Victor Wembanyama officially declared for the 2023 NBA draft on Friday and has submitted paperwork to the league office.

"Declaring for the draft ... it's something crazy I'm not realizing yet," Wembanyama told ESPN. "I realized pretty young I wanted to play in the NBA but it becomes a reality more every day. I'm so lucky to have this dream within the reach of my hand."

Wembanyama is in the midst of a historic season in France, averaging 21.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 2.3 assists per game.

The NBA and NBPA have agreed to major changes to the draft process as part of its new collective bargaining agreement.

Beginning in 2024, all invited players will be required to attend and participate in the NBA draft combine or be ineligible to be drafted until the "first subsequent draft for which the player attends and fully participates."

Participation will include league medical examinations, sharing of medical history and biomechanical and functional movement testing, as well as strength and agility testing, shooting drills, performance testing and anthropometric measurements. 

This represents a significant shift in favor of NBA teams that have long lobbied for this rule change. Agents of elite prospects have regularly strategized to keep medical information away from franchises they have perceived as less appealing.

Players who are physically unable to participate, because of playing with a FIBA club still in-season, family tragedy, the birth of a child, or an injury, as determined by the medical director of the combine, will be required to complete components at a later date. 

The second major change that will be instituted in the new CBA involves doing away with automatic eligibility for high school or collegiate players who sign professional contracts with entities such as G League Ignite, Overtime Elite (OTE) or the Australian NBL.

In the past, players who signed with such entities would be automatically eligible for the subsequent NBA draft, regardless of whether they were interested in doing so or not, provided they were turning 19 in that calendar year.

Six ties among teams with identical regular-season records were broken today through random drawings to determine the order of selection for NBA Draft 2023.

The drawings were conducted by NBA Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars at the NBA office in Secaucus, New Jersey. The tiebreaker process was overseen by Marie Dhimmar, a partner from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.

The results of the drawings:

- The Houston Rockets (22-60) won a tiebreaker with the San Antonio Spurs.
- The Indiana Pacers (35-47) won a tiebreaker with the Washington Wizards.
- The Chicago Bulls (40-42) won a tiebreaker with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- The Miami Heat (44-38) won a tiebreaker with the Golden State Warriors and the LA Clippers. Second and third place in the tiebreaker drawings went to Golden State and the LA Clippers, respectively.
- The Phoenix Suns (45-37) won a tiebreaker with the Brooklyn Nets.
- The Memphis Grizzlies (51-31) won a tiebreaker with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

If a team goes over the second tax apron twice over a four-year span, their first round pick will be dropped to the end of the first round. 

The rule goes into effect at the start of the 24-25 season.

Teams that go over the second tax apron even once will be unable to trade their first round pick that is seven years out.

If teams stay under the second apron in three of the following four seasons, the pick becomes unfrozen.

Adama Sanogo plans to enter the NBA draft after leading UConn to the NCAA championship.

Sanogo is maintaining his college eligibility but is focused on staying in the draft.

"Thank you UConn," Sanogo wrote. "Thank you to the best fans in the country that have supported me from the first day I got to Storrs. Thank you to the incredible support and guidance from Coach Hurley and the staff. They invested the time and energy to making me a better player and person. Most importantly thank you to my family and support system that has always allowed me to focus on reaching my dreams and have sacrificed so much for me.

"I am so excited for the next stop on my journey and proud to announce that I will declare for the 2023 NBA draft and will stay focused on the process and giving myself every chance to hear my name called. I will always cherish my time at UConn and will always be my home away from home."

Sanogo is ranked No. 87 in ESPN's 2023 NBA draft rankings, slotting in as the No. 9 center in the draft.

A.J. Johnson has decommitted from Texas to sign a deal with the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League in Australia.

Johnson is the highest profile American prospect to leap to the NBL's Next Stars program since LaMelo Ball in 2019.

Johnson, who will be represented by agent Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, is currently the projected No. 13 prospect in ESPN's 2024 NBA mock draft.

Anthony Black has left Arkansas for the 2023 NBA draft after one season.

