One day after going unselected in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, Kyle Filipowski has been moved to a new team.
The Jazz selected Filipowski, a Middletown, New York, native, with the 32nd overall pick in the second round of the draft on Thursday afternoon.
Filipowski’s first-round exit surprised many experts and even drew a response from superstar Jayson Tatum, who won an NBA title with the Celtics earlier this month.
“A lot of teams are regretting missing out on the flip.” Tatum wrote Early Thursday morning.
Video posted to social media showed Filipowski being comforted by a woman believed to be his fiancée, Caitlin Hutchison, in the backroom of Barclays Center on Wednesday night, his disappointment clear on his face.
If other teams end up regretting passing on the 20-year-old, as Tatum predicted, the Jazz likely won’t have any regrets after acquiring the Duke Blue Devils star.
Filipowski had a standout season at Duke, starting in 36 games and averaging 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds while also posting solid defensive averages of 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals.
There was speculation that Filipovskiy fell lower in the draft because of a poor interview and workout.
“People say the training wasn’t good.” ESPN’s Jonathan Givony said on “The Lowe Post” podcast this week. “There were question marks in the interviews. He was nervous. He didn’t make any shots at his pro day.”
However, that didn’t seem to be the case for the Jazz, who had two first-round picks on the first day of the draft and were already performing well.
Utah selected Colorado forward Cody Williams with the 10th overall pick, then USC point guard Isaiah Collier with the second pick in the first round.
