The annual NBA draft typically takes place in New York City. For years it was at the threatre in Madison Square Garden, but summer renovations to MSG bumped the draft over to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and this year, the 2013 NBA draft will be held at the new home of the Nets, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Each year in New York City there seem to be multiple events that bill themselves as the official NBA draft party. But InsideHoops.com has attended almost all of them, and it's never clear which parties are actual "official" NBA draft parties and which are simply using the word "official" because nobody is particularly going to complain about it. Some of the best NBA draft parties InsideHoops has attended did in fact use the word "official" in the title -- the crowds were pretty A-list, the scenery at the party was, well, attractive, a known DJ was running the show, and sponsors handled an open bar.

But those have been few and far in-between.

The majority of NBA draft parties don't have an open bar, and can be attended by anyone who shows up and pays for admission. Bigger venues tend to let in just about anybody. Small, exclusive, high-end venues tend to have the same type of door policy for NBA draft parties that they'd have for any other night.

The actual really good NBA draft parties are invite-only, and aim to have a top crowd filled with people in sports or entertainment -- and their friends.

There are also plenty of NBA pre-draft parties, most of which happen on Wednesday (the draft is always on a Thursday). And they are the same deal as the above. The average predraft party tends to be a lesser version of the average NBA draft-night party. Occasionally there is a good NBA pre-draft gifting suite. Whether the gift bag is worth the travel time is sometimes another story, though.

Anyway, if you ever attend an NBA pre-draft or draft night party that has multiple current NBA stars, or top lottery picks, and some celebrities outside of basketball, etc. then consider yourself lucky, because not many of those exist, and the ones that do tend to be invite-only. Chances are, the NBA draft party you attend will have a current NBA player or two, or a top rookie or two, arriving pretty late, and probably off in some separate VIP section, while everyone else at the party simply walked up and paid for admission.

And, that's all for New York City. Naturally, cities around the country that host NBA teams often have NBA draft events as well. Sometimes the team sets something up. Usually such events are listed on the official NBA.com team site. ANd of course random venues around the nation often have NBA draft events, often hosted by one of the local team's players, or a known media member -- usually TV, maybe radio.

But, don't fret. A party is a party. Enjoy yourself, and if you happen to get to mingle with NBA personalities that you actually recognize, consider yourself lucky! And if not, live it up the best you can!

The date and time of 2013 NBA draft parties will mostly be Thursday night, June 27. And the date and time of 2013 pre-draft parties will mostly be Wednesday, June 26. And perhaps Tuesday as well.

P.S. And be sure to watch the actual NBA draft.