The draft was held on September 24, 2008, so that the newly founded Reno Bighorns and Erie BayHawks could acquire players for the upcoming 2008–09 season.

A random drawing determined who was awarded the first pick, which went to the Reno Bighorns.

[2] He was also one of three players to have also been chosen in an NBA draft (2001); the others include Randy Livingston (1996) and Dahntay Jones (2003).

[3][4][5] Two players, Livingston and Brian Chase, had previously been selected as NBA Development League All-Stars.

[6][7] The only non-American player chosen was Mustafa Al-Sayyad, who was born in Khartoum, Sudan and played college basketball at Fresno State.