How Florida grad got to 2023 NBA Draft with no hoops experience
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (BVM) – Jordan Haber, a University of Florida graduate who has never played college or even high school basketball, is eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft.
Haber has arrived in New York for the 2023 NBA Draft and is vying for a chance to shake Adam Silver’s hand and a one-day contract with his favorite team, the Miami Heat.
“I really want to show you that anything is possible if you just work hard enough,” Haber wrote in his YouTube vlog caption about his short NBA journey.
Here’s the rundown on how Jordan Haber became an eligible NBA draft prospect, per his social media vlogs on TikTok and YouTube.
Haber read the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. It’s over 500 pages long – and Haber claims that he read all of it. But, it wasn’t so daunting for him considering that he’s set to start law school in the fall.
He found loopholes. The biggest one of them all is the fact that you don’t need to be a basketball player to enter the NBA draft. He also checked off boxes including, “player is or will be at least 19 years of age” and “the player has graduated from a four-year college or university in the United States.”
Haber then sent letters to the general counsel of the NBA and to NBA commissioner Adam Silver. He also declared for the draft by emailing Erika Ruiz at the official NBA draft email. When he got a response, he filled out the application and other paperwork.
Unfortunately, Haber wasn’t put on the official list of 2023 NBA Draft prospects. So, he sent a follow-up email to Ruiz.
“The worst that happens is that you get ignored – the best that happens, your life changes,” Haber said in his YouTube vlog about that moment.
Haber ultimately got the confirmation that he was eligible for the draft. His name was put on the “B List” – which includes “unknown individuals,” according to the AP.
Haber was only invited to be present for NBA draft night 2023 because he received tickets from Barclays Center’s social media team – not because of an invite from the NBA. Many can recall that Haber went viral on TikTok after he presented proof that he became eligible for the draft (shown below).
@tyler.m.webb The ultimate finesse 😅🏀#sportsbusiness #sportsmarketing #unclecharlie #nba #nbadraft #jordanhaber #nbadraft2023 #nbafinals #adamsilver
The future undrafted free agent has one more goal to accomplish post-draft night.
“I want to be able to try to give back to rec sports and youth sports in some way possible because I was the kid who didn’t make the high school team or middle team or didn’t play college,” Haber said in an interview with Tyler Webb. “So giving a kid a basketball means a lot.”
