- published: 20 Aug 2008
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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).
Kenneth (Kenny) "The Jet" Smith (born March 8, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He currently works as a TV basketball analyst, primarily for Inside the NBA on TNT.
Smith was born in Queens, New York, and attended Archbishop Molloy High School. He then played basketball at the University of North Carolina.
Smith was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the sixth pick of the 1987 NBA Draft. He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Denver Nuggets. In his professional career, Smith scored 9,397 points and recorded 4,073 assists. He won two NBA championships with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995. In the first game of the 1995 Finals against the Orlando Magic, Smith made seven three-pointers, including a game-tying shot which sent the game into overtime. The Rockets won the game 120–118.
Smith joined Turner Sports in 1998. He has teamed with Ernie Johnson, Jr. and Charles Barkley on Inside the NBA, a winner of the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show. Smith has been described as a "straight man" to Barkley, known for his offbeat antics. He occasionally appears on NBA TV as an analyst. He also served as an analyst during the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournaments.