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Jun 23, 2026; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. © Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The NBA officially introduced a two-night format for the NBA Draft in June 2024.
The league continued with the same structure for the 2026 NBA Draft as well, but many are already tired of the extended format.
After the 2026 Draft concluded with the 60th and final selection, discussion also shifted to the league’s two-night format.
NBA World Sounds Off as Two-Night Draft Format Faces Growing Backlash
Many moments in the draft indeed created plenty of attention, though many questioned whether a 60-pick draft truly has enough substance to justify two separate prime-time broadcasts.
Basketball analyst and co-founder of “Field of 68”, Jeff Goodman, was one of many to trigger the discussion on Wednesday.
“The NBA Draft should go back to just one night,” Goodman tweeted.
Several reactions began pouring in favor of Goodman’s take.
“Right, round 2 doesn’t have nearly enough juice to justify its own night,” a user commented.
“Agreed. They tried fixing something that wasn’t broken,” one said.
The main criticism is that casual sports fans tend to lose interest by the second day. Before the change, the NBA Draft was seen as a one-night event that maintained momentum from start to finish.
Viewership numbers seem to support those concerns, as a June 2025 report from Sports Business Journal highlighted that the 2025 NBA Draft averaged just under 2.6 million viewers across ESPN and ABC, ranking among the least-watched drafts on record.
SEE ALSO:‘The Worst Pick in the First Round’ — NBA Draft Expert Highlights the Selection That ‘Surprised’ Him
By comparison, the COVID-affected drafts in 2021 and 2020 averaged 2.26 million and 2.13 million viewers, respectively. Outside of those unique circumstances, no NBA Draft since 2008 had fallen below the 2.6 million-viewer mark.
Many also point to the contrast with the NFL Draft, which spreads more than 250 selections across seven rounds over multiple days, while the NBA has only 60 picks in total. So, stretching those selections over 48 hours drains much of the event’s energy and anticipation.
On3 personality Riley Gates argued that the two-day structure diminished the excitement surrounding even the first round.
“Has any event in sports been devalued like the NBA Draft following the change to a two-day event? The last Thursday night in June used to be appointment television. Tonight’s first round draft class is actually very intriguing, and yet the buzz is so minimal,” Gates wrote.
Several others echoed in on the dwindling excitement around Day 2 of the NBA draft.
“NBA Draft Round 2 might go down as one of the most pathetically demoralizing nights ever, half the energy from night one was gone and there was no excitement as almost 90% of the draftees were drafted by teams picking for others they traded with, where is the fun factor?” a user said.
“The NBA Draft being two nights makes absolutely no sense,” popular NFL page “Football Chopz” wrote.
Despite the criticism, the NBA has offered logical reasoning to keep the current format in place.
Former NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars explained in 2024 that the extra day gave teams valuable time to regroup, evaluate their options, and make more informed roster decisions before the second round begins.
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