2006 NBA Draft

The 2006 NBA Draft was held on June 28, 2006 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. It is generally considered one of the weakest drafts in history, producing only three eventual All-Stars, LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy and Rajon Rondo, while many of the top picks never lived up to their initial hype.

Italian Andrea Bargnani was selected first overall by Toronto Raptors, who won the draft lottery. He became the second player without competitive experience in the United States to be drafted first overall. Prior to the draft he was playing with Italian club Benetton Treviso for 3 years. Sixth overall pick Brandon Roy from University of Washington was named Rookie of the Year for the 2006–07 season. Roy was originally drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves but his draft rights were traded to Portland Trail Blazers on draft day. Portland also acquired the draft rights to second overall pick from University of Texas, LaMarcus Aldridge from Chicago Bulls on draft day.

The University of Connecticut had four players selected in the first round, tying the record set by Duke University in 1999 and the University of North Carolina in 2005. These players were Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, and Josh Boone. With Denham Brown also selected in the second round, Connecticut became the first school ever to have five players selected in a two-round draft. Connecticut joined eight other schools that had five players selected in a single draft, second only to the UNLV, who had six players selected in the eight-round 1977 Draft.