Horton-Tucker, Shayok selected in 2019 NBA Draft
June 20, 2019
Two Iowa State players were selected in the 2019 NBA Draft Thursday, with Talen Horton-Tucker being selected by the Los Angeles Lakers and Marial Shayok picked by the Philidelphia 76ers.
Both players were selected in the second round of the draft while Lindell Wigginton, Cam Lard, Zoran Talley and Nick Weiler-Babb went undrafted.
Horton-Tucker was the first Cyclone player selected when the Lakers picked him 46th overall.
In his freshman year at Iowa State, Horton-Tucker averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals a game while shooting 40.6% from the floor and 30.8% from three.
At the NBA combine, Horton-Tucker, who is only 18 years old, measured in at 6 feet, 4 inches tall while having a wingspan of 7 feet, 1 inch long. He was also the heaviest listed guard at the NBA combine at 238 pounds and had the sixth worst body fat percentage of any prospect at the combine.
Horton-Tucker will be joining a Laker team which is devoid of depth and cap space after trading with New Orleans to recieve Anthony Davis while giving away shooting guard Josh Hart, point guard Lonzo Ball, small forward Brandon Ingram and three first-round picks.
The Lakers will be notably returning LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma on a team which finished the regular season 37-45, which was the 10th best record in the West on a team which missed the NBA postseason.
Due to his size, Horton-Tucker could play at either shooting guard or small forward and could earn playing time if he isn’t initially cast away to the G-League.
Meanwhile, Shayok was drafted 54th overall by the 76ers after finishing his lone season of elidgibilty at Iowa State as an AP Honorable Mention All-American.
Shayok was the second best scorer in the Big 12 as a reshirt senior while averaging 18.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and two assists per game. He shot 49.6% from the floor and 38.6% from three.
After earning an invite to the NBA Combine by being a standout performer at G-League Elite Camp, Shayok measured in the NBA combine at 6 feet, 5 inches tall with a 7 foot wingspan.
Shayok will be joining a 76ers team which finished 51-31 in the regular season and fell to the eventual NBA Champion Toronto Raptors in the NBA playoffs and has question marks entering free agency with starting shooting guard Jimmy Butler and starting power forward Tobias Harris entering the offseason as unrestricted free agents.
For Lard, Wigginton, Weiler-Babb and Talley, all four players will likely sign to NBA summer league contracts as undrafted free agents to try to boost their proffesional stock to try to earn a spot on an NBA, G-League or even overseas team or directly sign with an overseas team.
Shayok, Horton-Tucker and whichever other players sign to a summer league contract will begin summer league play on July 5.