National Basketball Association

NBA Draft Top Moments: Detroit Pistons select Cade Cunningham first overall

Updated Jul. 29, 2021 11:25 p.m. ET

Tonight, a new era of stars will make their way into the NBA.

The 2021 NBA Draft is here, taking place in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center with the Detroit Pistons owning the top pick in the draft.

But before the draft could even get underway there was already plenty of suspense on the trade front, with report of a mega-deal between the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards that would send Russell Westbrook back home to Los Angeles.

And that deal was ultimately completed on Thursday night, with Westbrook set to become the third superstar on the Lakers alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

As for the actual draft, there will be no surprises when the Pistons announce their pick at 8 p.m. ET tonight, with the franchise already reportedly deciding to select Oklahoma State freshman guard Cade Cunningham first overall.

Cunningham had been the consensus top prospect in this class for the majority of the college basketball season, leading Oklahoma State to the NCAA Tournament while averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

With Cunningham standing 6-8 and having the ability to score from everywhere on the floor, he has gained high praise entering the draft.

With the top cat being out of the bag for the top pick in the draft, the intrigue starts with the Houston Rockets picking second.

Here are the top moments from the NBA Draft.

The Pistons made the selection of Cunningham official, selecting him with the first overall pick of the 2021 draft.

With the formality out of the way, the Rockets were on the clock and used the second pick to select Jalen Green from the G-League Ignite.

Green's suit stole the show before the draft started, which was fitting for a star of his caliber.

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Evan Mobley third out of USC, with the Toronto Raptors following that pick with a shocking move, taking Scottie Barnes out of Florida State.

The Orlando Magic rounded out the top five, taking Jalen Suggs out of Gonzaga.

All of the top five of the draft were also five-star recruits coming out of high school, which should come as no surprise.

There was speculation around the Golden State Warriors would do with the seventh and 14th picks, with discussions centering around the franchise possibly trading the picks for a star player.

They opted to use the seventh pick and take Jonathan Kuminga out of the G-League Ignite.

The G-League enjoyed a banner night, with two selections in the top seven of the NBA Draft.

Baylor won the national championship and the first player from their title-winning team to be selected in the draft was point guard Davion Mitchell.

The Sacramento Kings selected him with the ninth overall pick.

To close out the lottery, the Warriors used their second pick of the first round to draft SEC freshman of the year Moses Moody out of Arkansas.

As the lottery concluded, commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA paid tribute to the late University of Kentucky freshman Terrence Clarke.

Clarke was expected to be selected in this draft before passing away in April in a car accident.

Duke and Kentucky are known as the premier one-and-done factories in college basketball but didn't have a single player selected in the lottery.

The first player selected from either school was Jalen Johnson from Duke, who landed with the Atlanta Hawks at No. 20.

Two picks later, Kentucky saw its first player selected in the first round with freshman Isaiah Jackson being taken by the Wizards in the pick they acquired from the Lakers in the Russell Westbrook trade.

With the final pick of the first round, the Memphis Grizzlies selected Santi Aldama of Spain.

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