One of the most exciting times of the NBA calendar is coming up: free agency and the NBA Draft.

The NBA Playoffs are still ongoing, but that doesn't make the business away from the court come to a halt.

Today, the NBA announced that 162 players (117 players from college and 45 international players) – have filed as early entry candidates for the 2016 NBA Draft.

Why so early when the playoffs have just begun? To those of you who may not know, this is how it all works.

Players who want to declare early must file a letter with the association by April 24th.  Players who have applied for early entry can withdraw their names from consideration by June 13th. NCAA rules state, in order to remain eligible, underclassmen that have entered the draft must withdraw by May 25th, so that's effectively the deadline for domestic players.

The list of both early domestic and international players who have declared for the draft is listed below.

(Images above credited to NBA.com)