Wearing an outfit that required courage Andrew Wiggins earned the title that was predicted since high school No. 1 overall NBA draft pick.
The Cavaliers made Wiggins the top overall pick Thursday choosing the raw and physically gifted forward over Jabari Parker the Duke forward who went second to the Bucks.
Wiggins the son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins shook hands with new NBA commissioner Adam Silver who emceed the opening round for the first time and stepped off the stage with his black and white floral suit jacket.
I'm hoping to come in and make an impact off the bat he said.
In some ways Wiggins was the favorite to be the No. 1 choice for years ever since he was recognized as a basketball phenomenon at 15. The Canadian who was dubbed a once in a generation talent by Sports Illustrated didn t quite live up to the hype in his lone season at Kansas while averaging 17.1 points and six rebounds on 45 percent shooting.
But his physical gifts including a 44 inch vertical jump were too much for the Cavs to pass up.
Parker had been angling to go to the Bucks who had the league s worst record last season and got his wish to play near his hometown of Chicago.
I get to represent both Chicago and Milwaukee he said.
Kansas center Joel Embiid once projected as the top pick in the draft and Cleveland s target fell to the Sixers at third overall because of injury concerns. The 20 year old underwent surgery on his right foot just a week ago after a fracture was discovered during his pre draft workouts.
Unfortunately this foot injury happened before the draft Embiid said.
Here's how the entire first round went down
1. Cavaliers Andrew Wiggins Kansas Shooting guard 6 8 For the second year in a row the Cavs took the Best Canadian Available except this one might be an actual superstar.
2. Bucks Jabari Parker Duke Small forward 6 8 Parker sent strong signals to the Cavs not to pick him allowing the Bucks to post their biggest W of the season.
3. 76ers Joel Embiid Kansas Center 7 0 One of the few things the Sixers do well is stockpile rookie centers who can t play due to injuries.
4. Magic Aaron Gordon Arizona Power forward 6 9 Your classic reach. Shawn Marion clone was projected to last until 8 10 range.
5. Jazz Dante Exum Australia Point guard 6 6 Exum says he s got a little Russell Westbrook a little Manu Ginobili and a little Tony Parker in his game. Jazz can only hope.
6. Celtics Marcus Smart Oklahoma State Point guard 6 3 Start the speculation about where Rajon Rondo is headed as C s take a competitor and defender to be Rondo s successor.
7. Lakers Julius Randle Kentucky Power forward 6 9 Kobe Bryant has to like Randle s talent but he s really more excited about bringing Carmelo Anthony to L.A. in free agency.
8. Kings Nik Stauskas Michigan Shooting guard 6 6 The way Stauskas can shoot we re thinking that Kings executive Chris Mullin must have given this pick his blessing.
9. Hornets Noah Vonleh Indiana Power forward 6 9 Here s a big time athlete for coach Steve Clifford and his rising Hornets.
10. 76ers Elfrid Payton La. Lafayette Point guard 6 4 The Sixers could have paired Payton with Michael Carter Williams. Instead they shipped him to Orlando for Dario Saric a top shooter.
11. Nuggets Doug McDermott Creighton Small forward 6 8 The Nuggets are shipping Anthony Randolph and this top shooter to Chicago. Though Bulls have a bigger talent in mind in Carmelo.
12. Magic Dario Saric Croatia SF PF 6 10 The Magic made a bold and necessary move to get a point guard by trading Saric to the Sixers and picking up Payton a Damian Lillard type.
13. Timberwolves Zach LaVine UCLA Shooting guard 6 6 Ricky Rubio will end up making a lot of lob passes for dunks to this high flyer. But the Kevin Love soap opera still has to be resolved.
14. Suns T.J. Warren N.C. State Small forward 6 8 Mentored by David West Warren is going to the right place. The Suns can score and Warren is the small forward they re looking for.
15. Hawks Adreian Payne Mich. State Power forward 6 10 To move up the East ladder the Hawks need to add some size to Paul Millsap. So it made a lot of sense to go for Payne a tough and physical player.
16. Bulls Jusuf Nurkic Croatia 6 11 Center Headed to Denver Nurkic didn t start playing until he was 14 just six years ago. He has a great motor and lots of potential as a scorer/ rebounder.
17. Celtics James Young Kentucky Shooting guard 6 7 The comparisons to Tracy McGrady are silly but the Celtics got a talented shooter. Now we ll see if they can run and put his talents to use.
18. Suns Tyler Ennis Syracuse Point guard 6 2 Ennis a Canadian is supposed to be on the move to the Raptors. He s undersized but showed Jim Boeheim he s not afraid to take a big shot.
19. Bulls Gary Harris Mich. State Shooting guard 6 4 Harris is going to the Nuggets with Nurkic as Denver netted the 16th and 19th picks for the No. 11 pick. We ll see if Nurkic actually plays.
