On April 17, VBA coordinated with FPT Play to organize the VBA Rookie Draft 2026 event simultaneously in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, marking the start of the new season of Vietnamese basketball.
VBA Rookie Draft is a familiar recruitment mechanism of the league, where teams have the right to choose players based on the draw. This is an annual activity to strengthen forces, reflecting the personnel strategy of each team before the season.
After 3 weeks of selection and training, 24 athletes were included in the list to participate in the rookie selection round. As a result, 6 players were selected by the clubs, officially entering the professional competition environment.
The order of selection is determined through a draw with a total of 21 balls. The number of balls of each team depends on the ranking in the 2025 season, in which Ho Chi Minh City Wings has the highest probability with 6 balls (28.57%), followed by Danang Dragons with 5 balls (23.81%) and Saigon Heat with 4 balls (19.05%). The teams with lower rankings are Cantho Catfish, Nha Trang Dolphins and Hanoi Buffaloes respectively.
According to regulations, after being selected, athletes and clubs have 3 days to negotiate and sign contracts. In case they do not complete on time, they will be handled according to the tournament regulations.
With 18 unselected athletes, they will become free players, who can continue to seek opportunities through direct negotiations with teams.
The VBA 2026 season is expected to start from May with many changes in organization and content production.
FPT Play will participate in the communication stage, deploying a production model with 9-10 cameras for matches, using two commentators directly at the stadium and testing 4K image quality in some key matches.
In addition, companion activities before, during and after the season are also planned to expand audience reach.
