NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on Thursday night’s NBA draft (all times local):
12:45 a.m.
The Philadelphia 76ers did what everyone expected, and picked Markelle Fultz with the first pick of Thursday night’s NBA draft.
The Minnesota Timberwolves pulled off the biggest surprise, and traded for Jimmy Butler.
The 2017 draft was a record-setting night for freshmen.
The first seven picks were one-and-dones and a record 16 of them heard their names called in the first round. Fultz led the way, walking into the arena in Brooklyn with orange shoes that were made out of basketballs. He walked out a future millionaire and a member of a team that has been asking fans to “trust the process” - a reference to Philly’s long rebuilding project.
Only two seniors went in the first round - the lowest number in the modern history of the draft. Derrick White, who went to the Spurs, and Josh Hart, who went to the Lakers, had to wait until the last two picks of round number one to hear their names called.
But a wonderful night for freshman wasn’t great for all of them. Among the undrafted was Arizona freshman Kobi Simmons, who entered the draft even though NBA scouts told him he wasn’t ready.
Some other names that weren’t called included Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks, who were stars of North Carolina’s title run this year. And remember Kris Jenkins, who hit the 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Villanova to the championship in 2016? He’ll be looking to sign as a free-agent, too.
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11:50 p.m.
The NBA offseason has been way more unpredictable than the postseason was.
That trend stayed very much on track during Thursday night’s NBA draft.
There were five trades in the first round, including The Big One: Chicago dealt Jimmy Butler and the draft rights to the 16th pick, Justin Patton, to Minnesota for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the rights for seventh pick, Lauri Markkanen.
Also tonight, Sacramento dealt the 10th pick to Portland, which used it to acquire Gonzaga big man Zach Collins. The Kings got two picks out of it - and took Justin Jackson and Harry Giles.
The Jazz made deals with the Nuggets and Lakers, though Utah’s biggest offseason issue will be trying to keep free agent Gordon Hayward from jetting out of town.
Silent, at least so far, were the Knicks, who began the day shopping disgruntled Kristaps Porzingis but were apparently asking too high a price.
Detroit was in the news with possible trades involving Andre Drummond. Nothing materialized, though coach Stan Van Gundy said he told the entire team: “I’ll never, ever say to anyone, ’Don’t worry, we’ll never trade you.’”
There were other notable trades earlier in the week before the draft began, including Atlanta sending Dwight Howard to Charlotte and the Lakers clearing cap room by shipping D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to Brooklyn.
And, of course, the biggest blockbuster came earlier this week when the Celtics traded the first overall pick to the Sixers, who used it to get Markelle Fultz.
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11:05 p.m.
It began with a flurry of freshmen and ended with a run on seniors.
The first round of the NBA draft is in the books. As expected, one-and-doners Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball led the way. Fultz went to the 76ers, and Ball went to the Lakers.
In all, the first seven and 12 of the first 14 picks were freshmen. A record 16 first-year players went overall.
Three of the freshmen came from Kentucky. Not surprisingly, Wildcats coach John Calipari was on hand to congratulate the future millionaires.
And while some people - among them, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver - may think the one-and-done system needs to be revamped, Calipari disagrees.
In an interview on ESPN, Calipari insisted “It’s not broken,” and said being selected in the NBA draft is the equivalent of putting a player on a so-called lifetime scholarship.
Not a single senior was selected in the first 28 picks, but that record-setting drought ended with a pair of four-year players going back-to-back. They were Derrick White of Colorado and Josh Hart of Villanova.
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10:25
So much for staying in school.
More than two dozen picks into Thursday night’s NBA draft and not one senior has been selected.
It could last a bit longer.
Derrick White (Colorado), Wesley Iwundu (Kansas State) and Josh Hart (Villanova) are among the seniors who could - emphasis could - go late in the first round.
The first seven picks in in the draft were freshmen, including Markelle Fultz, who was the No. 1 selection by the Philadelphia 7ers.
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9:25 p.m.
Kentucky won the lottery.
The 14 lottery picks in Thursday night’s NBA draft have been made, and there were three Wildcats selected.
Bam Adebayo was the last lottery pick; he went 14th to Miami, joining De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk in the NBA.
Duke had two players in the top 14, and nobody else placed more than one.
Twelve of the first 14 picks, including Adebayo, were one-and-doners.
That’s a trend that could slow down after this year.
The NCAA has never really liked it, and earlier this month, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the system as it’s currently constructed - where players can enter the draft after a year of college - is “not working for anyone.”
