The University of Akron men's basketball team has had 5 players drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The women's basketball team has yet to have a player drafted in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The Akron Zips men's basketball team represents the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference East division. The Zips are currently coached by John Groce. Prior to becoming members of the MAC in 1992, the Zips were members of the Ohio Valley Conference and the Mid-Continent Conference.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a men's professional basketball league in North America; composed of 30 teams. It is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by FIBA as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. NBA players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player.
The Akron Zips women's basketball team represents the University of Akron in women's basketball. The school competes in the Mid-American Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Zips play home basketball games at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.
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Each NBA and WNBA franchise seeks to add new players through their respective annual draft. The NBA uses a draft lottery to determine the first three picks of the NBA draft; the 14 teams that did not make the playoffs the previous year are eligible to participate. After the first three picks are decided, the rest of the teams pick in reverse order of their win–loss record. [ref 1] [ref 2] To be eligible for the NBA Draft, a player must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft and must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class. [ref 3] From 1967 until the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, the American Basketball Association (ABA) held its own draft. [ref 4] The WNBA Draft is similar to the NBA with a couple of exceptions. Only five WNBA teams are eligible for the draft lottery instead of 14 NBA teams. Also, all five non-playoff teams that participate in the draft lottery pick in the order of the lottery outcome with the remainder of the league selecting in reverse order of their win–loss record. [ref 5] The WNBA requires players be at least 22 years old during the calendar year of the applicable seasons, have either graduated from a four-year university or have completed her intercollegiate basketball eligibility, or have played at least two seasons for another professional basketball league. [ref 6]
Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are one that developed in Europe, characterised by a tiered structure using promotion and relegation to determine participation in a hierarchy of leagues or divisions, and a North American originated model characterized by its use of "franchises," closed memberships, and minor leagues. Both these systems remain most common in their area of origin, although both systems are used worldwide.
The merger of the American Basketball Association (ABA) with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years, occurred in 1976. The NBA and ABA had entered merger talks as early as 1970, but an antitrust suit filed by the head of the NBA players union, Robertson v. National Basketball Ass'n, blocked the merger until 1976.
The original American Basketball Association (ABA) was a men's professional basketball league, from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to several teams joining the National Basketball Association and to the introduction of the 3-point shot in the NBA in 1979.