NBA Draft 2017 Round 1 Recap: Sixers Take Markelle Fultz As Top Pick, And More

The Philadelphia 76ers took Washington guard Markelle Fultz as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft on Thursday night, widely confirming most mock draft predictions for the top selections at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The Boston Celtics Took Duke Forward Jayson Tatum With the No. 3 Overall Pick

The 19-year-old, 6-foot-5 star was one of a record-setting 16 freshmen selected in the first 30 picks, which only included two seniors.

“Coming in, I want to win Rookie of the Year,” Fultz said earlier this year. “I got a pretty high goal for myself: I want to be the M.V.P. I set my goals high because I want to put in a lot of work to achieve them.”

The Sixers acquired Fultz earlier this week in a trade with the Boston Celtics to move up two spots from No. 3. In his lone season at Washington, the guard averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 25 games for the Huskies, who finished the season with a dreadful 9-22 record and 13 straight losses. Fultz also shot 41.3 percent from three-point range and 64.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Only Kevin Durant (Texas, 2006-07) and Michael Beasley (Kansas State, 2007-08) averaged more points as a freshman over the past 10 seasons.

When asked on Thursday what the greatest misconception about him is, Fultz stated it was that he’s “not a winner.”

“I get tired of hearing that,” he said. “Anybody that knows me knows how competitive I am. Look at my résumé through high school. I’ve been winning my whole life.”

According to the New York Times’ Benjamin Hoffman and Marc Tracy, Fultz is an “intriguing” player to join Philadelphia’s core offense, which includes Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Australian forward Ben Simmons, whom the Sixers took as the No. 1 overall pick in 2016. Embiid was the 76ers’ third overall pick in 2014.

The Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, selected hometown star Lonzo Ball as the second overall pick on Thursday.

The 6-foot-6 UCLA freshman point guard shot 41.2 percent from three-point range. In his lone campaign with the Bruins, Ball set a single-season record with 274 assists. In exchange for him, the Lakers traded D’Angelo Russell (the No. 2 pick just two years ago) to the Brooklyn Nets.

Hoffman claims that “Ball’s ability to create opportunities for teammates should immediately make Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram better players.”

Tracy, for his part, believes the youngster — who is known for his rapping skills and whose father LaVar Ball is a former college basketball and retired professional football player — could be the most raved-about draft pick of 2017. Tracy says Ball could reach levels akin to Kyrie Irving, LeBron James or Allen Iverson. 

The Celtics, who were expected by some mock drafts to take Kansas forward Josh Jackson, ended up selecting 19-year-old, 6-foot-8 Duke small forward Jayson Tatum as the No. 3 pick. The Phoenix Suns chose 20-year-old Jackson as the fourth overall pick. Another Duke player, sophomore shooting guard Luke Kennard, went to the Detroit Piston as the 12th overall pick.

As far as major trades go, the Bulls sent three-time All-Star guard Jimmy Butler and their No. 16 overall pick — Creighton center Justin Patton — to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and their No. 7 pick, Arizona’s 7-foot freshman power forward from Finland, Lauri Markkanen. Butler — who averaged 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.9 steals a game last season — will now be reunited with former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. 

The Sacramento Kings, meanwhile, picked Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox as the fifth overall selection. Sacramento then turned No. 10 overall pick, Gonzaga swingman Zach Collins, into UNC Forward Justin Jackson (No. 15 overall pick) and Duke’s 6-foot-11 freshman center Harry Giles via a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers that has not yet been formally announced. Giles declared for the draft earlier this year despite suffering severe injuries to both his knees.

Here are the full results of the 2017 NBA Draft: (30 picks in each of the two rounds)

1. 76ers: Markelle Fultz (G) – Washington
2. Lakers: Lonzo Ball (G) – UCLA
3. Celtics: Jayson Tatum (F) – Duke
4. Suns: Josh Jackson (F) – Kansas
5. Kings: DeAaron Fox (G) – Kentucky
6. Magic: Jonathan Isaac (F) – Florida State
7. Bulls: Lauri Markkanen (F) – Arizona
8. Knicks: Frank Ntilikina (G) – Strasbourg, France
9. Mavericks: Dennis Smith Jr. (G) – NC State
10. Trail Blazers: Zach Collins (F/C) – Gonzaga
11. Hornets: Malik Monk (G) – Kentucky
12. Pistons: Luke Kennard (G) – Duke
13. Jazz: Donovan Mitchell (G) – Louisville
14. Heat: Bam Adebayo (C) – Kentucky
15. Kings: Justin Jackson (F) – UNC
16. Bulls: Justin Patton (C) – Creighton
17. Bucks: DJ Wilson (F/C) – Michigan
18. Pacers: TJ Leaf (F/C) – UCLA
19. Hawks: John Collins (F) – Wake Forest
20. Kings: Harry Giles (F/C) – Duke
21. Thunder: Terrance Ferguson (F) – Adelaide, Australia
22. Nets: Jarrett Allen (C) – Texas
23. Raptors: OG Anunoby (F) – Indiana
24. Nuggets: Tyler Lydon (F) – Syracuse
25. 76ers: Andzejs Pasecniks (C) – Gran Canaria, Latvia
26. Trail Blazers: Caleb Swanigan (PF) – Purdue
27. Lakers: Kyle Kuzma (F) – Utah
28. Jazz: Tony Bradley (C) – North Carolina
29. Spurs: Derrick White (G) – Colorado
30. Lakers: Josh Hart (G) – Villanova
31. Pelicans: Frank Jackson (PG) – Duke 
32.  Suns: Davon Reed (SG) – Miami
33. Magic: Wesley Iwundu (SF) – Kansas State
34. Kings: Frank Mason III (PG) – Kansas
35. Grizzlies: Ivan Rabb (PF) – California
36.  76ers: Jonah Bolden (PF) – Australia 
37. Celtics: Semi Ojeleye (SF) – SMU
38. Warriors: Jordan Bell (C) – Oregon
39. Clippers: Jawun Evans (PG) – OSU
40. Hornets: Dwayne Bacon (SF) – FSU
41. Hawks: Tyler Dorsey (SG) – Oregon
42. Lakers: Thomas Bryant (C) – Indiana
43. Rockets: Isaiah Hartenstein (C) – Lithuania
44. Knicks: Damyean Dotson (SG) – Oregon
45. Rockets: Dillon Brooks (SF) – Oregon
46. Bucks: Sterling Brown (SG) – SMU
47. Pacers: Ike Anigbogu (C) – UCLA
48. Clippers: Sindarius Thornwell (SG) – South Carolina
49. Nuggets: Vlatko Cancar (SF) – Slovenia
50. 76ers: Mathias Lessort (PF) – France
51. Nuggets: Monte’ Morris (PG) – Iowa State
52. Pacers: Edmond Sumner (PG) – Xavier
53. Celtics: Kadeem Allen (SG) – Arizona
54. Suns:  Alec Peters (PF) – Valparaiso
55. Jazz: Nigel Williams-Goss (PG) – Gonzaga
56. Celtics:  Jabari Bird (SG) – California
57. Nets: Aleksandar Vezenkov (PF) – Spain
58. Knicks: Ognjen Jaramaz (PG) – Serbia
59. Spurs: Jaron Blossomgame (SF) – Clemson
60. Hawks: Alpha Kaba (PF) – France

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 22: Markelle Fultz walks on stage with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers during the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City.

Article by Pablo Mena