One day after Jared McCain’s first 20-point NBA Summer League game, his former Duke teammate accomplished the same feat in Las Vegas.
The Duke basketball rookie class can’t stop turning heads in Las Vegas during the NBA Summer League.
In a Wednesday night game against Toronto, 7-footer [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] put together his first 20-point performance in an NBA uniform. He also added seven rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a block during the 86-76 victory.
The former Blue Devil won ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 2022-23 before making the somewhat surprising decision to return for his sophomore year. He averaged 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds, earning Second Team All-American honors and helping Duke to the Elite Eight.
After ESPN Analytics said there was more than a 70% chance for Filipowski to get drafted in the first round last month, he ended up lasting until the second day before the Jazz took him with the 32nd pick.
Filipowski scored 13 points in his previous Summer League outing, an 82-70 loss to Sacramento that included five rebounds and two assists.
No. 32 pick Kyle Filipowski DOMINATED in Vegas as the @utahjazz pulled out the win!
The former Blue Devils 7-footer and Utah’s second-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft got on the board during the Jazz’s game against Oklahoma City (the same team McCain played during Philadelphia’s first game). During the third quarter, teammate Taevion Kinsey lofted the ball up toward the rim before Filipowski slammed the ball down with both hands and some additional authority.
The rookie finished the game with four points, five rebounds, and a pair of assists after playing a little under 20 minutes. The Jazz lost the game, 98-75.
Filipowski tumbled into the second round despite winning the ACC Rookie of the Year award in 2022-23 and coming back for a Second Team All-American season in 2023-24. He averaged 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game during his final season with the Blue Devils.
The No. 32 pick Kyle Filipowski finishes the alley-oop for his first Summer League points!
Caleb Foster will be one of two returning starters in Durham for the 2024-25 season. Check out the best photos from his freshman season here.
[autotag]Caleb Foster[/autotag]’s freshman season got overshadowed by [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag], a five-star prospect who became a first-round draft pick after multiple 30-point games.
That doesn’t mean Foster should be taken for granted by Blue Devils fans, however. The in-state talent’s debut campaign ended early after a stress fracture in his ankle, but he still ended the 2023-24 season with 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He made more than 40% of his 3-point attempts, and he started in 15 of his 27 appearances.
However, Foster and Tyrese Proctor stuck around, and Foster seems poised to take over as one of the leaders of the team during his sophomore season. He’s even gotten NBA draft hype for next year thanks to his 6-foot-5 frame and early prowess as a ball handler.
Here are the best photos from his first season with the Blue Devils.
The Utah Jazz unveiled their 2024 Summer League squad on Tuesday, and Kyle Filipowski and Armando Bacot will need to play together.
Duke basketball fans will need to get used to a strange sight during the upcoming NBA Summer League season: [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] and Armando Bacot sharing the basketball court in the same jersey.
Bacot also revealed on a Tuesday podcast episode that he grew up rooting for the Blue Devils, citing Jahlil Okafor and Jabari Parker as his favorite players growing up.
After taking former Duke basketball star Kyle Filipowski in the NBA draft, the Utah Jazz signed his UNC rival Armando Bacot.
After two years and four intense battles on opposite sides of the biggest rivalry in college basketball, [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] and [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] might need to learn to get along.
Bacot spent five seasons with the Tar Heels and played 169 games for the program, including 10 regular-season battles with the Blue Devils. He also helped defeat Duke in the Final Four back in 2022, the last game of Mike Krzyzewski’s legendary career, when he pulled down 21 rebounds during a single game.
Filipowski only spent the last two years in Durham. He and the Blue Devils swept Bacot and the Tar Heels in 2022-23, the first year of the Jon Scheyer era, before UNC took both games last season.
The Utah Jazz are signing Armando Bacot to an Exhibit 10 contract, League Sources tell The Athletic. Bacot is a 6-10 big out of North Carolina. He had been one of the best players in college basketball
Filipowski averaged 20.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in his four collegiate games against Bacot, including three 20-point performances and one double-double.
However, when the Utah Jazz finally called his name on Thursday afternoon, he did have a bonus for his patience. He’ll get to play alongside Lauri Markkanen.
The Finnish 7-footer has been in the league since 2017 and was named the Most Improved Player in 2022-23 after he averaged 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game in his first season with Utah. He made the All-Star Game for the first time that season as well.
