NEW YORK (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder were thinking big. Darius Acuff Jr. and Mikel Brown Jr. might be a matchup to watch among smalls.
And the one-and-done era is far from done.
Those were some of the things that stood out from the two-day NBA draft in Brooklyn, which started with the Washington Wizards taking AJ Dybantsa on Tuesday night with the No. 1 pick and continued with a number of trades in the second round Wednesday
night. Among the things that stood out in between:
The Thunder had trouble with Victor Wembanyama in the Western Conference finals. The Spurs had trouble when Wembanyama wasn't in the game in the NBA Finals.
Both teams took steps to address those big problems.
Oklahoma City took 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara from Michigan with the No. 12 pick. Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in 2022, struggled badly in the series that ended the Thunder's title reign and the 260-pound Mara, the Big Ten defensive player of the year from Spain, could provide more of the physical presence they need.
“I’m excited to play against him, obviously, to play in the NBA," Mara said about Wembanyama. “But I feel like I’m going to play against him a lot. If it’s not NBA, it’s going to be on the national team.”
The Spurs fell to the New York Knicks in five games in the NBA Finals and Wembanyama at times looked exhausted, perhaps overworked because the Knicks were dominating when backup Luke Kornet was in the game .
Perhaps they can handle Wembanyama's breaks better now after drafting 6-9 Jayden Quaintance from Kentucky and acquiring the rights to Tarris Reed Jr., the rugged big man who powered UConn to the national title game.
One of the pre-draft debates was who would go first when it came time for teams to start choosing among the smaller scoring guards in the class.
That moment arrived at the No. 6 pick. The Brooklyn Nets went with Mikel Brown Jr. from Louisville, a pick that seemed well received judging by the cheers in their home arena that hosted the draft.
“I think something that we saw with Mike was just how anxious and excited he was at getting out there in the NBA. ‘I got something to prove.’ It’s hard to measure,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said. “I think that’s something that will translate when you have a chip on your shoulder, you’re an extreme competitor.”
There were arguments for Darius Acuff Jr., and critics of the pick will only grow louder if Acuff looks like a better pro. He went with the next pick to Sacramento.
“I was good wherever I went,” Acuff said. “It wasn’t like a bad reaction on it.”
But there was from those who felt like he had a better body of work in his season at Arkansas.
Both have shown explosive scoring ability. The 6-4 Brown set an ACC freshman record when he scored 45 points in a game, making 10 3-pointers. But a back injury forced him to miss 14 games.
Acuff averaged 23.5 points, third in the nation, and led the SEC in scoring and assists. He was the SEC Tournament MVP after leading Arkansas to the title.
The one sure thing in the NBA draft for years was that it would begin with a college freshman. From 2010, when Washington took John Wall, to 2022, when Orlando selected Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick was a player who spent one year in college.
That ended in 2023 when San Antonio took Victor Wembanyama. When Atlanta took fellow Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 pick in 2024, it was the first time that an international player who did not play at a U.S. college was selected first in consecutive years.
The one-and-dones have regained their place in a big way. The first eight picks were college freshmen, matching the record set last year, as were nine of the top 10 to match another record.
“We don’t know each super personally, but we spent some a good amount of time around each other. So we know each other kind of well,” said Darryn Peterson, the No. 2 pick by Utah. “We're going to continue to compete. I’m coming for these guys like I’ve been coming for them my whole career.”
There was some skepticism when owner James Dolan said in an interview with WFAN Radio in New York that he wanted to avoid going into the second apron. After winning a championship for the first time in 53 years, would the Knicks really not spend whatever it took for the best chance to repeat?
Time will tell, but they were cautious with the draft.
The Knicks traded back from their original No. 24 spot and eventually out of the first round entirely. They came into the draft with the No. 31 pick, the first spot in the second round. They traded back from there as well.
First-round picks come with guaranteed salary slots, and high second-round picks are paid well. And the Knicks need to leave themselves as much room as possible if they want to pay key role players such as Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado and Deuce McBride.
They eventually left the draft with the Nos. 39 and 47 picks, German guard Jack Kayil and Vanderbilt forward Tyler Nickel. If Kayil ends up playing for the champions, he said they will find a player with their type of mentality.
“I think also one of my strengths is that I love winning and I give everything for that, and to come in this organization shows that they also want winners,” Kayil said. “So I think it’s a good fit.”
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