For the second year in a row, a player from France was selected first overall in the NBA draft.
As a testament to the NBA being a global game, a player from France was also taken with the second and the sixth pick in the 2024 draft.
The Atlanta Hawks started off Wednesday's draft from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn by selecting Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick, and the Washington Wizards followed their lead by taking fellow Frenchman Alexandre Sarr with the No. 2 pick.
The run on French players continued with the Charlotte Hornets selecting forward Tidjane Salaun with the sixth pick, making this the first time in modern history that a country other than the United States had three players selected in the top 10.
Risacher is a catch-and-shoot 3-point specialist and an exceptional defender on the wing, while the big man Sarr possesses the ball-handling ability of a wing and is an elite rim protector.
Salaun was the youngest player taken in the draft at 18 years old, and is considered an excellent athlete with a high motor.
There was one more player from France taken before the first round ended, with the New York Knicks taking Pacome Dadiet at No. 25.
With another Frenchman, Victor Wembanyama, being selected first overall last year by the San Antonio Spurs, this also marked the first time in NBA history consecutive No. 1 picks didn’t play collegiately in the United States.
It wasn't all players from France selected, however.
After the top two picks, the Houston Rockets took sharp-shooter Reed Sheppard from Kentucky, and the San Antonio Spurs used their first of two top-10 picks to select guard Stephon Castle from two-time defending American collegiate national champion Connecticut at No. 4.
Three picks later, Castle's team-mate at UConn, centre Donovan Clingan, was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Spurs then used their second top-10 pick to take Kentucky point guard Rob Dillingham at No. 8, but later traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Forward Ron Holland II, an American who skipped college to play in the G League, went three picks earlier to the Detroit Pistons at No. 5.
Perhaps the biggest - no pun intended - surprise of the first round was the Memphis Grizzlies taking Zach Edey with the ninth pick.
The 7-foot-3 Canadian is the back-to-back American collegiate AP national player of the year, yet was slotted to get picked much later by many experts.
The Utah Jazz rounded out the top 10 by selecting Colorado forward Cody Williams - a strong defender and adept ball-handler.
One name absent from the first round was Bronny James - son of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James.
The elder James had previously said it would be a dream to play with his son, but his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, ended up taking Dalton Knecht with the 17th pick.
Knecht, a prolific scorer and an AP All-American this past season at Tennessee, was projected by many prognosticators to be a top-10 pick, but slid down the draft board.
The younger James hadn't been predicted to be selected in the first round, but could be taken at some point on Day 2 of the draft on Thursday.
Pelicans acquiring star guard Murray from Hawks
The New Orleans Pelicans are acquiring star guard Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks for forward Larry Nance Jr, guard Dyson Daniels and two first-round picks, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday.
The move comes two days after the Hawks selected French prospect Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft on Wednesday.
According to sources, the picks the Pelicans are sending Atlanta are a 2025 first round pick via the Lakers and a 2027 first round pick, which is the least favorable between Milwaukee and New Orleans.
Murray, 27, spent two seasons with the Hawks after he was acquired from San Antonio in July 2022 for three first-round picks. He averaged 21.5 points across 152 games with Atlanta, but the team struggled to a 77-87 record and failed to make the playoffs this past season with a 36-46 mark.
Murray – a 2022 NBA All-Star - averaged a career-high 22.5 points last season to go with 5.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists. He shot 45.9 percent from the field and made a career-high 201 3-pointers.
He joins a loaded Pelicans team that went 49-33 last season and already has Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.
Atlanta gets multiple first round picks in the deal along with a young player (Daniels) and a veteran role player (Nance Jr.).
Daniels was the eighth overall pick in 2022 and averaged 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds last season. Nance is a nine-year veteran that averaged 5.7 points and 5 rebounds in 61 games last season for New Orleans.
Immanuel Quickley to remain with Raptors on $175M deal
The Toronto Raptors agreed to a deal to keep guard Immanuel Quickley on a five-year, $175million contract, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
No new contracts can become official until after the league’s transaction moratorium ends on July 6.
Quickley was traded alongside RJ Barrett ahead of last season’s deadline in the deal that sent OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks.
Quickley, 25, served as the Knicks’ sixth man, but he immediately assumed a starting role for Toronto after the trade and averaged 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 38 starts with the Raptors.
The news of Quickley’s long-term deal came just days after multiple media outlets reported that Scottie Barnes agreed to a maximum rookie extension with the Raptors for five years and $225million.
With Barnes, Quickley and Barrett all signed at least through 2027, the Raptors are hopeful they have a young core to build around in upcoming seasons.
Drafted out of Kentucky in 2020, Quickley has averaged 13.7 points and 3.5 assists in 291 career games and shot a career-best 39.5 percent from 3-point range last season.
Lakers select Bronny James with second-round draft pick
The time has come for guard Bronny James, son of four-time NBA champion LeBron James, to begin his professional career.
The 19-year-old prospect won't have to look far for mentorship.
James was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 55 overall pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday, ushering in the next chapter of the years-long saga between the USC prospect and his future Hall of Fame father.
James has become a somewhat controversial prospect because his family ties appear to have as much influence over his NBA future as his on-court production.
The elder James said in January 2023 that it was a goal of his to play in the NBA with his son.
“I need to be on the floor with my boy,” he told ESPN. “I got to be on the floor with Bronny.”
In more recent interviews, James loosened his stance and opted for a more supportive and open-minded approach.
“Whatever his journey, however his journey lays out, he’s going to do what’s best for him,” LeBron said last May. “We’re going to support him in whatever he decides to do. So just because that’s my aspiration or my goal doesn’t mean it’s his. And I’m absolutely OK with that.”
Bronny’s NBA prospects became hazy on July 24, 2023, when he went into cardiac arrest during an offseason workout with the Trojans.
James was treated for a congenital heart defect in Los Angeles and New Jersey before being cleared to make his collegiate debut last December.
James, who was listed as 6-foot-4 at USC but measured 6-foot-1 ½ in socks at the NBA’s scouting combine, had an inconsistent freshman season with the 15-18 Trojans.
James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 25 games while shooting 36.6 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from 3-point range.
Despite lacklustre shooting numbers in college, James displayed a confident shooting stroke during combine workouts, and his 40.5-inch vertical leap illustrated some impressive explosiveness.
As a small guard with an inconsistent shooting touch, James’ contributions early in his career will mainly be on the defensive end of the floor. Throughout his season at USC, James showed the athleticism, toughness and intelligence to project as a good defender at the next level.
James has good length for his size, with a wingspan over 6-foot-7, and he carries plenty of muscle on his 210-pound frame – two features that should help him on the defensive end immediately.
“Size is really the only issue for him on defence,” an NBA general manager told The Ringer in April. “If he was actually 6-foot-4 or even a bit bigger, he’d have really excellent potential.”
The NBA community appears understandably torn on James’ future.
On one hand, small guards who struggle to shoot rarely get chances at the next level, and it’s even rarer that they make an impact. Without James’ strong family ties, he likely would have been advised to return to college to show improvement as a sophomore.
James is not without upside, however, and he has shown rare explosiveness and defensive prowess that give some scouts hope he can be a long-time NBA contributor.
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