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NBA draft
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===International players selected number 1 overall=== Four international players had gone first overall before 2002, although all had played college basketball in the U.S., and one of them was in fact a U.S. citizen by birth. It was not until [[2002 NBA draft|2002]] that an international player without college experience went first overall—Yao Ming. His selection was not only a watershed moment for the NBA, but it also had a large impact in Yao's homeland of China. [[Hannah Beech]] (2003) wrote "Yao has single-handedly transformed his countrymen from nameless, faceless millions into mighty men who can jam with the very best".<ref name="beech">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/heroes/yao_ming.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030422082606/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/heroes/yao_ming.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 22, 2003 |title=Yao Ming China's Incredible Hulk of the hardcourt becomes an NBA sensation |last=Beech |first=Hannah |date=April 28, 2003 |work=[[Time.com]] |access-date=June 10, 2011}}</ref> Yao has helped the NBA grow into a worldwide product. Beech (2003) goes on to write "Ratings for NBA games broadcast on Chinese TV have never been higher than this year as the nation keeps track of its new favorite team, Yao's Houston Rockets".<ref name="beech" /> For his career Yao averaged a solid 19.0 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game, 1.89 blocks per game, and shot 82.6 percent from the free throw line. It had later gotten to a point where the last four drafts from 2013 to 2016 all held international prospects as No. 1 selections in their respective drafts before ending the run in 2017. The [[2002 NBA draft|2002]], [[2005 NBA draft|2005]], [[2006 NBA draft|2006]], [[2011 NBA draft|2011]], [[2013 NBA draft|2013]], [[2014 NBA draft|2014]], [[2015 NBA draft|2015]], [[2016 NBA draft|2016]], [[2018 NBA draft|2018]], [[2023 NBA draft|2023]], and [[2024 NBA draft|2024]] NBA drafts saw international players picked first overall. In 2005, the [[Milwaukee Bucks]] picked [[Andrew Bogut]], from Australia by way of the [[Utah Utes men's basketball|University of Utah]], No. 1. The next year, the [[Toronto Raptors]] drafted [[Andrea Bargnani]] from Italy, making him the second foreign player without U.S. college experience and the first European to be selected number 1 overall. In 2011, Australian born [[Kyrie Irving]] was selected by the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] after having played one year at [[Duke Blue Devils men's basketball|Duke]]. In 2013, the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] selected [[Anthony Bennett (basketball)|Anthony Bennett]], who played at [[UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball|UNLV]], first overall and making Bennett the first Canadian to be drafted at No. 1. In the [[2014 NBA draft]], the Cleveland Cavaliers, again picking No. 1, selected Canadian [[shooting guard]]/[[small forward]] [[Andrew Wiggins]]. During the [[2015 NBA draft]], the [[Minnesota Timberwolves]] selected U.S.-born center [[Karl-Anthony Towns]], also born with [[Dominican Republic]] citizenship by way of his mother, as the first player from the latter country and therefore the first [[Latin Americans|Latin American]] to become the No. 1 selection, teaming up with [[Andrew Wiggins]] in the process. During the [[2016 NBA draft]], the [[Philadelphia 76ers]] selected Australian forward [[Ben Simmons]] to be the No. 1 selection. In the [[2018 NBA draft]], the [[Phoenix Suns]] selected Bahamian center [[Deandre Ayton]] as their first ever No. 1 selection, with Ayton being the second Bahamian taken at No. 1 behind [[Mychal Thompson]], and the third Caribbean-born player after Patrick Ewing and Thompson. In the [[2023 NBA draft]], the [[San Antonio Spurs]] selected Frenchman [[Victor Wembanyama]] with the No. 1 selection, making him the first French player to be drafted at No.1. It also made him the third foreign player without U.S. college experience and the second European to be selected number 1 overall. In the [[2024 NBA draft]], the [[Atlanta Hawks]] selected Frenchman [[Zaccharie Risacher]] with the No. 1 selection.
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