We aren’t singling him out because he’s a good mentor for Filipowski, however. We’re singling him out because Filipowski already did so himself. In an interview with The Athletic ahead of the draft, the former Duke star mentioned Markkanen and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic as players he watches a lot on film.
“There’s a lot of bigs now that are starting to become more versatile,” he said about the duo, two 7-footers with ball-handling skills he can emulate.
After having an unexpected sleep before he heard his name called, former Blue Devil Kyle Filipowski finally found an NBA home on Thursday.
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.
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.
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.
Kyle Filipowski is a Duke big man who is ready to dribble, pass, and shoot in the NBA.
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published June 4, 2024.
Duke Blue Devils star Kyle Filipowski is a talented, versatile big man who can help space the floor and impact winning at the next level.
Filipowski is widely considered one of the top players at his position in this class. After averaging 16.4 points with 8.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as a sophomore, he was named as a consensus second-team All-American.
He told For The Win during a recent video interview that he has the unique ability as a big man who can dribble, pass, and shoot.
“It gives teams a lot to do with me. I’m very adaptable. I’m very coachable,” Filipowski said. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’m going to be able to do it just because of that uniqueness in my skills.”
The former Duke star measured just short of 6-foot-11 in socks at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine. His shuttle run (2.93 seconds) was near the best among all players at his position.
“I’m very disciplined with what I need to be doing in order to take my body to the next level in order to play at the NBA stage,” Filipowski explained. “I’m excited for the spacing just to expand my range on 3-pointers because I know that’s going to help a lot with my passing and my facilitating as well if I get that more dangerous for teams.”
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Watch Episode 2 of Prospect Park, a video series featuring future NBA players brought to you by USA TODAY Sports and For The Win:
How helpful will it be to have a fully healthy offseason?
That’s going to be huge. Like you said, right after we lost in the tournament my freshman year at Duke, I got double bilateral hip surgery two weeks later, if that. That was a really hard decision for me to make because I knew I wasn’t going to have an offseason to develop and take off but ultimately, it was the best decision for me because now I’m feeling fantastic with where my body is at and I’m super excited to now have that offseason to get stronger and just work on my body even more now. Even now, every day, my body is getting better than it was. It’s not even at its full peak yet. So having this full offseason is going to be huge for me and I’m looking forward to it.
What should NBA teams know about you?
I’m not even at my fullest potential. I’m not even at my best yet. That comes with physicality and my skill set, of course. I think a lot of players can say that but for me, my upside is a whole lot more because of that hip surgery. I’m still getting better from that every day. So the strides and leaps I can take with that, they’ll get a guy that is going to be a dangerous player that loves competing and loves playing the game. Those are the biggest things for me.
How does your basketball IQ impact winning?
I’m a big learner of the game. I love watching basketball. I love watching the playoffs right now and seeing and reading all of these things that players are doing. It’s just so exciting for me. I know what I’m capable of and obviously college is a whole different style of play than the NBA and I feel like my style of play suits the NBA so much better. With that IQ coming into play, being able to facilitate and with the spacing and just reading and reacting, the defense will be so much easier in my opinion with my IQ.
What is your ideal role in the NBA?
I think what I love to do is just space the floor. I think that opens up a lot for myself and for my teammates. Starting on the perimeter, that gives me the ability to drive the ball and kick it out to the shooters or even pass it off to the five man like a Dereck Likely. Doing that at my size and also being able to space the floor and let the five man go to work inside or let the guards attack and facilitate, and they don’t have to worry about an extra defender because my defender will stay on me because of my 3-point ability as well. That’s the kind of stuff I’m looking forward to.
What are some of your goals?
Definitely going right into this year is Rookie of the Year. I don’t think that’s out of my reach at all. If I should play the way I’m capable of, there is no question I should be in that conversation. But ultimately, wherever I go, I just want to help that team win. Winning is the most important thing for me and I know that with what comes with that is those individual accolades and just being able to do that and work for those types of goals is very important to me.
How would you rate your competitiveness?
I would say an 11 out of 10. I’m so competitive when it comes to playing and winning. I never want to lose and if I fall short, I’ll go right back at it. So just bringing that competitiveness and that personality to a team will be big. That’s just something that makes me such a special player.
How would you describe your personality?
I would say it’s a very joyful but passionate person. Obviously, if you do the right things playing in a competitive game, you can get me fired up. But at the same time, just being a very joyful guy and enjoying the process and embracing it all because this is what I love to do every day.
