Scott Van Pelt can’t stand this baffling part about NBA Draft
If Scott Van Pelt were in charge of the NBA draft, the first change he’d make would be all about the headwear.
“I’m gonna scream about the hat situation,” the ESPN host said on “SportsCenter” after the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night.
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“The league’s too smart to have the moment that they’ve waited their whole life for be a picture in the wrong hat. It just doesn’t make sense. I don’t know why they can’t fix it.”
Players wearing the hat of the team that picked them has become a staple of the draft, but draft-night trades have made for some awkward photo-ops.
A long list of bizarre draft-night pictures includes Kobe Bryant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Hornets hats, Kawhi Leonard in Pacers headgear and Scottie Pippen in a SuperSonics cap.
The reason? After two teams agree to exchange picks mid-draft, a trade does not become official until the new league season begins in July, which means hats cannot be swapped out to fit the player’s true destination.
The weird tradition continued Wednesday night.
Tenth overall selection Khaman Maluach was picked by the Suns, who acquired the draft pick from the Rockets as part of Sunday’s blockbuster Kevin Durant trade.
But because the deal doesn’t officially go through until July, Maluach donned a Rockets hat as he went on stage to shake commissioner Adam Silver’s hand and pose for pictures.
UConn freshman Liam McNeely donned a Suns hat after being selected with the 29th pick, despite that slot being traded to the Hornets earlier in the night.
Van Pelt is baffled as to why the league can’t make a quick fix — and he has an army of NBA fans on his side.
“The NBA needs to cut the s–t and just let draft picks wear the hat of the team we all know they’re actually going to. Just use common sense,” wrote one user on X, with the post receiving more than 800 likes.
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“This is the biggest flaw in the NBA draft and needs to be changed. They can never enjoy their draft stage photos?!” posted another.
Silver told the Associated Press in 2019 he hoped the league could solve the issue.
“We talk about being fan-friendly, and that isn’t fan-friendly,” he said at the time.
Six years later, though, the same issues persist — to the bewilderment and frustration of viewers like Van Pelt.
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