How a Florida Man With No Basketball Experience Became Eligible for NBA Draft
A recent University of Florida graduate who’s never played basketball at the high school or college level is eligible to be selected in Thursday’s 2023 NBA draft.
Jordan Haber, a 21-year-old TikTok content creator who mainly creates Star Wars and anime content, posted a video in late May in which he revealed that he’d successfully discovered and utilized a loophole which made him available to be drafted into the NBA.
Haber indicated that he emailed the NBA to inform the league that he met the criteria to become draft eligible. He then filled out the required paperwork and eventually received confirmation from the league that he’s eligible for the draft.
@haberjordan Hi @NBA looking forward to going 1st overall #nba #nbadraft #nbadraft2023
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“You really have a three-month, four-month window to really do this,” Haber said in the TikTok video, which has garnered more than 3.2 million views. “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.
“I am now Jordan Haber, member of the 2023 NBA draft class, uh, soon to be undrafted class.”
Haber explained that one day, purely out of boredom, he combed through the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement before stumbling upon the loophole on page 273. He discovered that he seemed to be eligible by being at least 19 years old and a recent college graduate, so he got in contact with the NBA and since has been added to the list of approximately 300 eligible draft prospects.
The 2023 NBA draft is set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, at which point Haber could potentially hear his name called among the 58 picks, though it’s extremely unlikely.