NEW YORK – The question for weeks leading into this year’s NBA draft was whether the first pick would be Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren or Jabari Smith Jr.
The answer finally came Thursday night – and even Banchero didn’t know it until moments before the announcement of the Orlando Magic’s selection.
“I had a feeling from the information I was being told is that it was just kind of up in the air,” Banchero said. “Orlando wasn’t really sure yet, and just to be ready for whatever.
“I didn’t find out, though, that I was actually getting picked until about 20 seconds before the commissioner got on the stage. I didn’t even have time to really think about it or anything. It just kind of happened. I can’t believe it, but I’m ready. I’m ready.”
After leading Duke to the NCAA tournament’s Final Four in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward’s name was called first by NBA commissioner Adam Silver to begin the draft, beating out fellow first-year forwards Holmgren of Gonzaga and Smith of Auburn.
The order had been debated throughout the process, with Smith often considered the player who would go No. 1. Instead, he wasn’t even second, falling behind Holmgren to the Houston Rockets at No. 3.
“Definitely added a chip, but God makes no mistakes so I’m happy to be here,” Smith said. “I’m happy to be where I’m wanted. I’m happy to get to Houston and just show them, give them what they picked. Just happy to be here.”
All the players picked looked thrilled, with Banchero among those crying or coming close as they hugged friends and family.
Wearing a purple suit full of bling, he received a loud ovation inside Barclays Center, where the Blue Devils lost in the Atlantic Coast tournament final in March after winning the league’s regular-season championship. He became the fourth Duke player taken with the top pick since 1966, when the NBA did away with territorial draft rights, and was followed in being selected Thursday night by Blue Devils teammates Mark Williams (No. 15, Charlotte Hornets), A.J. Griffin (No. 16, Atlanta Hawks) and Wendell Moore Jr. (No. 26, Dallas Mavericks).
The Magic were picking first for the fourth time, and they’ve done well with their previous choices. They took Shaquille O’Neal in 1992, traded the rights to Chris Webber for Penny Hardaway the next year, then went with Dwight Howard in 2004. All eventually reached the NBA Finals with the Magic.
Holmgren went second to the Oklahoma City Thunder after the 7-footer led the West Coast Conference in blocked shots, rebounding and shooting percentage at Gonzaga. He looked sharp in his black suit but may need it to eventually be a bigger size for success in the NBA, as he’s listed at just 195 pounds.
He’s not worried about that talk.
“I wake up every day with a plan on how to make myself a better person, better basketball player,” Holmgren said. “I put so much effort into executing that, that it doesn’t really leave room to put effort into things that, one, I can’t control, and two, don’t help make me better.”
The Rockets were happy to end up with Smith, who has the skills to go higher. The 6-10, 220-pounder from Auburn is a natural fit in the current NBA game, able to defend all three frontcourt positions and with a shooting stroke that allowed him to hit 42% of his attempts behind the arc.
Forward Keegan Murray, after a huge leap in his second season in Iowa, jumped all the way to the No. 4 pick by the Sacramento Kings. The Detroit Pistons, a year after taking Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 pick, took athletic Purdue guard Jaden Ivey fifth.
Before the selections began, Silver congratulated the Golden State Warriors on their recent NBA championship – the franchise’s fourth in eight seasons – and reminded fans that their core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green was built through the draft.
All the teams at the top of this draft needed help and have recent high picks already on their rosters, so they certainly hope the Warriors way works for them as well.
Bennedict Mathurin, a Canadian who played at Arizona, went to the Indiana Pacers with the No. 6 pick. The Portland Trail Blazers followed with Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels of the G League Ignite was taken eighth by the New Orleans Pelicans, Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan stayed in Texas with the San Antonio Spurs at No. 9, and the Washington Wizards rounded out the top 10 with Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis.
Then the trades began, with the New York Knicks moving picks to amass more of them. They dealt the rights to No. 11 pick Ousmane Dieng to the Oklahoma City Thunder for four first-round selections, then used one of them to acquire the rights to No. 13 pick Jalen Duren from Charlotte and deal him along with Kemba Walker to the Detroit Pistons for another pick, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that trade would not become official Thursday.
Walker spent one season with the Knicks but wasn’t with the team after the NBA All-Star break after battling knee problems.
The Warriors made Patrick Baldwin Jr. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee their pick at No. 28, and the first round ended with Oklahoma City taking UCLA’s Peyton Watson and agreeing to trade his rights to the Denver Nuggets.
Notable names in the second round included Gonzaga guard Andrew Nembhard (No. 31, Indiana Pacers), Ohio State’s EJ Liddell (No. 41, New Orleans) and Southern California’s Isaiah Mobley (No. 49, Cleveland Cavaliers, where brother Evan plays).
Atlanta’s pick at No. 16 of Griffin (6-6, 222) made him the second straight Duke player to be chosen by the team in the first round, following Jalen Johnson, Atlanta’s top pick in 2021.
“I think we can do something special,” the 18-year-old Griffin said. “I’m ready to get to work and ready to get some wins.”
Griffin – the son of former NBA player and current Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin – displayed tantalizing upside in his lone season at Duke. He gives the Hawks another 3-point threat and the physical presence to improve a mediocre defense.
“He has a big heart,” Adrian Griffin said. “He has the full package to put on the floor. Obviously he can shoot the ball. He’s versatile. He’s definitely a really good pick-up for the A-T-L. I’m happy he found a home.”
Griffin, whose progress has been slowed by nagging injuries, averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on a deep Duke roster.
Many draft projections had Griffin going closer to the top 10, but he had to wait six picks beyond that.
“You hear rumors and stuff of where you might go,” Griffin said. “I thought I was going early. That just motivates me even more.”
Atlanta is coming off a season that failed to meet high expectations after a surprising run to the Eastern Conference title round in 2021.
The Hawks spent much of the regular season under .500 before landing a spot in the play-in tournament this year. Two victories pushed them into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, but Atlanta went down meekly in the first round with a five-game loss to the Miami Heat.
Owner Tony Ressler conceded the team was too complacent during the last offseason and wouldn’t make the same mistake this summer.
Defensive improvement was a big goal as the Hawks considered whether to keep their young roster largely intact or push for big changes. A complementary scorer for All-Star point guard Trae Young might be another priority.
The Hawks ranked only 21st in the league in scoring defense, allowing an average of 112.3 points per game.
Atlanta went into the draft with a bit of a shakeup in the front office. Landry Fields has been promoted to general manager, effective July 1, though team president Travis Schlenk retains the final say on all player personnel matters.
The Hawks have had good success in the draft since Schlenk took over the front office in 2017, landing Young, John Collins, Kevin Huerter, De’Andre Hunter and Onyeka Okongwu in the first round. Johnson played sparingly in the NBA during his rookie season, but the team likes his long-term potential.
Young may be the only player who is off limits to trade discussions. Much of the speculation about a possible deal has focused on Collins, a power forward who averaged 16.2 points and 7.8 rebounds last season.
Griffin isn’t concerned about all the speculation. He’s ready to get to work with the current group of Hawks, saying: “I think I can make an impact right away.”