The NBA Draft always brings plenty of surprises and this year was no different.
With the franchise’s first No. 1 pick, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Zion Williamson. The former Duke star was named the ACC Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and took home the Wooden Award as the nation’s top player. As a freshman, Zion averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. He also shot 68% from the field.
Arguably the most hyped draft pick since LeBron James, Zion became just the third player in Duke history to be taken as the No. 1 overall pick, joining the likes of Elton Brand (1999) and Kyrie Irving (2011). Now comes the pressure for Williamson as he steps in as the centerpiece for the new-look Pelicans who agreed to trade Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers last week.
Like Williamson, the second and third picks also went according to plan as the Memphis Grizzlies selected Murray State point guard Ja Morant and the New York Knicks took Duke star RJ Barrett.
Morant also steps right into the spotlight as the Grizzlies have made it clear that he’s their guy after trading point guard Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz for Jae Crowder Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, the No. 23 pick Thursday night and a future first-round pick.
Noteworthy: For just the third time in NBA history, three players from the same school were selected in the top 10 (Duke’s Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish). The last time that happened was in 2007, when Al Horford (No. 3), Corey Brewer (No. 7) and Joakim Noah (No. 9) all were selected out of Florida.
NBA Draft Results
1. New Orleans Pelicans – Zion Williamson F – Duke
2. Memphis Grizzlies – Ja Morant G – Murray State
3. New York Knicks – RJ Barrett G – Duke
4. Los Angeles Lakers (Atlanta Hawks) – De’Andre Hunter F – Virginia
5. Cleveland Cavaliers – Darius Garland G – Vanderbilt
6. Phoenix Suns (Minnesota Timberwolves) – Jarrett Culver G – Texas Tech
7. Chicago Bulls – Coby White G – North Carolina
8. Atlanta Hawks (New Orleans) – Jaxson Hayes C – Texas
9. Washington Wizards – Rui Hachimura F – Gonzaga
10. Atlanta Hawks – Cam Reddish F – Duke
11. Minnesota Timberwolves (Phoenix Suns) – Cam Johnson F – North Carolina
12. Charlotte Hornets – PJ Washington F – Kentucky
13. Miami Heat – Tyler Herro G – Kentucky
14. Boston Celtics – Romeo Langford G – Indiana
15. Detroit Pistons – Sekou Doumbouya F – France
16. Orlando Magic – Chuma Okeke F – Auburn
17. Brooklyn Nets (New Orleans) – Nickeil Alexander-Walker G – Virginia Tech
18. Indiana Pacers – Goga Bitadze C – Georgia
19. San Antonio Spurs – Luka Samanic F – Croatia
20. Boston Celtics (Philadelphia 76ers) – Mattise Thybulle F – Washington
21. Oklahoma City Thunder (Memphis Grizzlies) – Brandon Clarke F – Gonzaga
22. Boston Celtics – Grant Williams F – Tennessee
23. Utah Jazz (Oklahoma City) – Darius Blazely F – United States
24. Philadelphia 76ers (Phoenix Suns) – Ty Jerome F – Virginia
25. Portland Trail Blazers – Nassir Little F – North Carolina
26. Cleveland Cavaliers – Dylan Windler F – Belmont
27. Brooklyn Nets (Los Angeles Clippers) – Mfiondu Kabengele C – Florida State
28. Golden State Warriors – Jordan Poole G – Michigan
29. San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto) – Keldon Johnson F – Kentucky
30. Milwaukee Bucks (Cleveland Cavaliers) – Kevin Porter F – USC
31. Brooklyn Nets – Nic Claxton C – Georgia
32. Phoenix Suns (Miami) – KZ Okpala F – Stanford
33. Philadelphia 76ers (Boston) – Carsen Edwards F – Purdue
34. Philadelphia 76ers – Bruno Fernando C – Maryland
35. Atlanta Hawks (New Orleans Pelicans) – Marcos Louzada Silva F – Brazil
36. Charlotte Hornets – Cody Martin F – Nevada
37. Dallas Mavericks (Detroit) – Deividas Sirvydis F – Lithuania
38. Chicago Bulls – Daniel Gafford C – Arkansas
39. New Orleans Pelicans (Golden State) – Alen Smailagic C – Serbia
40. Sacramento Kings – Justin James G – Wyoming
41. Golden State – Eric Paschall F – Villanova
42. Philadelphia 76ers (Washington Wizards) – Admiral Schofield F – Tennessee
43. Minnesota Timberwolves – Jaylen Nowell G – Washington
44. Miami Heat (Denver Nuggets) – Bol Bol C – Oregon
45. Detroit Pistons (Dallas Mavericks) – Isaiah Roby F – Nebraska
46. Orlando Magic (Los Angeles Lakers) – Talen Horton-Tucker F – Iowa State
47. Sacramento Kings (New York Kinicks) – Ignas Brazdeikis F – Michigan
48. Los Angeles Clippers – Terance Mann F – Florida State
49. San Antonio Spurs – Quinndary Weatherspoon G – Mississippi State
50. Indiana Pacers (Utah Jazz) – Jarrell Brantley F – Charleston
51. Boston Celtics – Tremont Waters G – LSU
52. Charlotte Hornets – Jalen McDaniels F – San Diego State
53. Utah Jazz – Justin Wright-Foreman G – Hofstra
54. Philadelphia 76ers – Marial Shayok F – Iowa State
55. New York Knicks (Sacramento Kings) – Kyle Guy G – Virginia
56. Los Angeles Clippers (Brooklyn Nets) – Jaylen Hands G – UCLA
57. New Orleans Pelicans (Atlanta Hawks) – Jordan Bone G – Tennessee
58. Golden State Warriors (Utah Jazz) – Miye Onie G – Yale
59. Toronto Raptors – Dewan Hernandez C – Miami
60. Sacramento Kings – Vanja Marinkovic G – Serbia
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