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Raptors select Malachi Flynn with 29th overall pick in 2020 NBA Draft

The Toronto Raptors selected Malachi Flynn with the 29th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft out of San Diego State University.

Flynn was named the Mountain West Player of the Year and Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season, averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.1 percent from the field.

The 22-year-old is considered to be a strong scorer and playmaker, and these qualities should translate at the NBA level. Although he’s not an elite athlete, Flynn has proven to be a very willing, tenacious defender, which ought to bode well for anyone trying to carve out playing time in Nick Nurse’s system.

The Toronto Raptors selected Malachi Flynn with the 29th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
The Toronto Raptors selected Malachi Flynn with the 29th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)

“I think Toronto would be a great fit for a guy like him," San Diego State assistant coach Chris Acker said to Aaron Rose of Sports Illustrated prior to the draft. "He's a blue-collar guy, so like I said, I think people are gonna really really fall in love with him."

Raptors general manager Bobby Webster raved about the pick Wednesday night.

“He's a modern NBA point guard. He can do it all on the offensive end,” Webster said of Flynn. “A lot of people are going to talk about pick-and-roll, shooting off the dribble, shoots the 3-ball well, obviously defends at a high level as well.”

This selection also could bring some luck to the Raptors’ franchise: the last San Diego State alum to play for the Raptors was Kawhi Leonard, and we all remember how his one-year stint with the franchise turned out.

Toronto used the No. 59 selection overall on guard Jalen Harris out of Nevada. Harris averaged 21.7 points, 3.9 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game during the 2019-20 season, shooting 44.6 percent from the field. The 22-year-old spent his first two seasons at Louisiana Tech, before redshirting during the 2018-19 campaign at Nevada.

Harris is considered to be a capable scorer at all levels, can create his own shot, but will need to improve significantly on the defensive end as a professional prospect.

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