National Basketball Association

Three Blue Devils Ranked Among Most Intriguing Young NBA Players

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Three former Duke Basketball players were ranked among the Top 10 most intriguing young NBA players that are younger than 20 years old.

The NBA recently released a list of the ten most intriguing players younger than 20 years old along with their strengths and weaknesses. Former Duke Basketball players Justise Winslow, Jahlil Okafor, and Brandon Ingram were named some of the top young players in the NBA.

Former Blue Devil Justise Winslow was ranked as the 10th most intriguing young player. Winslow had an NBA All-Rookie season averaging 6.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists for the Miami Heat last season. In his lone season at Duke, he recorded 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while helping Duke win their fifth national title.

Center Jahlil Okafor was ranked as the 7th most intriguing player. His rookie season was cut short after tearing his meniscus averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for the Philadelphia 76ers before the injury. Okafor was the first player in ACC history to win conference freshman and player of the year averaging 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds joining Winslow on the 2015 NCAA National Championship team. He spent his summer rehabbing and taking classes at Duke and competing with the USA Select Team and is expected to be ready to start for the upcoming season.

Rookie Brandon Ingram was ranked as the #5 most intriguing player under 20. He was the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in this year’s NBA Draft. Ingram has high expectations this year after being voted by his draft class to have the best NBA career and is one of the favorites to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award. He averaged 17.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2 assists last season with the Blue Devils.

All three Blue Devils will play major roles on their teams for the upcoming NBA season and have bright professional basketball careers ahead. Be sure to stay tuned to Ball Durham for news and updates on all Duke NBA players.