The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. It was televised nationally on ESPN. State Farm was the presenting sponsor of the NBA draft for the eighth consecutive year. This draft was the first to feature a new weighted lottery system in which the three worst teams each had a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery; these teams were the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Phoenix Suns. The lottery took place on May 14, during the NBA playoffs. Three of the four teams who held the top four picks of the draft this year rose up from at least six spots in the lottery, including the New Orleans Pelicans, who won the first pick with 6 percent odds. The Pelicans used that pick on Duke forward Zion Williamson.
This draft included the first Japanese player to be selected in the first round, as well as the first Angolan player to be selected.
Zion Williamson was selected first overall by the New Orleans Pelicans. He is one of three Duke players drafted as lottery picks.
Ja Morant was selected second overall by the Memphis Grizzlies. He went on to win NBA Rookie of the Year honors for the 2019–20 season.
RJ Barrett, another Duke player, was selected third overall by the New York Knicks.
Darius Garland was selected fifth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other team is the Brooklyn Nets. Alongside the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of two original NBA teams still located in its original city.
Lapchick was responsible for leading the Knicks during their early success. However, these ventures never culminated with a win in the NBA Finals.
Patrick Ewing played for the Knicks from 1985 to 2000, leading them to the Finals in 1994 and 1999.
The current Madison Square Garden has been the home of the Knicks since 1968.
Isiah Thomas as coach of the Knicks in 2007. He stayed six years on the bench