Space Coast Sports Hall Of Famer Sasha Kaun Now World Champion, NBA Draft Is Here
By Alan Zlotorzynski // June 23, 2016
orlando magic select 11th
ABOVE VIDEO: Sasha Kaun’s video presentation for his 2016 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Induction. Kahn did not play in the playoffs for the Cavaliers but he did play in 25 games during the 2015-16 season and will receive a championship ring.
The 2016 NBA Draft will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, with pre-Draft coverage beginning at 7 p.m.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – In 1947 the Pittsburgh Ironmen selected Clifton McNeely with the first overall pick in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) amateur draft. The Basketball Association of America became the National Basketball Association after 1949 and as they say, the rest is history.
The NBA just concluded its season on Sunday night with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers hoisting the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy for the first time in team history.
Now, the world will watch as NBA franchises select the future stars of the game in the league’s 69th annual college draft, which is taking place at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York tonight.
Last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Karl-Anthony Towns from the University of Kentucky with the first overall pick. Townes became the third Wildcat in the past five seasons to be selected with the first overall pick joining John Wall (Wizards 2010) and Anthony Davis (N.O. Hornets 2012).
The player many expect the 76ers to select tonight is Ben Simmons from LSU. Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, becoming the first SEC player ever to finish top five in all three of those categories in the same season.
He helped LSU to a 19-14 overall mark as the Tigers finished third in the SEC during the regular season and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Here are a few facts every NBA fan must know before tonight’s draft:
A total of 162 players initially applied for early entry in the 2016 NBA Draft, including 117 players from U.S. colleges and institutions and 45 international players. From the list of 162, 57 players from U.S. colleges and institutions removed their names from consideration for the draft by the May 25 deadline for them to withdraw and still retain collegiate eligibility. International early entry candidates have until 10 days prior to the draft (June 13) to withdraw.
The Philadelphia 76ers will make the first pick in the NBA Draft for the first time since choosing Allen Iverson with the top selection in 1996. Iverson, who will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September, was named the 1996-97 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 2000-01 NBA MVP with Philadelphia.
The Los Angeles Lakers hold the No. 2 pick for the second year in a row. Before selecting D’Angelo Russell in 2015, they hadn’t picked as high as second since selecting James Worthy first overall in 1982. Last year’s selection of Russell was the franchise’s fourth pick ever in the lottery (1985 –present). The Lakers selected Eddie Jones with the 11th pick in 1994, chose Andrew Bynum with the 10th pick in 2005 and tapped Julius Randle with the seventh pick in 2014.
The Boston Celtics own eight picks in this draft, including the No. 3 selection. Before this year, Boston had a top-three pick only three times in the common draft era (since 1966): Chauncey Billups (1997, 3rd), Len Bias (1986, 2nd) and Kevin McHale (1980, 3rd).
The Phoenix Suns are the only team with two lottery picks in this year’s draft (Nos. 4 and 13). Phoenix is also one of two teams (Boston) with four picks in the top 34. This is the first time the Suns are picking in the top four since selecting Armen Gilliam with the second pick in 1987.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are picking fifth for the fourth time in franchise history. In 1995, the team used the fifth pick on high school senior Kevin Garnett, who went on to win the 2003-04 MVP Award and become the team’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. One year later, the Timberwolves selected Ray Allen with the fifth pick and immediately traded Him to the Milwaukee Bucks for the fourth pick, Stephon Marbury. Minnesota also drafted Spain’s Ricky Rubio with the fifth pick in 2009.
The Sacramento Kings are picking in the lottery for the 10th consecutive season, the longest streak since the lottery system was instituted for the 1985 NBA Draft. The Kings haven’t made the playoffs since 2006, the longest active streak in the NBA.
The Chicago Bulls are picking in the lottery (14th overall) for the first time since 2008, when the team, despite having the ninth-best odds to secure the top pick, won the lottery and selected Derrick Rose.
As many as nine college freshmen have a chance to be selected in this year’slottery: Jaylen Brown (California), Marquese Chriss (Washington), Deyonta Davis (Michigan State), Henry Ellenson (Marquette), Brandon Ingram (Duke), Skal Labissiere (Kentucky), Dejounte Murray (Washington), Jamal Murray (Kentucky) and Ben Simmons (LSU).
Since the draft lottery began in 1985, only two of 31 No. 1 overall picks (entering the 2016 Finals) have won an NBA championship with the team that drafted them: David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs, 1987) and Tim Duncan (Spurs, 1997).
Four college seniors were selected in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft. Of the 30 players picked in the first round, 13 had at least two years of college experience. There were a record 13 college freshman selected in last year’s draft, three more than the previous high of 10 in 2008. •
Since the lottery began in 1985, every team in the NBA has had at least one lottery pick. The San Antonio Spurs have had the longest lottery drought among all teams, having not been in the lottery since selecting Tim Duncan No. 1 overall in 1997.
At least one son of a former NBA player has been selected in the last 14 NBA drafts:
This year marked the 32nd draft lottery in NBA history. With a record of 48-34 in 2007-08, the Golden State Warriors are the winningest team in NBA history to qualify for the lottery. The previous winningest team was the 2000-01 Houston Rockets (45-37).
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