NEED TO KNOW
Yanic Konan Niederhauser was sitting in a box just before his name was called at the 2025 NBA Draft
Niederhauser was seen sprinting through the halls at Barclay’s Center to make it to the stage
The LA Clippers selected him 30th overall
Yanic Konan Niederhauser’s NBA draft moment was perfectly imperfect.
The moment that Niederhauser, 22, was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 30th overall pick on Wednesday, June 25 was documented on camera and shared by his alma mater, Penn State, in a video on social media.
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The now-NBA rookie was sitting with his family in a box at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York during the draft ceremony, and was only informed he was being drafted moments before commissioner Adam Silver took the stage to announce the Clippers’ pick.
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In the viral video, Niederhauser, wearing a dapper black and blue suit, is told by an NBA employee he needs to quickly make his way to the stage. As his box of supporters excitedly cheer, the player quickly sprints through the halls with a smile on his face to join Silver on the side stage.
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“You’re going to remember this,” one of the people running with Niederhauser told him as he sprinted.
Jeff Haynes/NBAE/Getty
Yanic Konan Niederhauser looks on after being drafted
After the draft, Clippers general manager Lawrence Frank explained why the team drafted Niederhauser. “We had the really good opportunity to get to know Yanic. We had Yanic out a couple weeks ago. We were able to take him out to dinner… Long story short, his best basketball is ahead of him,” Frank said, according to Joey Linn of SI.com.
Niederhauser’s former Penn State basketball coach, Mike Rhoades, called his former player an “unbelievable young man” and an “even better teammate” after the draft, per ABC.
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During his time at Penn State, Niederhauser started in 29 games and averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds.
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