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8:40 p.m.
Frank Ntilikina saw his dream come true: He’s a top-10 pick in the NBA draft.
Now for the bad part: The French native, whose team is still playing in a championship series back home, was selected by the Knicks on Thursday night.
Of course, there’s still hope. The Knicks spent the day shopping disgruntled Kristaps Porzingis, and might still work some sort of deal.
For now, though, it’s Ntilikina to Knicks.
Most of the selections Thursday night seem to have fan approval. There have been more cheers than booing from the crowd in Brooklyn.
The record run on freshmen being selected has ended at seven. Though there will be more.
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8:15 p.m.
We’re up to five freshmen and counting at the NBA draft. The Sacramento Kings picked Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox with the fifth selection, which officially breaks the record of four straight freshmen to open the 2014 draft.
Don’t be surprised if the run on freshman keeps going through the top 10.
While there were no surprises among the top five selections, Chicago and Minnesota got the wheeling and dealing started in earnest.
The Bulls traded Jimmy Butler and their 16th pick to Minnesota for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the TimberWolves’ seventh pick, two people told The Associated Press.
Butler will be reunited with coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached him previously in Chicago.
(And don’t be shocked if the T’Wolves still make the seventh pick. The NBA has to officially approve all the deals.)
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8:05 p.m.
In the NBA draft’s first unscripted moment, the Boston Celtics took Jayson Tatum of Duke with the third pick.
Makelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball went 1-2, as expected in Thursday night. The Celtics, who traded the top pick to the Sixers and moved down to No. 3, went with the Duke guard, whose scoring ability fits what Boston needs.
It marks the fourth straight year the Blue Devils have produced a top-three pick.
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7:50 p.m.
For Markelle Fultz, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
In keeping with that theme, he showed off the inside of his grey suit jacket after the Philadelphia 76ers picked him first in Thursday night’s NBA draft.
There were about a dozen pictures of friends and family along with his slogan F2G, which means “Faithful to the Grind.”
Fultz said it’s the pictures of the things that mean the most to him.
After the 76ers selected Fultz, the Los Angeles Lakers took Lonzo Ball with the No. 2 pick.
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7:40 p.m.
The Philadelphia 76ers have selected guard Markelle Fultz with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
Fultz averaged 23.2 points last season at Washington, tops among freshmen, and added 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, the only Division I player to reach those stats. He walked across the stage Thursday night at Barclays Center wearing red sneakers made of basketballs.
The 76ers had the No. 1 pick for the second straight year after trading with the Boston Celtics on Monday. Now they add Fultz to a promising young core that includes Rookie of the Year finalists Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, plus Ben Simmons, the top pick from last year who sat out all season with a foot injury.
The Los Angeles Lakers have the second pick again and the Celtics moved down two spots to third after the deal with their Atlantic Division rivals.
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6:55 p.m.
To say Markelle Fultz had a bounce to his step isn’t such an understatement.
Fultz is the all-but-certain first pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft and wore shoes made of - what else? - basketballs to Barclays Center for the festivities.
The former Washington star had promised to make a shoe statement. He did manage to create a buzz.
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6:30 p.m.
Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball were front and center when all the expected top picks took their traditional photo before Thursday night’s NBA draft.
The 20 players invited to the green room at Barclays Center posed on stage about an hour before the telecast was to begin.
Fultz, who is expected to be taken with the No. 1 selection by the Philadelphia 76ers, stood in the middle of the front row holding a basketball and wearing a gray suit.
Ball, expected to be selected No. 2 to the Los Angeles Lakers, wore an all-black suit - as did his father, LaVar, who sat with his family at a table near the stage.
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6:15 p.m.
The plaza outside Barclays Center is decorated in green and blue - as in Celtics green and 76ers blue.
On a big night for both their teams, Boston and Philadelphia fans appear ready to pack the place for Thursday night’s NBA draft. The 76ers have the No. 1 overall pick; the Celtics have the third overall pick.
New York is conveniently located between both cities and 76ers fans have made the trip here frequently over the last couple years as their team has had high picks - including the No. 1 choice the last two years. The 76ers are expected to take Markelle Fultz with the first overall pick.
This year, there is also plenty of fans of the Celtics, who were slated to select first before dealing the pick to their Atlantic Division rivals on Monday.
The top pick could have belonged to the Nets, whose home arena hosts the draft. Brooklyn had the worst record in the league, but had to deal its pick to the Celtics as part of its remaining payment for the Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce trade.
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