Friday Headlines: NBA Dreams Realized Edition

By John Morgan Francis@MonJorgan Jul 30, 2021, 6:40am EDT

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NCAA Basketball: South Carolina at Kentucky

Thursday night two former Kentucky Wildcats saw their dreams come true. After each spending just one season at Kentucky, Isaiah Jackson and BJ Boston heard their name called in the 2021 NBA Draft. They would have normally experienced this life-changing moment about a month ago, but with COVID-19 delaying the season for a second straight year they were forced to wait until nearly August to officially begin their NBA journey.

First was Jackson, as he was drafted seven spots after the first round lottery concluded. At no. 22 overall, the Washington Wizards selected Jackson before immediately trading him to the Indiana Pacers.

Wizards send No. 22 (Isaiah Jackson) to Indiana for Aaron Holiday, sources said. https://t.co/AL16Q42AFN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 30, 2021

Boston, however, had to wait quite a while until hearing his name called. Despite coming to UK as one of the country’s top recruits, Boston’s name was put on the board 51st overall when the Los Angeles Clippers trade for the pick and drafted the young talent.

Sources: Pelicans trading No. 51 to Clippers and LAC will pick Brandon Boston.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 30, 2021

The rest of the Kentucky Wildcats in the draft failed to hear their name called in the 60 picks of the draft, but we should expect at least one or two to sign training camp deals as undrafted free agents with teams to compete for roster spots.