Blue Devil Country

Duke Basketball Product Paired With Two Former Tar Heels, for Now

A UNC basketball alum and transfer join two-year Duke basketball forward Kyle Filipowski for Utah Jazz Summer League action.

Matt Giles

Duke basketball forward Kyle Filipowski and UNC's Armando Bacot
Duke basketball forward Kyle Filipowski and UNC's Armando Bacot / Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
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NBA Summer League typically isn't must-see TV. But for Duke basketball fans and their rival UNC basketball counterparts alike, it might be worth tuning in for a Utah Jazz game or two later this month.

The Jazz selected Blue Devil sophomore Kyle Filipowski (2-2 against UNC) with the No. 32 overall pick at last week's NBA Draft. The 7-foot All-American, now donning No. 22 as a Jazzman, the team revealed this week, became the franchise's first drafted Duke basketball player since Grayson Allen at No. 21 overall in 2018.

Hours later, Utah signed five-year Tar Heel center Armando Bacot to an Exhibit 10 deal, equating to his addition to the Jazz roster for the NBA's upcoming action featuring the league's young talents and hopefuls.

Joining Filipowski and Bacot on Utah's Summer League roster is another former UNC basketball big man in Walker Kessler, who is entering his third season in Utah after getting drafted No. 22 overall in 2022 following his breakout sophomore campaign at Auburn. Kessler was one of Bacot's primary backups down low during his lone season as a Tar Heel in 2020-21 (before transferring to the Tigers).

Kyle Filipowski, the pair of former Tar Heel centers, and the rest of the Jazz — including several prospects in the same boat as Bacot in looking for a two-way contract or better for next season — tip off their July slate when they host the Salt Lake City Summer League next week. Their first outing there is against the Memphis Grizzlies at 9 p.m. ET Monday (ESPN).

Following two more contests on consecutive nights in Salt Lake City, they'll travel to Las Vegas for the NBA 2K25 Summer League, July 12-22.

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Matt Giles

MATT GILES

Matt Giles is the editor and publisher of FanNation's Blue Devil Country and All Tar Heels, covering the Duke Blue Devils and UNC Tar Heels on SI.com.

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