Image Credit: SOURCE/NBA
June 27, 2013 - 6:34 PM
KAMLOOPS – Family and friends of Kamloops' own Kelly Olynyk did not have to wait long Thursday afternoon to see the 7' centre get taken in the National Basketball Association draft as he went 13th overall to the Dallas Mavericks.
Immediately after the announcement of the pick was made by the Mavericks the team announced they had traded Olynyk to the Boston Celtics for two second round picks.
Olynyk accumulated a number of titles and awards this year, being named All-American by several associations in addition to being named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He averaged nearly 18 points per game this past season, helping lead the Gonzaga Bulldogs to a 32-3 record. The team lost to Wichita State in the third round of the NCAA playoffs.
He announced in April he would be forgoing his final year of NCAA eligibility to enter the draft and has spent the last several weeks meeting with teams around the league in preparation for the draft. This week, mock drafts had Olynyk being drafted anywhere from 16th to 23rd in the first round.
Olynyk now joins the ranks of only a few other Canadians to get picked in the top-15 of any NBA Draft. Anthony Bennett of Toronto was chosen first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, making history as the highest drafted Canadian since the NBA started the draft in 1950. This was also the first time two Canadians have ever been picked in the lottery round of the draft.
Olynyk spent the evening watching the draft with close family and friends in Kamloops and then hosted an after-party at Cactus Jacks.
Credit: Jon Shephard via Facebook
Celebrating the NBA drafting of local lad, and all around good guy, Kelly Olynyk to the Boston Celtics! As you can tell, it's a very happy group of friends and family when he's announced first as the Dallas draft pick, and then announced as a trade to the Celtics!
To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.
This story was updated at 7:33 a.m. June 28, 2013 to add information about the trade to the Boston Celtics and more statistics.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013