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LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball may not have seen a player selected during the 2025 NBA Draft, but it could still have a rookie in the league next season.
The New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to add Hunter Dickinson on a two-way deal following the end of the draft, according to a report from ESPN. It marks the next step in Dickinson’s journey, which began in college at Michigan with the 2020-21 season, continued at KU with the 2023-24 campaign, and now jumps ahead to the professional ranks. One of the more talked-about athletes at the college level in recent years, he’ll now have the opportunity to prove if he can stick with an NBA organization.
Dickinson earned All-America honors at both Michigan and Kansas. He was both an All-Big Ten Conference and All-Big 12 Conference honoree. Listed at 7-foot-2 and 265 pounds as a graduate center this past season, size certainly won’t be an issue for him as he looks to earn a role at the next level.
Here’s what Dickinson brings to the team:
Pros of New Orleans adding Hunter Dickinson after 2025 NBA Draft
As mentioned, Dickinson can provide a physically imposing figure in the frontcourt for an NBA team. He also brings a wealth of experience from multiple high-major programs that carry the weight of expectations year in and year out. Becoming a professional isn’t about whether he can handle the pressure of attention, as that’s been commonplace for him.
Dickinson also proved himself a productive player in multiple conferences and was recognized for it. Across the past two years at Kansas, he averaged a double-double. He’s a scorer inside who has shown the ability to step out on the outside and hit 3s offensively.
Cons of New Orleans adding Hunter Dickinson after 2025 NBA Draft
Dickinson is a player who will need a quality level of spacing around him, as a lack of that at times the past two seasons at Kansas showed how that could affect the team’s potential. While he averaged more than a block per game with the Jayhawks and close to a steal per game, too, playing against another big-man with the ability to make plays on the perimeter — or someone he’s switched onto in that area of the court — could prove to be a challenge depending on the opponent. And while he was a better free-throw shooter at KU from one year to the next, he dipped in 3-point production.
Hunter Dickinson’s college stats
Dickinson played in 67 games, starting each one, during his two years at Kansas after transferring from Michigan. Across those two seasons, he averaged 17.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He also shot 53.7% from the field, 31.7% from behind the arc, and 69.0% from the free-throw line.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.