Brayden Burries took another step toward his NBA future on Tuesday night when the Arizona guard was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the No. 10 pick in the first round of the NBA draft.
Widely projected as a lottery pick in the weeks leading up to the draft, the former Eastvale Roosevelt High star from San Bernardino used his one exceptional college season to impress NBA scouts.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound combo guard has a sturdy frame and talent evaluators like his two-way potential. After a decorated high school career, he was the leading scorer (16.1 ppg) for a 36-win Final Four team at Arizona, shooting 49.1% overall and 39.1% from 3-point range. He was fourth at the NBA combine in the standing vertical leap (35 inches).
He was the AP National Player of the Week twice last season. He led the Wildcats to at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title by averaging 22 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists during a two-game stretch in Week 17. He scored 24 points with four assists in an 87-80 win at Baylor. He followed that with 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in an 84-61 victory over No. 14 Kansas.
Burries’ other Player of the Week honor came in Week 13 after he had a career-high 29 points with five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots in an 86-83 victory over then-No. 13 BYU. He followed that with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in an 87-74 victory over Arizona State that kept the Wildcats unbeaten at the time (22-0).
His father, Bobby, is a Hall of Fame basketball player from Cal State San Bernardino, and his mother, Hannah, played basketball and softball there as well.
More to come on this story.