SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
Photos By James Dombrowski
This past week, the National Basketball Association held its annual draft, with this edition taking place at the Barclays Center. As expected, the San Antonio Spurs took French phenom Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick. The hype around the 7’5” Wembanyama has not been seen since LeBron James was drafted way back in 2003. This is the third time the Spurs have had the #1 selection, with the previous picks also being big men in David Robinson and Tim Duncan – both of whom rank among the greatest players in NBA history.
The Charlotte Hornets made the 2nd pick, and took SEC Player of the Year Brandon Miller. Rounding out the top five were Scoot Henderson of G League Ignite to the Portland Trail Blazers at #3, and a pair of twins from the Overtime Elite developmental team going fourth and fifth – Amen Thompson to the Houston Rockets and Ausar Thompson to the Detroit Pistons.
Other highlights saw Michigan star Jett Howard, the son of former NBA all-star Juwan Howard, going to the Orlando Magic at #11, and Villanova freshman Cam Whitmore landing with the 20th pick to the Rockets. Newark native and Duke forward Dariq Whitehead was picked by the Nets, one pick after their #21 selection Noah Clowney from Alabama. The Nets also took Jalen Wilson at #51 from Kansas.
Meanwhile, UConn’s Jordan Hawkins, cousin of outspoken LSU star Angel Reese, was picked #14 by the New Orleans Pelicans. Former NIT MVP Colby Jones from Xavier was the 34th pick and will likely end up with the Sacramento Kings. Finally, Chris Livingston from Kentucky was the 58th and final pick of the draft, taken by the Milwaukee Bucks.
While the draft usually has 60 picks, the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers forfeited selections due to tampering violations. Also, the New York Knicks did not have a pick this year.
