Suns take Deandre Ayton No. 1 in NBA draft

The Phoenix Suns took Deandre Ayton with the first pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft.

The Bahamian-born 19-year-old center, who played one season for the Arizona Wildcats, joins 1978 top pick Mychal Thompson as the only other player from the Bahamas to go No. 1.

The 7-foot-1, 260-pound Ayton averaged 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds in his one season with Arizona.

He was named Pac-12 player of the year and helped the Wildcats to the both the ACC regular season and tournament titles.

The Suns, who finished with a league-worst 21-61 record, won the top pick in the NBA lottery last month.

The Sacramento Kings picked Duke’s Marvin Bagley III with the second pick.

The Atlanta Hawks picked Slovenian guard Luka Doncic as the third pick, but he was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks for fifth overall pick Trae Young and a protected 2019 first-round pick.

In between, the Memphis Grizzlies picked Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson Jr. with the fourth pick.

Missouri freshman Michael Porter Jr., once seen as a prospect worthy of the top pick in the draft, slipped to the Denver Nuggets at No. 14 due to concerns over a back injury that severely limited his time with the Tigers.