For a second straight year, Alabama basketball is sending a young guard to the NBA. Joshua Primo was selected No. 12 overall by the San Antonio Spurs during Thursday night’s NBA Draft.
Primo is the third lottery pick Alabama has produced in the past four years, following Collin Sexton (No. 8 overall in 2018) and Kira Lewis Jr. (No. 13 overall in 2020). The selection marks the first time Alabama has had a player picked in the first round in consecutive drafts since 1995-96. It also marks the first time the Crimson Tide has produced lottery picks in consecutive drafts. Alabama hadn't had players selected in back-to-back drafts since 2007-08.
Primo, who will turn 19 on Dec. 24, will be the youngest player in the NBA. The Toronto native reclassified to join Alabama last season, working his way into the starting lineup.
The 6-foot-6, 190-pound guard earned SEC All-Freshman honors, averaging 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc. He earned SEC Freshman of the Week in January after averaging 19 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in contests at LSU and vs. Mississippi State. During that span, he shot 73.7 percent (14 of 19) from the floor and 76.9 percent (10 of 13) from beyond the arc. Primo posted a season-high 22 points in wins over Auburn (Jan. 9) and LSU (Jan. 19).
“I was very impressed with the way he played at the combine," ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said earlier this week. "He’s a good catch-and-shoot guy. I liked him a lot, and with the way he defended, as well, and he showed he could handle it, which I honestly wasn’t sure that he projected necessarily as an initiating or handling guard. He’s got a lot of ability. I was really impressed with him, and just — he can be a sniper shooting the ball."
Primo is the third lottery pick Alabama has produced in the past four years, following Collin Sexton (No. 8 overall in 2018) and Kira Lewis Jr. (No. 13 overall in 2020). The selection marks the first time Alabama has had a player picked in the first round in consecutive drafts since 1995-96. It also marks the first time the Crimson Tide has produced lottery picks in consecutive drafts. Alabama hadn't had players selected in back-to-back drafts since 2007-08.
Primo, who will turn 19 on Dec. 24, will be the youngest player in the NBA. The Toronto native reclassified to join Alabama last season, working his way into the starting lineup.
The 6-foot-6, 190-pound guard earned SEC All-Freshman honors, averaging 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc. He earned SEC Freshman of the Week in January after averaging 19 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in contests at LSU and vs. Mississippi State. During that span, he shot 73.7 percent (14 of 19) from the floor and 76.9 percent (10 of 13) from beyond the arc. Primo posted a season-high 22 points in wins over Auburn (Jan. 9) and LSU (Jan. 19).
“I was very impressed with the way he played at the combine," ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said earlier this week. "He’s a good catch-and-shoot guy. I liked him a lot, and with the way he defended, as well, and he showed he could handle it, which I honestly wasn’t sure that he projected necessarily as an initiating or handling guard. He’s got a lot of ability. I was really impressed with him, and just — he can be a sniper shooting the ball."
