Last year it was Wembanyama, this year it’s Lizachet, and the NBA draft’s No. 1 pick is ‘French’ for the second year in a row—Bronny is not a first-rounder
For the second year in a row, the first overall pick in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft went to a player from France. French forward Zakari Lizachet, 19, was selected first overall in the NBA Draft.
The Atlanta Hawks, who hold the No. 1 overall pick this year, selected Lizachet with the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on Sunday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
The Hawks finished the 2023-2024 season in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, giving them just a 3 percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick, but they overcame the odds to earn the No. 1 pick for the first time in 49 years and the fourth time in franchise history since 1975. 파워볼사이트 They used the No. 1 pick on Rizasheh.
The 6-foot-10 forward is considered a versatile forward with a three-point shot. Last season, he played for JL Bourges in France, where he averaged 11.1 points and 4 rebounds in the Eurocup and French league.
He’s also a “second-generation basketball player. Lizachet’s father, Stéphane Lizachet, played for France and Europe and represented France in men’s basketball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he won a silver medal. Lizachet’s selection marks the second consecutive year that a French player has been selected first overall in the NBA Draft, following Victor Wembanyama, who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs last year. Lizachet is only the fourth non-U.S. player ever to be selected No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft, joining China’s Yao Ming (Houston) in 2002, Italy’s Andrea Bargnani (Toronto) in 2006 and Wembanyama last year.
“It’s a blessing,” Rizache said after being named by Atlanta. I’m really excited to see what’s going to happen,” he said, “I want to help the team as best I can and I think I can help a lot. I’m ready to do whatever it takes to get on the court with a great group of players.”
The second pick behind Lizachet was also a Frenchman. Alex Sarr, who was considered the favorite to be the No. 1 pick ahead of the draft, was selected by the Washington Wizards at No. 2. Born in 2005, the 216-centimeter forward came to the NBA after playing for the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). With the third pick, the Houston Rockets selected American guard Reed Shepherd out of the University of Kentucky.
San Antonio selected guard Stefon Castle from the University of Connecticut with the fourth overall pick, and G-League forward Ron Holland II was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the fifth pick.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest stories of this year’s draft, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), was not selected in the first round.
Born in 2004, Brownie James is the first son of LeBron James, who was born in 1984. The guard, who enrolled at the University of Southern California last year, returned to the court in December after suffering a cardiac arrest during practice last July. It was widely believed that he was not a first-round pick, so the second round will be interesting to watch.
The reason why it will be interesting to see where he goes is because it will likely determine where LeBron goes. LeBron has made it clear that he wants to play with his son for the rest of his career. So the team that gets Brown will likely get LeBron. In the lead-up to the draft, Brown was offered tryouts by more than 10 teams, but he only attended workouts with the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns and turned down the rest.
This is the first time the rookie draft has been held over two days, with only first-round selections being made today, and the second round will be held on April 28 at ESPN’s Seaport District studios in New York City.