft unless they turn 19 no later than December 31 of the year of the draft and are at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school classes. International players, defined in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement as non-US nationals who did not complete athletic eligibility at a U.S. high school, must turn 19 (or older) in the calendar year of the draft, up from 18.
This draft is notable for a most recent draft pick from an
NAIA (and non-NCAA) school in any round; that pick is
Robert Whaley, the 51st player drafted from
Walsh University, which is now in
NCAA Division II. As of 2023,
Chris Paul is the only remaining player from this draft class to currently play in the NBA, while
Ricky Sánchez, who has yet to play in the NBA, continue to play overseas.
^Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to
FIBA rules.
Notable undrafted players
These players who declared or were
automatically eligible for the 2005 draft, were not selected but have played in the NBA.
dMemphis acquired the draft rights to 55th pick
Lawrence Roberts from
Seattle in exchange for 2006 and 2007 second-round draft picks and cash considerations.[5]
Prior to the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams.
f Hours before the start of the draft,
Utah acquired the 3rd pick from
Portland in exchange for the 6th pick, the 27th pick and a 2006 first-round draft pick.[7] Previously, Utah acquired a 2005 first-round draft pick on June 24, 2004, from
Dallas in exchange for the draft rights to Pavel Podkolzine.[8] Utah used the 3rd pick to draft
Deron Williams and Portland used the 6th and the 27th pick to draft
Martell Webster and
Linas Kleiza.
g On June 22, 2004,
Charlotte acquired Cleveland's first-round draft pick from
Phoenix in exchange for an agreement to select Jahidi White in the 2004 Expansion Draft.[9] Previously, Phoenix acquired a 2005 first-round draft pick on October 1, 1997, from
Cleveland in a three-team trade with Cleveland and
Denver. Charlotte used the 13th pick to draft
Sean May
h On December 17, 2004,
Toronto acquired Philadelphia's 2005 and Denver's 2006 first-round draft picks,
Alonzo Mourning,
Eric Williams,
Aaron Williams from
New Jersey in exchange for
Vince Carter.[10] Previously, New Jersey acquired Philadelphia's 2005, Denver's 2006 and L.A. Clippers' 2006 first-round draft picks on July 15, 2004, from
Denver in exchange for
Kenyon Martin.[11] Previously, Denver acquired a 2005 first-round draft pick,
Mark Bryant and
Art Long from
Philadelphia in a three-team trade with Philadelphia and
Houston on December 18, 2002.[12] Toronto used the 16th pick to draft
Joey Graham.
i On June 24, 2004,
Denver acquired Washington's first-round draft pick from
Orlando in exchange for the draft rights to
Jameer Nelson.[13] Previously, Orlando acquired a 2005 first-round draft pick and
Laron Profit on August 1, 2001, from
Washington in exchange for
Brendan Haywood.[14] Denver used the 20th pick to draft
Julius Hodge.
j On June 24, 2004,
Phoenix acquired a 2005 first-round draft pick, the draft rights to
Jackson Vroman and cash considerations from
Chicago in exchange for the draft rights to
Luol Deng.[15] Phoenix used the 21st pick to draft
Nate Robinson.
k On February 25, 2005,
New York acquired Phoenix's 2005 and San Antonio's 2006 first-round draft picks and
Malik Rose from
San Antonio in exchange for
Nazr Mohammed and
Jamison Brewer.[16] Previously, San Antonio acquired a 2005 first-round draft pick on June 26, 2003, from
Phoenix in exchange for the draft rights to
Leandro Barbosa.[17] New York used the 30th pick to draft
David Lee.
m On December 6, 2004, the
L.A. Lakers acquired New York's 2005 and Charlotte's 2009 second-round draft picks from
Charlotte in exchange for
Kareem Rush.[19] Previously, Charlotte acquired New York's second-round draft pick on August 6, 2004, from
Atlanta in exchange for
Predrag Drobnjak.[20] Previously, Atlanta acquired a 2005 second-round draft pick and
Michael Doleac on February 15, 2004, from
New York in a three-team trade with New York and
Milwaukee.[21] The L.A. Lakers used the 37th pick to draft
Ronny Turiaf.
n On January 2, 2004,
Orlando acquired an option to exchange 2005 second-round draft picks,
Mengke Bateer and the draft rights to
Remon van de Hare from
Toronto in exchange for
Robert Archibald.[22] The options to exchange 2005 second-round draft picks were exercised, hence Orlando acquired Toronto's second-round draft pick and Toronto acquired Orlando's second-round draft pick. Orlando used the 38th pick to draft
Travis Diener and Toronto used the 41st pick to draft
Roko Ukić.
o On February 14, 2005,
Golden State acquired L.A. Clippers' 2005 and Golden State's 2007 second-round draft picks from
New Jersey in exchange for
Clifford Robinson.[23] Golden State used the 46th Previously, New Jersey acquired a 2005 second-round draft pick on July 29, 2004, from the
L.A. Clippers in exchange for
Kerry Kittles and cash considerations.[24] Golden State used the 42nd pick to draft
Chris Taft.
q On June 24, 2004,
Seattle acquired a 2005 second-round draft pick and cash considerations from
Memphis in exchange for the draft rights to
Andre Emmett.[26] Seattle used the 48th pick to draft
Mickaël Gelabale.
r On September 30, 2003,
Utah acquired Houston's 2004 first-round draft pick, Chicago's 2005 and 2006 second-round draft picks,
Glen Rice and cash considerations from
Houston in exchange for
John Amaechi and Sacramento's 2004 second-round draft pick.[27] Previously, Houston acquired 2005 and 2006 second-round draft picks on September 28, 2000, from
Chicago in exchange for
Bryce Drew. Utah used the 51st pick to draft
Robert Whaley.
s On June 23, 2003,
Boston acquired the 56th pick in
2003 and a 2005 second-round draft pick from
Sacramento in exchange for the draft rights to
Darius Songaila.[28] Boston used the 53rd pick to draft
Orien Greene.
t On June 11, 2003,
New York acquired a 2005 second round draft pick from
Houston as part of the hiring of
Jeff Van Gundy as Houston's head coach. New York used the 54th pick to draft
Dijon Thompson.
v On June 24, 2004,
Toronto acquired a 2005 second-round draft pick and the draft rights to
Pape Sow from
Miami in exchange for the draft rights to
Albert Miralles.[31] Toronto used the 58th pick to draft
Uroš Slokar.
w On June 24, 2004,
Atlanta acquired a 2005 second-round draft pick and cash considerations from
San Antonio in exchange for the draft rights to
Viktor Sanikidze.[32] Atlanta used the 59th pick to draft
Cenk Akyol.
Early entrants
College underclassmen
The following
college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[33]
^"Second Draft Day Trade". NBA.com/Blazers. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 28, 2005.
Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
^"Jazz Acquire 3rd Pick". NBA.com/Jazz. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 28, 2005.
Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
^"Raptors Trade Carter To Nets". NBA.com/Raptors. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. December 17, 2004.
Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
^"Magic Acquire Profit for Haywood". NBA.com/Magic. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. August 1, 2001.
Archived from the original on November 23, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
^"Raptors Acquire Archibald". NBA.com/Raptors. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. January 2, 2004.
Archived from the original on January 18, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
^"Clippers Acquire Kittles". NBA.com/Clippers. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. July 29, 2004.
Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
^"Jazz trade John Amaechi". NBA.com/Jazz. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. September 30, 2003.
Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
^"Suns Acquire Jim Jackson". NBA.com/Suns. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. January 21, 2005.
Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2009.