Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) was chosen 53rd overall and in the second round of the NBA draft Thursday night. The Utah Jazz picked Tonje. Ironically, Tonje is pictured here during the 2024-25 NCAA tournament playing against Brigham Young, his final college game.
Saint JosephÃÛèÖÊÓÆµ Rasheer Fleming was the first pick of the NBA draftÃÛèÖÊÓÆµ second-round Thursday. Fleming was selected by Minnesota, but will compete for Phoenix as the Suns and Timberwolves had a trade for the player already arranged.
Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) drives on Michigan forward Will Tschetter (42) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Big Ten Conference tournament in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) looks to shoot a 3-point basket against Texas Rio Grande Valley during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) drives on Michigan forward Will Tschetter (42) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Big Ten Conference tournament in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) looks to shoot a 3-point basket against Texas Rio Grande Valley during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)
Wisconsin guard John Tonje (9) was chosen 53rd overall and in the second round of the NBA draft Thursday night. The Utah Jazz picked Tonje. Ironically, Tonje is pictured here during the 2024-25 NCAA tournament playing against Brigham Young, his final college game.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — 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 a second day wasn’t going to dampen his enthusiasm.
The Auburn All-American was taken by the Philadelphia 76ers with the No. 35 pick 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.â€
The NBA draft resumed Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn — though in a much smaller portion of it than was used Wednesday for the — with a trade and the deals kept coming throughout the second round.
The Phoenix Suns opened it by taking Rasheer Fleming after agreeing to acquire the pick earlier Thursday from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves still made the No. 31 selection, but Phoenix and Minnesota had worked out the swap a few hours earlier. Fleming became aware of the situation shortly before he was selected on his second trip to Barclays Center in two nights after attending the first round on Wednesday.
“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, itÃÛèÖÊÓÆµ kind of a crazy feeling. Not even kind of. Crazy feeling.â€
Saint JosephÃÛèÖÊÓÆµ Rasheer Fleming was the first pick of the NBA draftÃÛèÖÊÓÆµ second-round Thursday. Fleming was selected by Minnesota, but will compete for Phoenix as the Suns and Timberwolves had a trade for the player already arranged.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fleming, a forward from Saint JosephÃÛèÖÊÓÆµ, averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks last season, ranking in the top four in the Atlantic 10 in rebounds and blocks.
The Milwaukee Bucks selected Serbian forward Bogoljub Markovic, a 6-foot-11, 190-pound, 19-year-old, who played last year for Mega Basket in his home country of Serbia. He’ll need bulk on a lean frame but he offers intriguing perimeter skills and 3-point range.
The University of WisconsinÃÛèÖÊÓÆµ all Big Ten performer John Tonje as picked 53rd overall, by the Utah Jazz. Ironically, TonjeÃÛèÖÊÓÆµ final game of his college career was a loss to Brigham Young in the second round of the 2024-25 NCAA tournament.
Among the familiar names going early in the second round were Broome and Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, the four-time Big East defensive player of year, who was selected one pick earlier by Charlotte at No. 34.
The Mavericks, who Wednesday, did not have a selection when Round 2 began. They had the option to try to trade in and a number of other teams moved around as the draft went on.
The Lakers were one of them, agreeing to acquire the rights to Adou Thiero, the 36th pick from Arkansas. They will be required after sending out cash in the deal to stay below the second apron next season.
The league began with the two-night format last year, believing the event was ending too late when all 60 picks, along with approving trades, was being done in one night.
Teams like the new way, with the ability to catch their breathe and evaluate after the first round, but the players’ side don’t like the potential lengthy wait for players who are on the fringe of the first round but then have to wait another night if they tumble into the second.
The draft only goes to No. 59 this time, with the New York Knicks having been penalized their second-round selection for tampering by negotiating with Jalen Brunson too soon before eventually signing the guard away from Dallas in 2022.
The NBA points to the success of players such as Brunson, who became an All-NBA selection in New York, and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver when touting the types of difference-makers who could come out of the second round.
Maybe Broome could be one of those players. The runner-up to Flagg for The Associated Press menÃÛèÖÊÓÆµ college basketball national player of the year award was banged-up late in the season after leading the Tigers to the Final Four and that may have led to some poor testing at the NBA combine.
But Broome has felt he was an NBA player ever since his Morehead State team played against powerhouse Kentucky earlier in his career and he held his own. He believes he can do the same when he gets to camp with Joel Embiid and the 76ers.
“I’m excited for the first day I get in Philly,†Broome said.
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