At the conclusion of the regular major league season, the commissioner prepares and distributes a list of all players who will be eligible for ABA play in the upcoming season who have never before been eligible for ABA play (see Player Use Limits for definition of eligibility). This list constitutes that season's rookie crop. Teams are given the opportunity to purchase players from this list during the Rookie Draft process. In order to be eligible to participate in the draft, a team must have a money balance of at least $25,000 (the minimum bid) and must have submitted all series reports to the commissioner for the just-completed ABA season.
The Rookie Draft will be held each year during a 5-day period (Monday thru Friday) beginning immediately after the first Sunday of December. The Draft will end promptly at midnight on Friday (according to the system time on the server housing the ABA web site).
Each team may select up to 5 players from the Rookie list who they would like to attempt to acquire via the Rookie Bid process. The manager prepares a list of these players and decides how much money he is willing to potentially spend (bid) on each player. The minimum bid on any player is $25,000 and the total of all bids being submitted may not exceed the team's total balance as of the beginning of the Draft week (midnight Sunday). When the Rookie Bid list is completed, the manager submits it to the commissioner via the Bid Submission Process below.
A team's list of Rookie Bids must be submitted via the ABA web site. A link to the Rookie Bid page will appear on the To-Do List on the home page during the week of the Draft. The bidding rules (maximum number of bids, minimum bid amount, total of all bids) will automatically be enforced by this web page. If a manager is unable for any reason to access the Rookie Bid page during the week of the Draft, he must contact the commissioner prior to midnight on Friday and communicate his rookie bids either verbally or via e-mail.
The team that bids the highest amount on a given rookie purchases that player for the amount of the bid. In the event of a tie bid, a dice roll determines which of the tied teams purchases the player. Unsuccessful bids are "returned" (i.e., no expenditure is made).
| Date | Event |
| October/November | List of Rookies published |
| First Sunday of December (midnight) | Money totals frozen for Draft |
| Monday thru Friday (midnight) | Teams submit Rookie Bids via web site |
| Saturday (9 AM) | Rookies awarded to teams |
Each team is required to keep their bids (players and amounts) secret from all other teams until the conclusion of the draft. Pre-draft "bluffing" in conversation between managers is acceptable but managers are forbidden to act in collusion in order to gain a drafting advantage.