Duke’s Kyle Filipowski is selected in the NBA Draft by Utah, one day later than expected

After being left in the NBA Draft green room Wednesday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center while going undrafted in the first round, Duke’s Kyle Filipowski finally heard his name called on Thursday in lower Manhattan.

The Utah Jazz selected the 6-11 Filipowski with the No. 32 overall pick, the second person taken when the draft resumed for the second round at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios.

Considered such a lock for the first round that he was one of 25 players the NBA invited to attend the draft’s first round, Filipowski surprisingly wasn’t taken in the first 30 picks. He and Kansas’ Johnny Furphy were the only two of the 24 players in the green room who weren’t picked Wednesday night.

“Draft night, there are a lot of mixed emotions in it,” Filipowski said via Zoom Thursday night, “and the nerves and anxiety. It’s hard to wait a long time and and not hear your name called. But, to be honest, I’m just happy. I feel like I ended up in the right spot. That’s what matters most to me.”

Filipowski started all 72 games for Duke over the last two seasons as the Blue Devils posted consecutive 27-9 season. He was the Everett Case Award winner as the ACC Tournament’s most valuable player as a freshmen when the Blue Devils won the league championship. Last season, he was named second-team, all-American as he led Duke in scoring and rebounding for the second consecutive season.

As a sophomore, in addition to averaging 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds, Filipowski also led Duke in steals (1.1 per game) as well as blocked shots (1.5).

Still, it took until Utah took him in the second round for Filipowski to learn where he’d begin his NBA career.

Though a productive college player, Filipowski’s physical measurements at the scouting combine created concern among NBA talent evaluators. After being listed as a 7-footer during his Duke career, he measured at 6-10.75 without shoes. His wingspan measured slightly smaller than his height at 6-10.5. That negative ratio is unusual for big men.

No matter the reason for him falling into the second round, Filipowski aims to prove he belongs in the NBA.

“It fuels me for sure,” he said. “I feel like that’s kind of the way my whole life has gone with being underrated or under appreciated. Certain stereotypes by how I may come off. So it definitely puts that chip on my shoulder and and I’m just using this as motivation. Like I said, I think the most important thing is being in the right spot and I’ll definitely bring out my best self moving forward.”

Filipowski said he enjoyed meeting with the Jazz and visiting Salt Lake City during his pre-draft process.

“Utah was definitely one of my favorite places from from the workouts I’ve gone to,” Filipowski said, “just in terms of organization and environment. It’s a very beautiful city and I’m looking forward to getting out there.”