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The University of Utah Athletics
Kyle Kuzma Taken 27th Overall in 2017 NBA Draft
6/22/2017 9:19 PM | Men's Basketball
Former forward becomes third consecutive first-round pick out of Utah in last three seasons
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – University of Utah men's basketball forward Kyle Kuzma became the 44th player in school history to be taken in the NBA Draft after the Brooklyn Nets selected him with the 27th overall pick in the first-round Thursday evening at the Barclay Center.
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Kuzma's draft rights were later sent to the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade.
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With Kuzma selected in the 2017 NBA Draft, Utah becomes the only school from the Pac-12 to have had at least one player selected in the draft the past three seasons. Kuzma now joins Delon Wright (2015) and Jakob Poeltl (2016), who were both selected by the Toronto Raptors, respectively.
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This marks the seventh time in school history since 1958 that Utah has had a player selected in three consecutive seasons – the first since 1998-2000 when Michael Doleac was selected 12th overall in 1998, Andre Miller went 8th overall in 1999 and Hanno Mottola was taken in the second round (40th overall) in 2000.
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This is the first time since 1997-99 that Utah has had a player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in three consecutive seasons. The last time it happened, Keith Van Horn went second overall in 1997, followed by the selections of Doleac (1998) and Miller (1999).
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Kuzma is the 12th Utah player overall to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. Along with Van Horn, Doleac, Miller, Wright and Poeltl, Kuzma also joins the likes of Billy McGill (1962), Jerry Chambers (1966), Mike Sojourner (1974), Danny Vranes (1981), Tom Chambers (1981) and Andrew Bogut (2005) as first round picks.
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Kuzma was the fifth Pac-12 Conference player selected in the first round at the time of his selection. He would go on to be one of a total of six Pac-12 selections in the first round, marking the most first round selections for the conference (in two-round format) since 2014.
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A first-team all-region and all-Pac-12 selection this past season, Kuzma led the Utes and ranked fourth among conference players with 16.9 points per game, while also averaging a team-best 9.2 rebounds per game. He was fifth in the league with 2.8 offensive boards, while his 6.5 defensive rebounds ranked fourth overall.
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Kuzma was a double-double machine for the Utes this past season, collecting a total of 15 double-doubles on the year, which ranks tied for third-most among Utah players over the past 13 years.
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In three seasons with the Utes, Kuzma recorded 966 points and a 10.1 points-per-game average, while shooting .506 (372-of-735) from the field. He totaled 532 rebounds (5.5/game), 141 assists, 35 blocks and 31 steals.
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Kuzma's draft rights were later sent to the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade.
Â
With Kuzma selected in the 2017 NBA Draft, Utah becomes the only school from the Pac-12 to have had at least one player selected in the draft the past three seasons. Kuzma now joins Delon Wright (2015) and Jakob Poeltl (2016), who were both selected by the Toronto Raptors, respectively.
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This marks the seventh time in school history since 1958 that Utah has had a player selected in three consecutive seasons – the first since 1998-2000 when Michael Doleac was selected 12th overall in 1998, Andre Miller went 8th overall in 1999 and Hanno Mottola was taken in the second round (40th overall) in 2000.
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This is the first time since 1997-99 that Utah has had a player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in three consecutive seasons. The last time it happened, Keith Van Horn went second overall in 1997, followed by the selections of Doleac (1998) and Miller (1999).
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Kuzma is the 12th Utah player overall to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. Along with Van Horn, Doleac, Miller, Wright and Poeltl, Kuzma also joins the likes of Billy McGill (1962), Jerry Chambers (1966), Mike Sojourner (1974), Danny Vranes (1981), Tom Chambers (1981) and Andrew Bogut (2005) as first round picks.
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Kuzma was the fifth Pac-12 Conference player selected in the first round at the time of his selection. He would go on to be one of a total of six Pac-12 selections in the first round, marking the most first round selections for the conference (in two-round format) since 2014.
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A first-team all-region and all-Pac-12 selection this past season, Kuzma led the Utes and ranked fourth among conference players with 16.9 points per game, while also averaging a team-best 9.2 rebounds per game. He was fifth in the league with 2.8 offensive boards, while his 6.5 defensive rebounds ranked fourth overall.
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Kuzma was a double-double machine for the Utes this past season, collecting a total of 15 double-doubles on the year, which ranks tied for third-most among Utah players over the past 13 years.
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In three seasons with the Utes, Kuzma recorded 966 points and a 10.1 points-per-game average, while shooting .506 (372-of-735) from the field. He totaled 532 rebounds (5.5/game), 141 assists, 35 blocks and 31 steals.
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It's official @kylekuzma heading to the @lakers! #GoUtes #UtesInTheNBA pic.twitter.com/wEdbwSLhf9
— Utah Basketball (@Runnin_Utes) June 23, 2017
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