20. Raptors Bruno Caboclo Brazil Small forward 6 9 Nobody had Caboclo going this high as 18 year old was seen strictly as a second rounder. He s more of a mystery than the rarely seen Exum.
21. Thunder Mitch McGary Michigan Power forward 6 10 This looks like another big draft move for GM Sam Presti. McGary is a Tyler Hansbrough type but with more skills.
22. Grizzlies Jordan Adams UCLA Shooting guard 6 5 When he excelled in workouts his stock skyrocketed to the first round. Should give Grizzlies some offense especially around the rim.
23. Jazz Rodney Hood Duke SG SF 6 8 The Jazz needed more frontcourt scoring so it was smart to grab Hood who was overshadowed by Jabari Parker.
24. Hornets Shabazz Napier UConn Point guard 6 1 The Heat is going to wind up with Napier in a trade and that will please LeBron James who praised the star of UConn s title run.
25. Rockets Clint Capela France Power forward 6 11 Capela a developing big man who needs to bulk up is expected to stay overseas. The Rockets are going for Carmelo anyway.
26. Heat P.J. Hairston North Carolina Shooting guard 6 4 The Heat will send Hairston up to Charlotte where fans know him all too well from when he was dismissed from the Tar Heels.
Mark Bonifacio Duke's Jabari Parker is taken No. 2 by the Bucks.27. Suns Bogdan Bogdanovic Serbia Shooting guard 6 6 It s highly doubtful that the Suns will have this shooter on their team next season. They want to stash him overseas.
28. Clippers C.J. Wilcox Washington Shooting guard 6 5 Doc Rivers went with a guy who actually went to college for four years The Clips hope that this athletic shooter can help at both ends.
29. Thunder Josh Huestis Stanford Small forward 6 7 Huestis started to catch the Thunder s eye when he helped lock down Andrew Wiggins in Stanford s NCAA tourney win over Kansas.
30. Spurs Kyle Anderson UCLA PF 6 9 The rich got richer. Anderson is a Spurs kind of player since he doesn t need to shoot the ball to contribute.
SECOND ROUND RESULTS
31. Milwaukee Damien Inglis f Roanne (France).
32. Philadelphia K.J. McDaniels f Clemson.
33. Cleveland (from Orlando) Joe Harris g Virginia.
34. New York (from Boston through Dallas) Cleanthony Early f Wichita State.
35. e Utah Jarnell Stokes f Tennessee.
36. Milwaukee (from L.A. Lakers via Minnesota and Phoenix) Johnny O Bryant III f LSU.
37. Toronto (from Sacramento) DeAndre Daniels f UConn.
38. Detroit Spencer Dinwiddie g Colorado.
39. Philadelphia (from Cleveland) Jerami Grant f Syracuse.
40. Minnesota (from New Orleans) Glenn Robinson III f Michigan.
41. Denver Nikola Jokic f Mega Vizura (Serbia).
42. Houston (from New York) Nick Johnson g Arizona.
43. Atlanta Walter Tavares c Gran Canarias (Spain).
Mark Bonifacio The 2014 NBA draft invitees smile for a photo.44. d Minnesota Markel Brown g Oklahoma State.
45. Charlotte Dwight Powell f Stanford.
46. Washington Jordan Clarkson g Missouri.
47. f Philadelphia (from Brooklyn via Dallas and Boston) Russ Smith g Louisville.
48. g Milwaukee (from Toronto via Phoenix) Lamar Patterson g Pittsburgh.
49. Chicago Cameron Bairstow c New Mexico.
50. Phoenix Alec Brown c Green Bay.
51. New York (from Dallas) Thanasis Antetokounmpo f Delaware (NBADL).
52. Philadelphia (from Memphis via Cleveland) Vasilije Micic g Mega Vizura (Serbia).
53. Minnesota (from Golden State) Alessandro Gentile f EA7 Armani (Italy).
54. Philadelphia (from Houston via Milwaukee) Nemanja Dangubic f Mega Vizura (Serbia).
55. c Miami Semaj Christon g Xavier.
56. h Denver (from Portland) Roy Devyn Marble f Iowa.
57. Indiana Louis Labeyrie f Paris Levallois (France).
58. San Antonio (from L.A. Clippers via New Orleans) Jordan McRae g Tennessee.
59. Toronto (from Oklahoma City via New York) Xavier Thames g San Diego State.
60. San Antonio Cory Jefferson f Baylor.
Proposed Trades c Charlotte and Miami traded the rights to selected players. d Minnesota traded rights to Brooklyn for $1 million. e Utah traded rights to Memphis for a 2016 second round draft pick. f Philadelphia traded rights to New Orleans for G Pierre Jackson. g Milwaukee traded rights to Atlanta for a future second round draft pick. h Denver traded rights and G Evan Fournier to Orlando for G Arron Afflalo.
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