Not familiar with Dante Exum? You will be soon...

More than that, really. Next month an NBA team -- probably one picking in the top five -- will nab Exum and place the future of the franchise on his slender
Not familiar with Dante Exum? You will be soon...
Not familiar with Dante Exum? You will be soon... /

Dante Exum isn't well known to NBA fans yet, but he'll likely be a top-five pick in next month's draft.
Dante Exum isn't well known to NBA fans yet, but he'll likely be a top-five pick in next month's draft :: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

More than that, really. Next month an NBA team -- probably one picking in the top five -- will nab Exum and place the future of the franchise on his slender shoulders. A little background: Exum is the son of Cecil Exum, a reserve forward on the Michael Jordan-led North Carolina teams in the 1980s, whose claim to fame was that he would never let Jordan or James Worthy dunk on him in practice. Cecil migrated to Australia in the late '80s and achieved some success in the NBL. He fell in love with the country, and when his career ended Cecil and his wife, Desiree; his oldest son, Jamar; and infant twins, Dante and Tierra, made Australia their permanent home.

As the questions slowed and the crowd began to disperse, Exum let slip a few smiles. "It is nice to get all the attention," Exum said. "I'm taking it one step at a time, and enjoying it." If Exum is as good as advertised, more will enjoy it, too.


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Chris Mannix
CHRIS MANNIX

Chris Mannix is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated covering the NBA and boxing beats. He joined the SI staff in 2003 following his graduation from Boston College. Mannix is the host of SI's "Open Floor" podcast and serves as a ringside analyst and reporter for DAZN Boxing. He is also a frequent contributor to NBC Sports Boston as an NBA analyst. A nominee for National Sportswriter of the Year in 2022, Mannix has won writing awards from the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Pro Basketball Writers Association, and is a longtime member of both organizations.