Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] officially signed his first NBA contract on Monday, the Utah Jazz announced.
The Jazz took the 7-foot forward in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft. The team didn’t release the terms of the agreement.
The 2022-23 ACC Rookie of the Year surprised many in the college basketball world when he elected to return to the Blue Devils for a second season, but he certainly stepped his game up in year two. Filipowski averaged more than 16 points and eight rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2023-24, making the All-ACC First Team and earning Second Team All-American honors.
Despite ESPN Analytics thinking he had more than a 70% chance to get drafted within the first 30 picks, he needed to wait overnight before the Jazz took him off the board with the second pick of the second round.
He played eight games for the Jazz during the NBA Summer League, averaging 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steals per game to cement his spot on the roster.
We have signed center/forward Kyle Filipowski ✍️https://t.co/iW85KQgwv2#TakeNote
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) August 12, 2024
He and former Duke teammate Jared McCain actually played against each other in one Summer League game, and McCain told a story about trying to box out Filipowski for a rebound on The Brotherhood Podcast.