NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers selected University of Washington guard Markelle Fultz with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night, bolstering the team’s young core by adding the 19-year-old playmaker.
The 76ers went all out to get their man, trading their third overall pick plus a future first-round pick to the Boston Celtics to secure the Maryland native.
Known for his all around offensive ability and athleticism, Fultz starred in his lone year at the University of Washington, averaging 23 points per game, along with more than five rebounds and five assists.
“It was unbelievable, really,” said Fultz when asked about the feeling of crossing the stage after being announced as top pick. “It was something out of a dream.”
The 6-foot-4 guard became the second consecutive No. 1 overall pick by Philadelphia, following forward Ben Simmons last year.
Fultz, Simmons and another recent Sixers high draft pick, Joel Embiid, form a promising young trio that could allow Philadelphia to rise from the lower depths of the league.
The Los Angeles Lakers used the second pick to select homegrown guard Lonzo Ball of UCLA, who led college basketball in assists.
At 6-foot-6, Ball plays a style that harkens back to the Showtime days of the Lakers, dishing off no-look passes, launching 3-pointers and finishing at the hoop with rim-jarring slam dunks.
Ball became the first high-profile draftee under the regime of new Lakers head of basketball operations Magic Johnson.
“It’s crazy, I couldn’t ask for anything more, to be able to learn from [Johnson] every day is truly a blessing,” Ball said.
Boston, the first team to trade the No. 1 pick before or during the first round of the draft in 24 years, used the third overall pick to add small forward Jayson Tatum of Duke, one of the most polished scorers in college basketball.
Phoenix selected versatile forward Josh Jackson from Kansas with the fourth choice before ultra quick point guard De’Aaron Fox of Kentucky was snapped up by the Sacramento Kings.
“Speed kills and you can’t teach it,” said Fox.
With the seventh pick the Minnesota Timberwolves claimed Lauri Markkanen of Finland, who played college ball at Arizona, but he may be headed to Chicago as part of a proposed trade for All-Star guard Jimmy Butler.
Another international player was tabbed next as the New York Knicks selected French guard Frank Ntilikina, a talented 18-year-old who has defensive skills to match a solid offensive game.
Moments before the Lakers made Ball the second pick, multiple outlets reported Butler was going to be dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Butler will be reportedly dealt for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the rights to Lauri Markkanen. Also going to Minnesota are the rights to Justin Patton, who was picked at No. 16 by the Bulls.
Butler was the 30th overall pick by the Bulls in 2011 out of Marquette. He averaged a career-high 23.9 points last season as the Bulls were 41-41 and qualified for the postseason as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Thibodeau coached Butler from 2011 to 2015 before being fired. He joined the Timberwolves last season with the dual title of coach and head of basketball operations.
Last season, the teams worked on a potential deal for Butler, but talks collapsed based on the belief that Chicago’s demands were too high. Instead, the Bulls dealt Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks for Robin Lopez and hoped to regain some of the success they experienced in Thibodeau’s tenure.
By obtaining Butler, the Timberwolves are taking on the final three seasons of the $95 million deal he signed after the 2014-15 season. They had approximately $24 million available on their salary cap after waiving injured center Nikola Pekovic on Tuesday.
LaVine is coming off a torn ACL but was showing steady improvement. Before getting hurt, LaVine shot 46 percent and averaged a career-high 18.9 points and shooting a career-best 45.9 percent.
Since entering the league as Minnesota’s first-round pick from UCLA in 2014, LaVine has averaged 13.7 points per game and shot 44.5 percent.
Dunn was Minnesota’s first-round pick last season and averaged 3.8 points on 37.7 percent shooting in 78 games.
Markanen averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in his only season at Arizona. The 7-footer became the highest-ever draft pick from Finland.
Patton averaged 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. The 7-footer shot 57.3 percent and was the Big East freshman of the year.