Johni Broome is like most basketball players, dreaming of being drafted as a kid and then working hard enough to make it possible.
So the fact that it didn’t happen until the second round and second day of this year’s NBA Draft wasn’t going to dampen his enthusiasm.
The All-American center from Auburn University was taken by the Philadelphia 76ers with the No. 35 overall selection on Thursday night, five picks into the second round.
“Being here, this is probably the most exciting moment of my life so far,” Broome said. “As a kid you always want to be drafted, hear your name called, put on the hat. So kind of going through the moment, I don’t know, it just feels surreal.”
The NBA Draft resumed Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn – although in a much smaller portion of the venue than the area used on Wednesday for the first round – with the trades and deals continuing to flow throughout the second evening.
The round opened with Rasheer Fleming going to the Phoenix Suns, who agreed earlier in the day to acquire his rights from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Fleming became aware of the draft-and-swap situation shortly before he was selected on his second trip to Barclays Center in two nights, after also attending the first round.
“It was a long day now that I think about it,” Fleming said. “But like everything has happened so fast, like, this was a great experience. Like, it’s kind of a crazy feeling. Not even kind of. Crazy feeling.”
Fleming, a forward from Saint Joseph’s University, averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks last season, ranking in the top four in the Atlantic 10 Conference in both rebounds and blocks.
Other familiar names going early in the second round included Broome and Creighton University center Ryan Kalkbrenner, a four-time Big East Conference Defensive Player of Year, who was selected one spot earlier by the Charlotte Hornets at No. 34.
The Los Angeles Lakers reached a deal with the Brooklyn Nets to acquire the rights to Adou Thiero, the 36th pick from the University of Arkansas. They will be hoping the 21-year-old forward develops quickly after sending out cash in the exchange, to stay below the second salary cap apron next season.
This year’s NBA Draft only went to 59 players, with the New York Knicks having their second-round selection removed as part of a tampering penalty for negotiating with Jalen Brunson too soon, before eventually signing the guard away from the Dallas Mavericks in 2022.
NBA Draft resumes in second round with trades, early picks by teams
