Tonight, Isaiah Evans' childhood dream of being drafted into the NBA came true when the Brooklyn Nets selected him 33rd overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, and because of pre-draft trades, he was headed to Minnesota to join the Timberwolves.
However, last night, Evans sat and watched as player after player (30 to be exact) heard their names called. Evans, despite being one of just 24 prospects invited to the NBA Draft green room this year, was the only one in attendance to not hear his name called out by commissioner Adam Silver.
Instead, he was taken in the second round, which is still an undeniably massive accomplishment for any athlete. Yet, at the same time, the green room situation and experience undoubtedly left a chip on Evans' shoulder.
As a veteran athlete with experience in some of the most high-pressure situations a college basketball player can have, Evans won't let that chip become a problem. Instead, the former Duke Blue Devil will use it as motivation to prove every single team that passed on him in the first round wrong.
Isaiah Evans sliding to Round 2 will only add fuel to his fire
Now, don't take any of that the wrong way. Evans was unequivocally thrilled when he learned he was joining the T-Wolves on the second night. Yet, as one of the most experienced prospects in the class and as one of the top players out of Duke this year, it was an understandable expectation that he would be a first-round pick.
Of course, his Duke teammate Cameron Boozer was taken third overall, going to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.
However, quite a few guards were taken before Evans, who neither had the experience nor the on-paper talent that the former Duke guard can boast, including Baylor's Cameron Carr and Alabama's Labaron Philon Jr.
Heading into Night 2, with the New York Knicks scheduled to make the first pick of the second round, Evans was regarded as the best remaining prospect on the board, with North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar, whom the Blue Devils repeatedly shut down in the 2026 regular season, close behind.
Yet, despite all of that, it took until Minnesota finally gave Evans the chance he had been waiting for, as the 33rd overall pick. Now, it's Evans' turn to show the country that he not only deserved that green room invite, but he deserved to be a first-round pick.
When he heard his name called, Evans became Duke's 118th ever pick in an NBA Draft, and the 58th Blue Devil selected in the second round. Boozer, who was the Brotherhood's 117th ever draft pick, was the 60th first-rounder out of Durham.
Boozer was the second-ever Blue Devil taken by Memphis, joining Shane Battier, who was the sixth overall pick in 2001. Evans was the 3rd Duke player ever drafted by the Nets, and was the third ever to head to Minnesota from the draft, joining Christian Laettner and William Avery.
Since head coach Jon Scheyer took over the program, the Blue Devils have had 27 first-round picks. Over the last decade, Duke has had a nation-leading 30 NBA Draft selections.
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