The draft was held on July 18, 2014, so that the newly founded teams Blackwater Elite and the Kia Sorento could acquire players for the 2014–15 season.
[6] The Kia Sorento were formed after the approval of the league's board of governors on their expansion application, together with Blackwater and NLEX.
[11] On August 24, during the 2014 PBA draft, Columbian Autocar Corporation president Gina Domingo announced that they took the moniker "Sorento", the name of their top-selling sports utility vehicle in the Philippines and United States.
[13][14][15][16] NLEX started as a founding member of the PBA D-League and won six championships, most recently the 2014 Foundation Cup, when they swept Blackwater Elite in their finals series.
[17] The draft was supposed to be held at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City, but due to the rotational power cuts caused by the aftermath of Typhoon Glenda (international name Rammasun), the draft was held at Microtel Acropolis, which across Circumferential Road 5 from the league's offices.