The 2024 NBA Draft picked up where it left off with Wemby last year, showing love to French players out the gate. Three of the first six picks hailing from over the pond in France.
The European trend didn’t stop there. Pllayers from Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland were also selected alongside additional French talents.
French star Zaccharie Risacher, a 19-year-old, 6-foot-9 forward, was chosen as the No. 1 pick by the Atlanta Hawks.
Following him was 7-foot Alex Sarr, a standout from Australia’s Perth Wildcats, who was picked second by the Washington Wizards.
The third pick was guard Reed Sheppard from Kentucky, a 6-foot-2 shooter.
But the million dollar question of the night was whether Bronny James, son of LeBron James, would make it into the first round. He didn’t. This is not so surprising. Depending on what sources or scouts you listened to, his combine and workouts were more than decent but perhaps not quite worthy of taking a first round spot.
Not hearing Bronny’s name, left the James family to wait for the second round on Friday, with the Lakers holding the 55th pick.
Gotta root for the kid, right? The pressure. The heavy weight on his shoulders to make to the association in the shadow of arguably the greatest of all time. Has to be tough.
Get this, ESPN faced an awkward moment when they mistakenly identified Tidjane Salaün of France, who was picked sixth by the Charlotte Hornets, as Dalton Knecht, who is actually the Lakers’ selection.
Anyway, here is the first round draft board from NBA.com:
The post NBA Draft Night 1: French Players Taken Top 2, Bronny Undrafted in First Round first appeared on The Source.
The post NBA Draft Night 1: French Players Taken Top 2, Bronny Undrafted in First Round appeared first on The Source.