The NBA Finals are over.
Ready for the draft?
A record 18-day Finals and calendar that produces an early draft date has combined to create a historically short turnaround between the major events. The draft is Thursday (June 23), just four days after the Finals with the Cavaliers’ Game 7 win over the Warriors on Sunday (June 19).
That’s the shortest gap since 1978, when the draft was two days after the Finals ended.
Here’s how many days after the Finals the draft was held each year, plotted by date:
There were actually years the draft was held before the playoffs ended. Those are marked in blue.