NEW YORK (AP) — Follow the developments from Thursday’s NBA draft at the Barclays Center:
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Cam Whitmore waited and waited and waited. And more than two hours after the NBA draft started, his name was finally called.
Whitmore went to Houston with the number 20 on Thursday night. He was projected as a lottery pick — even a top 10 pick — throughout much of the pre-draft process.
He averaged 12.5 points at Villanova in his lone college season and was the Big East Freshman of the Year.
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What you need to know:
— The emotional Victor Wembanyama becomes No. 1 in the NBA draft to the Spurs
— Hornets, Michael Jordan makes Brandon Miller the second overall choice
— Scoot Henderson rounds out the top-3 pickson the way to Portland
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Jett Howard is now officially following in his father’s footsteps. He was selected by the Orlando Magic on Thursday night, going 11th overall.
He is the son of NBA champion Juwan Howard, now coaching at Michigan. Jett Howard played for his father last season.
Juwan Howard was the No. 5 pick in the 1994 draft.
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Victor Wembanyama was right. Bilal Coulibaly was a top-10 pick in the NBA draft.
Coulibaly was chosen as No. 7 on Thursday night; the pick was made by Indiana, amid reports of it being sent to the Washington Wizards. Coulibaly spent last season with Boulogne-Levallois of the French league – with Wembanyama in the same team.
Wembanyama, San Antonio’s No. 1, lobbied for Coulibaly to be a top-5 pick.
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The NBA draft just came together, making it back to back.
Amen Thompson went No. 4 to Houston and his twin brother Ausar Thompson went No. 5 to Detroit. It’s the first time Twins went in the top 10 in the same NBA draft.
The brothers played for the Overtime Elite program this past season.
There are almost enough twins in the NBA right now for a full roster now that Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson were drafted Thursday night.
This past season there was Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez, Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris, Caleb Martin and Cody Martin, along with Julian Champagnie and Justin Champagnie.
Kris Murray of Iowa is also expected to be drafted Thursday; he is the twin of Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray.
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Scoot Henderson believes he should have been the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. He has to settle for being No. 3.
He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night, behind Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio and Brandon Miller of Alabama.
And now it’s time to see what longtime Portland star Damian Lillard does — and whether the selection of another point guard will make him think about requesting a change of scenery.
Henderson spent the last two seasons with the G League Ignite, preparing for life in the NBA that way instead of going the traditional college route.
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Charlotte offered the first intrigue of the NBA draft: Brandon Miller is going to the Hornets at No. 2 over Scoot Henderson.
Miller is considered the best wing in the draft and was the SEC Player of the Year at Alabama in his lone college season.
He raised some eyebrows at the draft Wednesday when he said he doesn’t consider Michael Jordan — the Hornets owner who is selling the majority stake — to be the greatest player of all time, saying he ranks Paul George in that regard.
There are also Miller’s ties to a significant off-court issue: A murder case that led to former Tide player Darius Miles and another man being indicted on capital murder charges. A police investigator testified in February that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun that night. Miller has not been charged with wrongdoing.
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It’s finally official. Victor Wembanyama is going to the San Antonio Spurs.
Wembanyama is the number 1 pick in this year’s draft, as has been expected for many months. The Spurs took the French teenager, who is listed at 7-foot-4, with the first overall selection.
This is the third time the Spurs had the top overall selection. They selected David Robinson in 1987 and Tim Duncan in 1997. Both of these players became NBA champions and members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
And Wembanyama will follow in their footsteps now. He instantly becomes the centerpiece of San Antonio’s hopes of returning to the postseason and starting to contend for titles again. The Spurs have won five championships under coach Gregg Popovich, with the last in 2014.
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There is no debate at No. 1. Victor Wembanyama will be No. 1 in the draft.
The intrigue at No. 2 will go down to the wire. As of 7:40 PM Eastern, or about 30 minutes before the election, Brandon Miller was the significant favorite according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Scoot Henderson was the second choice in these odds.
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The players have arrived at the Barclays Center for the NBA draft. And as always, the preshow was a fashion show.
Soon-to-be No. 1 Victor Wembanyama wore a green suit and a special necklace and told ESPN the stone appealed to him because it was unusual — not expensive. “I don’t care about wearing expensive things,” he said.
UCF’s Taylor Hendricks wore a pink suit, the jacket lined with images representing his journey to the NBA and some of the people who mean the most to him.
And there was a lot of glitter. Kansas’ Gradey Dick showed up in a dazzling red jacket, and Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite wore black with lots of accent stones in designs chosen by his family.
Players arrived, by bus from their hotel, several hours before 20.00 start for the draft, which can be seen on ABC or ESPN and streamed on ESPN’s website and app.
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