Straight to the Point:

1st rounders averaged 16.04 points in their final year before turning pro. The group had a high of 26.2 ppg, and a low of 5 ppg.

2nd rounders averaged 13.58 points in their final year before turning pro. The group had a high of 20.3 ppg, and a low of 6.1 ppg.

It only gets better, after the break

Size Matters:

The average height of 1st rounders was 80.17 inches or 6’8.17”.

The average height of 2nd rounders was 79.93 inches, or 6’7.93”.

The average weight of 1st rounders was 223.47 pounds.

The average weight of 2nd rounders was 221.57 pounds.

The Young and the Restless:

The average age of 1st rounders was a measly 19.97 years old.

The average age of 2nd rounders was a more mature 21.5 years old.

The D-League Delivers:

1 pick, Mike Taylor, was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers after playing for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development league. This is the first time anyone from the D-League has been taken in the NBA Draft.

Global Talent:

The first round saw 4 international players drafted representing 13.33% of the players taken early. The second round was home to 7 international players comprising 23.33% of talent taken later in the day. Overall international players represented 18.33% of the 2008 NBA Draft.

Geography Lesson:

1 Player drafted is actually leaving the country to play basketball, as Roy Hibbert was drafted by the Toronto Raptors (no, Canada is not part of the United States, at least not officially).

1 Player is returning to his home state (and home town) to play in the pros, as Derrick Rose (a Chicago, Illinois native) was drafted by the Chicago Bulls.

0 Players are playing professionally in the same state they attended college or high school.

Players drafted were born in 23 different states and 10 different countries. The top state was California with 6 picks born on the west coast. The next most prolific state was Michigan with 5 picks. 3 picks came from Alabama, Indiana, and Texas. 2 picks were delivered in Louisiana, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. 1 future pick was born in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

The top talent producing country was Yugoslavia with 4 picks. Next in line were France, Germany, and Turkey with 2 picks each. Rounding out the foreign birthplaces are Australia, Cameroon, the Congo, Italy, Russia, and Taiwan with 1 pick each.

Happy Birthday:

With 7 picks each, May, July, and September were the months in which the most draft picks were born. Right on their tails are January, February, October, and December with 6 picks each. Next in line is November and August with 5 draft picks born in each month. A big drop off to April and June with 2 picks from each month, and in last place is March with only 1 draft pick born in the month. Beware of the ides of March indeed.

Breaking it down by round, the first round saw 4 picks from August and December, and 3 picks each from February, May, and September. 2 future first rounders were delivered in January, April, July, and October. Rounding out the year, March and June provided 1 pick each.

The second round was a little more stratified with 5 picks coming from July. Next in line were January, May, September, and October with 4 picks each. February had 3 picks, and November and December each had 2 picks. June and August provided 1 pick each, and March and April missed completely with no second round picks from either month.

What’s in a Name?

Players whose name starts with a vowel were more likely to get picked early, comprising 13.33% of first round picks, and just 6.66% of second round picks.

The breakdown for first round names was 2 As, 2 Bs, 1 C, 6 Ds, 1 E, 1 G, 6 Js, 2 Ks, 2 Ms, 1 N, 1 O, 4 Rs, and 1 S.

The breakdown for second round names was 1 A, 1 B, 1 C, 4 DS, 1 G, 3 Js, 1 K, 1 L, 4 Ms, 2 Ns, 1 O, 1P, 1 R, 5 Ss, 2 Ts, and 1 W.