Law school student enters NBA draft through loophole despite no basketball experience

Basketball experience is apparently not a requirement to enter the NBA Draft, as one 21-year-old law student discovered. Jordan Haber, a recent University of Florida graduate, is among the entrants for the 2023 after finding the loophole that allowed his application to be approved.

Despite never having played organized basketball — even at the high school or middle school level — Haber flew out to Brooklyn this week. There will join names like Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller at the Barclays Center when the draft starts Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

Haber plans to document his journey on YouTube, where he has already posted the first video. There he explained that after graduating in December with a degree in business, he decided to use his free time do some research to figure out whether it would be possible for him to meet the NBA’s eligibility requirements.

“So I went through the collective bargaining agreement, and there are a few conditions in the contract that you actually had to meet,” he told WPLG Local 10. “I had to be four years out of high school. I waived my NCAA eligibility and there’s just a bunch of small little things that I ended up meeting and I sent over an email to the NBA and they got back to me and sent over paperwork right away.”

According to the NBA Draft rules, players must be at least 19 years old and have had one season pass since they graduated high school. They also must declare at least two months before the draft. However, nowhere in the fine print does it state that they have to have experience playing basketball at any level.

Haber said the idea started as a joke between friends. But once he realized it was actually possible, he got to work in order to make it happen. Now months later, the Miami Heat fan has somehow pulled it off.

Haber may not be the only one who figured out this loophole. According to the LA Times, this year’s NBA Draft has nearly 300 entrants. Although most of those are from players who have college or international experience, 18 players including Haber are listed as “unknown individuals.”

After the draft, Haber plans to attend Cardozo School of Law in New York to pursue a career in sports entertainment law. He believes this experience has also helped him in that regard, as he now has a better understanding of the process athletes go through.

Of course, it’s also a big moment for him personally, and he plans to soak it all in on Thursday.

“I think when I walk into the Barclays Center, I will get pretty emotional just because of how far this has come,” he said. “It’s what you dream of as a kid, that small chance you get drafted. And if there’s a chance at a summer league contract, if there’s a chance at a one-day honorary contract, I don’t know that at this point. I want to show people you can do anything if you just set your mind to it.”