Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] needed to wait longer than most expected at the 2024 NBA draft, but he finally found a new home on Thursday evening.
The Utah Jazz took the All-American 7-footer with the 32nd overall pick in the draft, the second selection of Thursday’s second round.
ESPN Analytics said Filipowski had more than a 70% chance to go during the first 30 picks on Wednesday, but some surprise selections left him on the board overnight. Fellow Duke alum Jayson Tatum shared that teams would regret making the talented forward wait after the final pick of the first round.
A former five-star prospect and the first commitment of the Jon Scheyer era, Filipowski won ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 2022-23 after he averaged 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds. While many expected him to be a first-round pick in last year’s draft, he instead opted to return to school for a second season with Scheyer.
All he did as a sophomore was average 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and make the All-ACC First Team squad. He also increased his assists to 2.8 per game and made nearly 35% of his 3-pointers.
Introducing your newest Jazzman, @kylefilipowski 🏔️💜#NBADraft pic.twitter.com/JRJhx8pc4r
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 27, 2024
Filipowski now gets to play alongside Lauri Markannen, another 7-footer he said he looked up to during the draft process. The Jazz star averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season.
Filipowski becomes the second Duke player drafted in this year’s class after Jared McCain went 16th overall to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.