Duke places five first rounders in way-too-early mock draft from 247Sports.
With the first round of the 2024 NBA draft having come and gone, 247Sports and many other outlets are already turning their attention to next year. Many NBA franchises are also doing the same thing since the 2025 NBA draft is shaping to be one of the most star-studded drafts in recent memory.
Even with one round left in this year’s draft, 247Sports believes Duke will have more than one first-rounder next year if their way-too-early 2025 mock draft is any indication.
There’s a plethora of legit franchise-changing options, and it has the potential to be one of the best crops of draft talent in many years. Where the 2024 draft lacked the high-end superstar type of talent, 2025 makes up for that abundance.
At number one to the Brooklyn Nets, [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] still stands tall. He’s as generational a prospect as Duke has had in the one-and-done era, and the hype will need to be realized this fall when Duke takes the court. His blend of size, athleticism, defensive prowess, and competitiveness has carried him through the prep ranks, but now he’ll have to show he can be the guy on college basketball’s biggest brand in an attempt to lead Duke to its sixth national title.
[autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] is slated to go fifth overall to the Utah Jazz. The 7-footer’s blend of size, length, rim protection, and evolving offensive game, which sees him consistently shooting from a distance, makes him an incredibly enticing center prospect.
[autotag]Caleb Foster[/autotag] received major love in this mock draft. After not being on NBA radars last season as a freshman, there seems to be some major momentum to Foster’s stock, and some in the NBA community are taking notice. Foster has terrific size for a guard prospect, standing at 6-foot-5, and he can play on and off the ball while shooting 40% from 3-point range. His home at Duke this year will be more off the ball as a potent scoring option for Duke while Tyrese Proctor continues to handle the point guard role primarily.
He can shoot and handle the ball and showed how much of a slasher he can be with Duke. Because of the shooting they brought in during the offseason, they will likely spread the court much better, opening up driving lanes galore. This mock has him going to New Orleans with the 14th pick and joining former Blue Devils Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.
[autotag]Isaiah Evans[/autotag] was picked to land with the Memphis Grizzlies at the 16th pick in this exercise. His length is a problem for defenders at 6-foot-7, and while many compare him to the previously mentioned Ingram, they only share an ability to score and similar collegiate body shapes. Duke has slim players who need to add mass, but Evans is as fiery as they come on the court. He’s a confident player with a dazzling offensive package. He will be asked to be a sparkplug off the bench for Jon Scheyer’s team this year.
The final first-rounder for Duke in this mock draft is [autotag]Kon Kneuppel[/autotag], and he may be the most unknown to Duke fans. While he probably won’t start this year, Knueppel feels like an important player off the bench for the Blue Devils. He is not the most athletic player Duke will play this year, but he’s tough, understands basketball at a high level, and does everything well, especially on the court. He can shoot at a high clip and pass, and at 6-foot-6, he has the size and physicality to bang down low and rebound, too. He was mocked to the current defending champion, Boston Celtics, with the 30th and final pick of the fist round and would play alongside [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag].
Noticeably, Proctor was not named in this mock draft. Proctor’s stock has taken a hit since his freshman year. Still, there’s reason to believe that the Australian can resuscitate his draft stock with a Wendell Moore-like jump as a junior and potentially sneak himself back into consideration.
Kyle Filipowski sat through the first round of the NBA draft without hearing his name called. One NBA star said that was a mistake.
Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] sat and waited on Wednesday night.
The 7-footer seemed like a sure bet for the first 30 selections. ESPN Analytics put his chances of getting picked on Wednesday between 70% and 80%. Still, 30 selections came and went, and there Filipowski sat. ESPN’s player tracker called him the second-best player left on the board.
One former Blue Devil thinks the NBA just made a big mistake.
[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag], who just won his first championship with the Boston Celtics, shared a short message to X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) after the draft concluded.
“Lot of teams gone regret passing up on Flip,” Tatum wrote.
If anyone knows what it takes to succeed in the NBA, it’s Tatum. He may already be the best Blue Devil in NBA history at just 26 years old, making the First Team All-NBA squad in each of the past three seasons before winning the Finals with the Celtics this year.
Filipowski, a former five-star recruit, won the ACC Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2022-23. He decided to return to school for a sophomore season, and he one-upped himself by making the Second Team All-American squad.
