NBA draft resumes Wednesday night in New York, where some second-round picks are revered

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NEW YORK (AP) — Some of New York's biggest basketball heroes were second-round draft picks.

Like Jalen Brunson, the guy marching through Manhattan with the Larry O'Brien Trophy in his arms last week during a joyous parade celebration. And Willis Reed, the guy who limped into Game 7 of the NBA Finals to lift the Knicks to their first championship.

So when the NBA draft resumed Wednesday night with the Knicks on the clock with the No. 31 pick, every team had hope of finding someone who can be a key piece of a title team.

They drafted Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton, but had already agreed to trade the rights to the pick to Houston by the time NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum announced the selection.

Thornton was given a Knicks hat when his name was announced. He was wearing a Rockets one by the time he arrived for his interviews.

He was just happy to get to the NBA, even if it was in Texas and not with the new champions.

“No state tax, so that's even better,” said Thornton, Ohio State's career scoring leader.

The first round, which began with Washington selecting AJ Dybantsa, finished late Tuesday night.

In a much different NBA with a different draft format, Reed was the No. 8 pick in the 1964 draft, which made him the first pick of the second round. The Hall of Famer went on to lead the Knicks to championships in 1970 and 1973 and was the NBA Finals MVP both times.

Brunson was the No. 33 pick in the 2018 draft, taken early in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks. The Knicks signed him as a free agent in 2022 and the franchise hs been on the rise ever since, culminating with their five-game victory over the San Antonio Spurs earlier this month when Brunson was MVP of the series.

Among the other well-known names taken early in the second round were Richie Saunders, Dybantsa's BYU teammate who was taken at No. 32 by Memphis; Duke's Isaiah Evans, who went undrafted in the first round and was selected at No. 33 with a pick belonging to Minnesota; and Purdue's Braden Smith, the NCAA's career assists leader, who was taken at No. 38 by Chicago.

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