Who Was The First Pick In The 2019 Nba Draft?

Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and RJ Barrett were the top three picks in the 2019 NBA draft. Zion Williamson was the first pick, drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans.

Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson was the first pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and is widely considered to be one of the best players in the draft. Williamson is a physical freak that is 6’7″, 285 pounds, and can run the floor like a deer. He is an unbelievable athlete that can jump out of the gym and is a human highlight reel.

Williamson’s college career

As a freshman at Duke, Williamson played 27 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, shooting 68.0 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from three-point range. Williamson was named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year, and AP College Basketball Player of the Year.

Prior to his injury, Williamson was considered the favorite to be the number one overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. After missing nearly six weeks due to his injury, Williamson returned for Duke’s final three regular season games and one game in the ACC tournament. In his first game back, he scored 28 points in a victory over Syracuse. In total, Williamson averaged 21 points and 9 rebounds per game during his freshman season while shooting 63 percent from the field.

Williamson’s professional career

On April 11, 2019, Williamson declared for the 2019 NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility. On May 14, he hired agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group. He was widely projected as the consensus first overall pick in the draft, and was subsequently selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the first overall pick.

Williamson made his professional debut on October 22, 2019, scoring 22 points in a 149–123 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in the Pelicans’ season opener. In doing so, Williamson became the youngest player in NBA history to score 20 or more points in their debut game, aged 19 years and 286 days old. On November 27, Williamson scored 37 points against his former college rivals, the Duke Blue Devils. In just his 12th NBA game on December 1 against Utah Jazz, Williamson scored 36 points before suffering a right knee injury after his sneaker fell apart during play; he was carried off the court and did not return to action that night. The Pelicans later announced that Williamson had suffered a torn right lateral meniscus and would be sidelined indefinitely.

Ja Morant

Ja Morant was the first pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He is a guard from Murray State University. Morant was the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and the consensus National College Player of the Year.

Morant’s college career

Morant played one season of college basketball for Murray State University, where he was a consensus first-team All-American and the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year. He averaged 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, leading the Racers to a school-record 30 wins and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 26 years. In the second round of the tournament, Morant recorded a triple double with 17 points, 11 assists and 16 rebounds in a loss to Florida State.

Morant’s professional career

Ja Morant was selected as the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. He played one season of college basketball for Murray State University, where he was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and led the Racers to a conference championship.

Morant made his professional debut in October 2019 and was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November after averaging 18.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game. He was also selected to play in the 2020 NBA Rising Stars Challenge.

RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett was the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. He is a Canadian professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Barrett’s college career

RJ Barrett was born in Canada to a father who played professional basketball overseas and a mom who was a former college track star. He began his high school career at Montverde (FL) Academy, where he helped lead the team to a perfect 26-0 record and a national championship as a junior in 2016-17. He transferred to IMG (FL) Academy for his senior year and averaged 28.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Barrett was named Naismith HS Player of the Year, Gatorade National Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball USA as a senior in 2018.

Barrett then headed to Duke for his lone college season, where he averaged 22.6 points (third in the ACC), 7.6 rebounds (sixth in the ACC) and 4.3 assists (second in the ACC) per game while shooting 45.4 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from three-point range and 64.4 percent from the free throw line. He was named First Team All-ACC, First Team All-American by the AP, NABC and USBWA as well as being chosen as one of five finalists for the Naismith Trophy, which is given annually to the nation’s top player.

Barrett’s professional career

Barrett was selected with the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. He signed his rookie scale contract with the Knicks on July 1, 2019. Barrett made his debut for the Knicks in their season opener against the San Antonio Spurs on October 23, 2019, recording 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists in a 120–111 loss.