Black is the No. 8 prospect in ESPN's NBA draft projections after averaging 12.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

"Being one and done was always a goal of mine, but it wasn't something I necessarily expected to happen," Black told ESPN. "Coming in, I was focused on winning games and getting better, knowing the rest will take care of itself. I want to thank God and all the coaches who helped me from when I started playing AAU, through high school and college, including Coach Muss. Also, my teammates and family for supporting me and being my biggest fan."

Black is one of the best defenders in the class as a 6'7 point guard.

"I deserve to be drafted high, but regardless I'm more ready to just work," Black said. "There are a lot of dudes who get drafted high who don't do well in the league. The work you put in and how you produce is far more important than where you get picked."

Cam Whitmore is leaving Villanova for the 2023 NBA draft. Whitmore is a projected lottery pick.

Whitmore averaged 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 27.3 minutes over 26 games in his freshman season at Villanova. 

Whitmore was also the Big East Freshman of the Year.

If the Dallas Mavericks retain their draft pick on lottery night, sources tell Marc Stein of Substack they will explore trading it.

The Mavericks will only keep their pick if it is in the top-10, otherwise it will be conveyed to the New York Knicks as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade. If the Mavericks keep the pick, they can also trade the 2027 selection.

After missing the play-in altogether one season after reaching the Western Conference Finals, the Mavericks are firmly in win-now mode ahead of their own fears of a Luka Doncic trade request as early as 2024.

The Mavericks will also navigate the free agency of Kyrie Irving this offseason, who they hope to keep.

With the 2022-23 NBA regular season complete, here is the 2023 NBA Draft order (pre-Draft Lottery):

First Round

1. Detroit Pistons

2. Houston Rockets*

3. San Antonio Spurs*

4. Charlotte Hornets

5. Portland Trail Blazers

6. Orlando Magic

7. Indiana Pacers*

8. Washington Wizards*

9. Utah Jazz

10. Dallas Mavericks

11. Oklahoma City Thunder*^

12. Orlando Magic (via Chicago Bulls)*^

13. Toronto Raptors^

14. New Orleans Pelicans^

15. Atlanta Hawks^

16. Utah Jazz (via Minnesota Timberwolves)^

17. Los Angeles Lakers^

18. Miami Heat*^

19. Golden State Warriors*

20. LA Clippers*

21. Brooklyn Nets*

22. Brooklyn Nets (via Phoenix Suns)*

23. Portland Trail Blazers (via New York Knicks)

24. Sacramento Kings

25. Indiana Pacers (via Cleveland Cavaliers)*

26. Memphis Grizzlies*

27. Charlotte Hornets (via Denver Nuggets)

28. Utah Jazz (via Philadelphia 76ers)

29. Indiana Pacers (via Boston Celtics)

30. LA Clippers (via Milwaukee Bucks)

Second Round

31. Detroit Pistons

32. Indiana Pacers (via Houston Rockets)*

33. San Antonio Spurs*

34. Charlotte Hornets

35. Boston Celtics (via Portland Trail Blazers)

36. Orlando Magic

37. Sacramento Kings (via Indiana Pacers)*

38. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Washington Wizards)*

39. Charlotte Hornets (via Utah Jazz)

40. Denver Nuggets (via Dallas Mavericks)

41. Washington Wizards (via Chicago Bulls)*

42. Charlotte Hornets (via Oklahoma City Thunder)*

43. Portland Trail Blazers (via Atlanta Hawks)

44. San Antonio Spurs (via Toronto Raptors)

45. Memphis Grizzlies (via Minnesota Timberwolves)

46. Atlanta Hawks (via New Orleans Pelicans)

47. Los Angeles Lakers

48. Cleveland Cavaliers (via Golden State Warriors)*

49. LA Clippers*

50. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Miami Heat)*

51. Brooklyn Nets*

52. Phoenix Suns*

53. Minnesota Timberwolves (via New York Knicks)

54. Sacramento Kings

55. Indiana Pacers (via Cleveland Cavaliers)*

56. Memphis Grizzlies*

57. Chicago Bulls (via Denver Nuggets) - Pick is forfeited due to tampering

58. Philadelphia 76ers - Pick is forfeited due to tampering

59. Washington Wizards (via Boston Celtics)

60. Milwaukee Bucks

*Tie to be broken by drawing on to be announced date

^To be determined after 2023 Play-In Tournament