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Kansas basketball’s Hunter Dickinson lands with West team after NBA draft
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- Kansas basketball’s Hunter Dickinson lands with West team after NBA draft
The post Kansas basketball's Hunter Dickinson lands with West team after NBA draft appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Kansas basketball 's Hunter Dickinson landed with a team from the Western Conference after going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft. The Jayhawks' center had a decorated college career. Dickinson, who transferred to Lawrence after three years at Michigan, has been a five-time all-conference selection and a three-time All-American.
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The double-double machine possesses a polished post game and is an elite rebounder with the skill set to contribute to an NBA team right away. Dickinson was not selected in this year's draft, but has quickly found a home on the professional level. According to Senior NBA Insider for ESPN Shams Charania, the star center has agreed to a two-way deal with the New Orleans Pelicans .
Kansas basketball is in somewhat of a rebuild, with basically all of the key contributors from last year's season. Bill Self has not made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since winning the national championship in 2022. The Jayhawks added several talented players this offseason, but are not currently projected to be a title contender, unlike in years past.
The Big 12 is a whole new conference than it was a few years ago. Houston is the new top dog, having won the conference the past two seasons. In Big 12 play, five teams finished with better records than the Jayhawks, including the Cougars, Iowa State, Arizona, BYU, and Iowa State. Several of those programs are expected to be as good, if even more improved, in 2025. It's not going to be easy for Kansas basketball to win its 17th regular-season title under Self, but the Jayhawks' head coach is in the Hall of Fame for a reason.
Overall, while Dickinson didn't get the opportunity to hear his name called, he's with a team that provides him with a chance to compete for minutes. On the current depth chart, Yves Missi and Derik Queen would presumably be ahead of Hunter on the depth chart. Still, there's plenty of time for the Alexandria, Virginia native to earn a spot in the rotation, especially when considering the dismal injury history the Pelicans have had over the past few years.
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Dickinson will now turn his attention to the Summer League, where he will face a lot of the players he thrived against in college. It's time for the 24-year-old to seize this opportunity. Hunter should be as motivated as ever going into Las Vegas, as both he and the Jayhawks have a lot of doubters to prove wrong in 2025.
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