A Duke brotherhood chapter is forming in Charlotte.
The Hornets went back to Durham for their first pick of the second round of the NBA draft and took Sion James at No. 33.
James spent one season at Duke after four at Tulane. He’s a former 3-star recruit out of high school who benefitted from the Cooper Flagg spotlight. James averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season. and shot career best 41.3% from three. At 6’6 220 lbs, James is a solid perimeter defender and could be a solid role player for the Hornets.
Charlotte took fellow Blue Devil Kon Kneuppel with the 4th overall pick. Since 2017, Charlotte has drafted five Duke players (Kneuppel, James, Mark Williams, Vernon Carey and Frank Jackson).
At No. 34, the Hornets helped fill the front court void left by the Mark Williams trade with Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner. Kalkbrenner is 7’1 and a four-time Big East defensive player of the year. He played five seasons at Creighton, in 2025 he averaged a career high 19.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 2.7 blocks.
The Hornets traded Williams to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Vasilije Micić, the 29th overall pick of this year’s Draft, and a 2029 draft pick (the least favorable of Cleveland, Utah and Minnesota) to the Hornets.
While James seemed to benefit from the attention that comes with being a Duke player, Tyrese Proctor got a little over exposed. Proctor was taken 49th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday. Proctor’s stats improved each of his three season’s at Duke, and Jon Scheyer has spoken extensively about the various sacrifices Proctor has made for the team.
Proctor averaged a career high 12.4 points and 40.5% from three last season. Proctor has a thin frame, but long reach at 6’6 183 lbs. He’s improved his defense as well at Duke, but never quite lived up to his billing as a 5-star recruit out of Australia. Still he’s an experienced player with a variety of skills to help the Cavaliers. He can slot in immediately as a back up guard and has upside to become a starter in the NBA.
Along with Cooper Flagg (No. 1 overall Dallas) and Khaman Maluach (No. 10 overall Suns, in a trade from Houston), Duke has had five players selected in this year’s draft.
A couple of former Tar Heel teammates headed to the league on two-way contracts.
According to Billy Reinhardt and multiple reports UNC’s RJ Davis is signing with the Lakers on a two-way contract. Arizona guard Caleb Love is headed to the Portland Trail blazers also on a two-way according to ESPN. Davis and Love helped lead UNC to the national title game in 2022.