Delon Wright selected No. 20 overall to Toronto in NBA Draft


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Former Utah guard Delon Wright was selected No. 20 overall to the Toronto Raptors in the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday.

Wright is a versatile guard expected to have an immediate impact for the Raptors, who only have point guard Kyle Lowry on the books. Wright is the first player from the University of Utah to be drafted to the NBA since Andrew Bogut was selected No. 1 overall in the 2005 draft.

Asked what skill set Wright brings to the Raptors by the Toronto Star, Wright said: " I would say defense and I'll go with IQ. I just know how to play the game and get my teammates involved. I don't want to say I can do anything, I just want to leave it up to play and see what happens."

Wright entered the draft as an experienced guard with a handful of skills ready for the NBA, often leading Utah in points, assists, rebounds and steals. NBA experts had Wright going as high as No. 21 to the Dallas Mavericks and as low as No. 27 to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey told the Toronto Star he was sold on Wright ability to defend and his overall basketball skills.

"As the (draft) week went on and we studied more film and more film and more film, it came clear to us as far as what we needed defensively," he said. "Your defense starts on the ball ... you've got to have guys to be able to defend the pick-and-roll, and he's a good start for us."

Wright played two years at the University of Utah, where he led the Runnin’ Utes to a Sweet 16 berth and was named the 2015 Bob Cousy Award winner. Wright finished his career with 1,022 points, 397 rebounds, 352 assists, 155 steals and 77 blocks — rivaling the likes of former Ute great Andre Miller.

Wright was also named to several All-American teams, including the John R. Wooden All-American Team, the Associated Press, USBWA and the NABC All-American Team.

Wright is the 10th player from Utah to be drafted in the first round of the NBA all-time, joining Billy McGill, Mike Sojourner, Danny Vranes, Tom Chambers, Keith Van Horn, Michael Doleac, Andre Miller and Andrew Bogut. He is the 35th Ute all-time to be drafted into the NBA.

Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsUtah Utes
Josh Furlong

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast