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An inside look at draft night s broader storylines and surprise picks, as well as a few back-room rumors and nuggets of insight from SI s draft expert.
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Australian teenager Josh Giddey has come a long way in the past year, so as his name was called by the Oklahoma City Thunder as the sixth overall pick in Friday’s NBA draft he took a moment and hugged his loved ones.
Part of that was to celebrate the achievement but the other part was to signify his life and basketball career is set to go in an exciting new direction, starting with NBA Summer League in Las Vegas from August 9-18.
Josh Giddey on stage with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after hearing his name read out for the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft.
NBA Draft 2021 Presented by State Farm®: by The Numbers
By Sentinel News Service
NBA Draft 2021 presented by State Farm
® will take place on Thursday, July 29 at 8 p.m. ET at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. ABC will televise the first round of the NBA Draft for the first time, and ESPN will air both rounds. Twenty draft prospects are scheduled to attend and have their once-in-a-lifetime experience on the biggest stage.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum will announce the selections for the first and second rounds, respectively.
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History
4 – Since the NBA Draft Lottery began in 1985,
Oklahoma City Thunder take Aussie guard Josh Giddey at No. 6
By MURRAY EVANSJuly 30, 2021 GMT
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) For the second time in five years, the Oklahoma City Thunder went Down Under to find a first-round pick in the NBA draft, taking Josh Giddey at No. 6 on Thursday night.
The 18-year-old Giddey, a 6-foot-8 guard from Melbourne, Australia, attended the NBA Global Academy in 2019-20 and played last season for the Adelaide 36ers in Australia’s National Basketball League. He was named the league’s rookie of the year after averaging 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and a league-best 7.6 assists per game.
He already has an Oklahoma connection: His sister, Hannah Giddey, is a 6-foot-1 forward headed into her sophomore season at Oral Roberts in Tulsa, about 100 miles from Oklahoma City. Giddey called it a “dream situation” to be able to play so close to his sister.