National Basketball Association

Suns get young Croatian forward Dragan Bender with 1st pick

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:31 p.m. ET

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PHOENIX (AP) The Phoenix Suns went international with their first pick in the draft, choosing Croatian forward Dragan Bender with the No. 4 selection overall.

The 7-foot-1 ''stretch'' forward is just 18 years old, weighs 220 pounds and is expected to need some time to mature and beef up.

But he is an athletic, agile sharpshooter who would fill a position of need for Phoenix. Bender played sparingly for Maccabi Tel Aviv last season, averaging 5.5 points per game on a veteran team.

It was the first of three first-round picks for the Suns, who missed the playoffs for the sixth season in a row this year, winning just 23 games.

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