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Michigan has three players drafted in the lottery for first time in school history
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- Michigan has three players drafted in the lottery for first time in school history
This year's Michigan national championship team did something not even the famed Fab Five ever did:
Michigan had three players selected in the NBA Draft lottery for the first time in the school's history.
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NBA teams loved what they saw in Michigan last year. That started even before the draft, when Dallas poached the Wolverines' coach, hiring Dusty May away to take over the Mavericks.
Then, when it came time for May and Dallas
to step up on draft night and make a selection at No. 9, they went with Morez Johnson Jr.
, the defensive-minded 6'9" big man who shot up draft boards because of his energy on both ends of the floor.
Then at No. 11, the Golden State Warriors
selected Yaxel Lendeborg
, a perfect plug-and-play fit for a team that can't wait around for rookies to develop. Lendeborg is almost 24 and an incredibly polished player who is an elite defender and has proven he can be a finisher in and around the paint. He is exactly what the Warriors need.
One pick later at No. 12, the Oklahoma City Thunder
drafted Aday Mara — a 7'3" big body who needs to develop his shot and add some polish to his game, but whose size and physicality will come in handy. Especially when the Thunder face off against that team from San Antonio
and their center.
It's wild to think that the Fab Five or none of the other great Michigan teams ever had three players taken in the lottery, but only three other teams in all of college basketball have ever done this:
• 2005 North Carolina ( Marvin Williams , Raymond Felton , Sean May and Rashad McCants).
• 2007 Florida ( Al Horford , Corey Brewer , Joakim Noah , all in the top 10).
• 2019 Duke ( Zion Williamson , RJ Barrett , Cam Reddish ).
Three of the four teams that have done this — Michigan, North Carolina and Florida — each also won the national championship.
