NBA Draft 2023 recap: Gonzaga's Julian Strawther sneaks into first round

Strawther becomes the latest in a growing list of Gonzaga players to be drafted in the first round

The 2023 NBA Draft was full of surprises.

While Victor Wembanyama was widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs - and the Spurs indeed drafted him - there was much uncertainty surrounding the rest of the first round.

In one of the biggest surprises of the first round, the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets traded up to pick No. 29 to draft Gonzaga's Julian Strawther. Former Gonzaga teammate Drew Timme did not get drafted.

Check out Gonzaga Nation's live updates recap of the 2023 draft:

(The draft was televised live on ESPN and the second round concluded at 9:50 p.m. PT.)

SECOND ROUND UPDATES

No. 31 pick: James Nnaji was drafted by the Detroit Piston with the 31st selection.

No. 32 pick: Penn State's Jalen Pickett was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 32nd selection.

No. 33 pick: Leonard Miller was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 33rd pick.

No. 34 pick: The Boston Celtics drafted Xavier's Colby Jones and traded him to the Sacramento Kings for pick No. 38.

No. 35 pick: The Chicago Bulls drafted Tennessee's Julian Phillips with the 35th selection.

No. 36 pick: The Orlando Magic drafted UConn's Andre Jackson Jr. with the 36th selection.

No. 37 pick: The Thunder drafted Clemson's Hunter Tyson with the 37th selection.

No. 38 pick: The Boston Celtics drafted Arkansas' Jordan Walsh.

No. 39 pick: The Charlotte Hornets drafted Washington State's Mouhamed Gueye.

No. 40 pick: The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Pepperdine's Maxwell Lewis.

No. 41 pick: The Charlotte Hornets drafted former Sierra Canyon star Amari Bailey.

No. 42 pick: The Washington Wizards drafted Serbian player Tristan Vukcevic.

No. 43 pick: The Portland Trail Blazers drafted French player Rayan Rupert.

No. 44 pick: The Spurs drafted French player Sidy Cissoko.

No. 45 pick: The Grizzlies drafted South Carolina's Gregory Jackson II.

No. 46 pick: The Atlanta Hawks drafted Penn State's Seth Lundy.

No. 47 pick: The Pacers drafted New Zealand player Mojave King.

No. 48 pick: The Clippers drafted Miami's Jordan Miller.

No. 49 pick: The Cavaliers drafted Eastern Michigan's Emoni Bates.

No. 50 pick: The Thunder drafted Kansas State's Keyontae Johnson.

No. 51 pick: The Nets drafted Kansas' Jalen Wilson.

No. 52 pick: The Suns drafted Dayton's Toumani Camara.

No. 53 pick: The Timberwolves drafted UCLA's Jaylen Clark.

No. 54 pick: The Kings drafted Furman's Jalen Slawson.

No. 55 pick: The Pacers drafted Miami's Isaiah Wong.

No. 56 pick: The Grizzlies drafted Turkish player Tarik Biberovic.

No. 57 pick: The Wizards drafted Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis.

No. 58 pick: The Bucks drafted Kentucky's Chris Livingston.

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FIRST ROUND UPDATES

No. 1 pick: To no one's surprise, Victor Wembanyama was officially drafted No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs.

No. 2 pick: Brandon Miller, a former five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American out of Cane Ridge High School (Tennessee), was drafted second by the Charlotte Hornets.

No. 3 pick: Scoot Henderson goes to the Portland Trail Blazers with the third pick.

No. 4 pick: The Houston Rockets drafted Amen Thompson with the fourth pick.

No. 5 pick: The Detroit Pistons drafted Amen Thompson's twin brother, Ausar Thompson, with the fifth pick.

No. 6 pick: Jalen Suggs just got a new teammate. The Orlando Magic drafted Anthony Black with the sixth pick.

No. 7 pick: Bilal Coulibaly was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the seventh pick, but ESPN is reporting that the Pacers are trading the pick to the Washington Wizards.

No. 8 pick: Former IMG Academy star Jarace Walker was drafted by the Wizards with the eighth pick, then traded to the Pacers.

No. 9 pick: The Utah Jazz drafted Taylor Hendricks with the ninth pick.

No. 10 pick: Cason Wallace was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 10th pick. ESPN is reporting that the Mavericks are trading Wallace and Davis Bertans to the Thunder for No. 12 pick.

No. 11 pick: Jalen Suggs and the Orlando Magic just added another lottery pick: Jett Howard.

No. 12 pick: The Thunder drafted Derrick Lively with the 12th pick. They will pair him with Chet Holmgren next season.

No. 13 pick: The Toronto Raptors drafted Kansas shooter Gradey Dick with the 13th selection.

No. 14 pick: UConn guard Jordan Hawkins was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 14th selection.

No. 15 pick: Michigan guard Kobe Bufkin was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 15th selection.

No. 16 pick: Keyonte George was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 16th selection.

No. 17 pick: Jalen Hood-Schifino was drafted by the Lakers with the 17th overall selection.

No. 18 pick: The Miami Heat drafted Jaime Jaquez Jr. with the 18th selection.

No. 19 pick: The first WCC player is off the board. Santa Clara guard Brandin Podziemski was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 19th selection.

No. 20 pick: Cam Whitmore was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 20th selection.

No. 21 pick: Alabama forward Noah Clowney was drafted by the Brooklyn Nets with the 21st selection.

No. 22 pick: The Brooklyn Nets drafted former Montverde Academy star Dariq Whitehead with the 22nd selection.

No. 23 pick: The Portland Trail Blazers drafted Kris Murray with the 23rd selection. Murray is the twin brother of Sacramento Kings' rookie Keegan Murray.

No. 24 pick: The Sacramento Kings drafted Olivier-Maxence Prosper and traded him to the Dallas Mavericks.

No. 25 pick: The Boston Celtics drafted Marcus Sasser and traded him to the Detroit Pistons for the 31st pick.

No. 26 pick: Belmont's Ben Sheppard was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 26th selection.

No. 27 pick: Arkansas freshman Nick Smith Jr. was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 27th selection.

No. 28 pick: The Utah Jazz drafted Ohio State's Brice Sensabaugh with the 28th selection.

No. 29 pick: BOOM! The Denver Nuggets traded up with the Indiana Pacers to draft Julian Strawther with the 29th pick.

No. 30 pick: The Los Angeles Clippers drafted Kobe Brown with the last pick of the first round.