On Wednesday, the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft took place, which means fans got to witness one of their least-favorite annual traditions: draft picks walking across the stage and taking pictures in a hat of a team they aren’t going to.
Like all leagues, NBA teams often agree to trade picks prior to players being selected. However, since the draft always takes place before the start of the new league year, the trades aren’t official yet when players hear their names being called.
That results in a confusing moment where the NBA commissioner says a team is drafting a player, and they come on to the stage to put on that team’s hat, when in reality, they’re going to an entirely different franchise.
That happened 10 different times in the first round on Wednesday night, and SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt was fed up. While breaking down the first round with basketball analyst Jay Bilas, Van Pelt decided to go on a tangent and rip the NBA for not making this simple fix.
He scolded the league for ruining the special moment players and their families have waited their whole lives for, by intentionally putting them in the wrong hat.
NBA catches heat from Scott Van Pelt for knowingly putting draft picks in the wrong hats
This has been a problem in the league for years, and while it may seem like a minor detail to some, it is a big deal with a simple fix.
Everyone understands the draft is before the new league year, but the NBA could easily adjust its calendar, or just announce the right team and allow players to wear the correct hats, because the trades are going to go through.
This rule is the reason Luka Dončić is photographed shaking the commissioner’s hand in an Atlanta Hawks hat in 2018, and why Trae Young came on the stage two picks later and put on a Dallas Mavericks hat.
It’s also why Kobe Bryant had on a Charlotte Hornets hat in his draft night photos from 1996, when everyone knew he was heading to the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, nearly 30 years later, the NBA still doesn’t have things figured out.