NBA Draft results 2015: Justise Winslow picked by Miami
Winslow broke out as a star during Duke’s run to the national championship, and now he’s headed to Miami after an unexpected slide down the draft board.
Another Duke Blue Devil one-and-done is finally off the board in the 2015 NBA Draft. The Miami heat selected forward Justise Winslow with the No. 10 overall pick. Winslow now joins his former teammate and fellow lottery pick Jahlil Okafor, who went No. 3 to the Philadelphia 76ers, in the NBA ranks.
Winslow, 19, never received the same hype as Okafor during his freshman year despite being a McDonald’s All-American, but Winslow flew up draft boards in the spring following an impressive finish to the season. The 6’6 wing was often the best player on the court during Duke’s run to the national championship. He showed the kind of solid two-way game that will translate nicely to the NBA.
By the end of the season, Winslow was averaging 12.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Blue Devils while shooting 49 percent overall and 42 percent from three. In the NCAA Tournament, he averaged over 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game without any drop in efficiency. For a player whose game is more tailored to the pros than college, Winslow was still one of the college game’s top wings.
2015 NBA Draft
Winslow slid a bit further than expected down the draft board, a chain of events set off when Philadelphia unexpectedly took Okafor despite having centers Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid on their roster. The Sacramento Kings then took Willie Cauley-Stein at No. 6 -- possibly a precursor to a DeMarcus Cousins trade -- so Denver took its point guard, Emmanuel Mudiay, at No. 7.
Matt Pineda of Hot Hot Hoops, SB Nation’s Heat blog, is thrilled that Winslow fell to No. 10.
This is a home run selection for the Miami Heat. They couldn’t have been more fortunate to get a pick like Winslow. He’s got a huge upside, and a winner’s mentality. It makes Luol Deng a bit more expendible if he chooses to leave, and it gives the Heat a potential great wing scorer alongside Dwyane Wade ... I can go on and on. It’s just a flat out great pick for the Heat. You should be excited. So many people had Winslow slotted in the top 5, but he slid down and Miami took him. He didn’t even work out for the Heat because they didn’t think it was a reality.
Miami's selection of Winslow can be attributed simply thus: he was by far the best player left on the board.
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