Thunder select WVU's McBride with No. 36 pick, reportedly send guard to Knicks
With the No. 36 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder have selected West Virginia point guard Miles McBride.
The New York Knicks are reportedly acquiring McBrides's rights, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
After starting just two of his 31 appearances as a freshman, "Deuce" took command of the Mountaineers on both ends of the floor in Year 2.
In 34.2 minutes per game, the long-limbed guard averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game. He shot 41.4% on nearly four 3-pointers per game on his way to All-Big 12 second-team honors.
With McBride leading the charge, West Virginia entered the NCAA Tournament as the Midwest's No. 3 seed. After dropping 30 points, six dimes, six boards, and three steals in a first-round win over Morehead State, McBride and the Mountaineers fell to 11th-seeded Syracuse.
Bio
Position: PG/SG
School: West Virginia
College experience: Sophomore
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 195 lbs
Wingspan: 6-foot-9
Max vertical: 38.5 inches
Strengths
- Comfortable taking shots off the dribble
- Strong on-ball defender; shows tremendous balance on closeouts
- Wingspan allows him to recover well when he gambles for deflections
Weaknesses
- Despite willingness to shoot, not the most efficient scorer inside the arc
- Unclear if he can be lead distributor; might be stuck as combo guard
- Doesn't have blazing first-step to get past defenders