Duke star Kyle Filipowski heard his name announced as part of the 2024 NBA draft. Filipowski, a 7-footer who played two seasons with the Blue Devils, was taken with the 32nd overall pick by the Utah Jazz.
The NBA took it on a new dimension this year, splitting the draft into two days, with the first round held Wednesday night and the second round on Thursday.
Filipowski was among the two players, along with Kansas forward Johnny Furphy, invited to the NBA’s green room for the first round but was not picked.
He was picked right after University of San Francisco center Jonathan Mogbo, who was taken 31st overall by the Toronto Raptors, to kick off the second round.
Furphy needed to wait a few more selections, but the Australian was eventually picked by the Indiana Pacers, who traded up one spot with the San Antonio Spurs to nab the 35th pick. The Pacers used this selection on Furphy, a versatile forward who shot 36% last season at Kansas.
The Spurs then took Juan Nunez, a Spanish point guard, with the 36th pick, making him the first among the 10 players who traveled to ESPN’s Seaport studios for Thursday’s second round to see themselves selected.
The fact that the second round was held on its own day represented a significant change for the NBA and its teams. Before then, the second round followed immediately after the first on draft night, often resulting in a hectic pace with teams scrambling to keep track of picks and line up undrafted players and two-way contract signings.
In addition to being on a separate day, the second round this year featured four minutes between each pick, as opposed to the two minutes that were previously standard. The 18-hour gap between the end of the first round and the start of the second gave teams time to discuss potential trades and reshape their rosters.
A lot of trades happened in the hours before Thursday’s event. The Raptors traded forward Jalen McDaniels to the Sacramento Kings for forward Sasha Vezenkov, guard Davion Mitchell, and the 45th pick. The Golden State Warriors traded the 52nd pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guard Lindy Waters III.
The Houston Rockets acquired guard AJ Griffin from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the 44th overall selection.
