- published: 01 Dec 2012
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The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA) can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted. College players who have finished their four-year college eligibility are automatically eligible for selection, while the underclassmen have to declare their eligibility and give up their remaining college eligibility. International players who are at least 22 years old are automatically eligible for selection, while the players younger than 22 have to declare their eligibility. Players who are not automatically eligible but have declared their eligibility are often called "early-entrants" or "early-entry candidates". The Draft usually takes place at the end of June, during the NBA off-season. The Draft consists of two rounds with a total of sixty players to be selected.
In the past, high school players were also eligible to be selected. However, starting in the 2006 Draft, high school players were not eligible to enter the draft directly after graduating high school. The rules now state that high school players will gain eligibility for draft selection one year after their high school graduation and they must also be at least 19 years old as of the end of the calendar year of the draft. Contrary to popular belief, they do not necessarily have to have at least one year of college basketball (as some players have chosen to use that year to play professionally in Europe for example).
Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, after playing college football for the University of Oklahoma. In 2008, as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a Heisman Trophy. He also holds the NCAA record for most touchdown passes by a freshman quarterback, with 36.
In his first season in the NFL, Bradford set the record for most completions by a rookie in NFL history, which helped earn him the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Bradford was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He attended Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City, where he starred in football, basketball and golf. As a senior quarterback for his high school football team in 2006, he threw for 2,029 yards and 17 touchdowns in 12 games. His senior year in basketball, he averaged a double-double.
Bradford was a three-star recruit not that highly ranked among the high school class of 2006, with his highest ranking being No. 12 among only pro-style quarterbacks by recruiting source Rivals.com, behind Pat Devlin, Juice Williams, Josh Freeman, and being overshadowed by the likes of five-star recruits Mitch Mustain, Matthew Stafford and Tim Tebow.