UK’s Antonio Reeves Among Day Two NBA Draft Selections
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Antonio Reeves found an NBA home on Thursday as the Kentucky standout was selected No. 47 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in round two of the 2024 NBA draft at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York.
Reeves was selected by the Pelicans via a trade with the Orlando Magic, joining Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham as Wildcats picked during this year’s draft proceedings. Sheppard was taken third overall by the Houston Rockets, while Dillingham was picked at No. 8 by the San Antonio Spurs, before being traded to Minnesota.
2024 marks the 24th time in Kentucky men’s basketball history that the Cats have had at least three players selected in one draft. It is the most Kentucky products picked in a draft since three were selected in 2020.
Following tonight’s selection, the Wildcats have now had 141 players drafted 143 times in its illustrious history.
Reeves spent his final two collegiate seasons at Kentucky, taking vast strides and ascending to All-America status in 2023-24. This past season, the 6-foot-6 guard led the team in scoring with 20.2 points per game, while finishing the year with career bests in field goal percentage (51.2%), 3-point percentage (44.7%) and free throw accuracy (86.3%). He was named to the Jerry West Award Top 5 and was a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award.
Reeves’ dynamic fifth-year campaign saw him score 20 points in 20 different contests, including a streak of seven-straight 20-point outings, the longest streak of 20-point efforts at Kentucky since Jamal Murray in 2016.
Among his many accolades from his time in Lexington, Reeves was the Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year in 2022-23, followed by a nod to the All-SEC First Team in 2023-24. A gifted scorer and outside shooter, Reeves totaled 1,155 points in his two seasons at Kentucky, the second most in a two-year span at UK all-time. The Chicago native knocked down at least 80 threes both years in a Kentucky uniform, becoming just the second player to achieve that feat in program history. Combining his time at Illinois State and Kentucky, Reeves amassed 2,350 career points during his five years of collegiate basketball.
Following the draft, it was reported that UK’s Justin Edwards has agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Among the talented freshmen on Kentucky’s 2023-24 roster, Edwards made 30 starts and appeared in 32 games for the Cats last season. He averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds, while scoring in double figures on 14 occasions. The 6-foot-8 guard shot 48.6% from the field and 36.5% from 3-point range.
Edwards’ biggest outing of the season came inside Rupp Arena against Alabama, when the Philadelphia native totaled a career-high 28 points on 10-10 shooting, marking just the third time in UK history a player went perfect from the field on at least 10 attempts. Edwards was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week following his monstrous performance.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
