ARIZONA BASKETBALL

Could Deandre Ayton be the first player out of Arizona to be drafted No. 1?

May 15, 2018, 7:55 PM | Updated: May 21, 2018, 1:42 pm

The Phoenix Suns and University of Arizona know each other well.

Well enough for the school to tweet in the professional team’s direction about a talented big man who will be entering the draft. One who could go No. 1 overall, which is exactly where the Suns are slotted to pick.

One Deandre Ayton.

Ayton will likely become the fourth player out of Arizona in the last five years to be selected in the top-8 of the draft.

The others: Aaron Gordon (No. 4 in 2014), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (No. 8 in 2015) and Lauri Markkanen (No. 7 in 2017).

No Arizona player has ever gone No. 1 overall in the draft, though Mike Bibby and Derrick Williams went No. 2 overall in 1998 and 2011, respectively.

Ayton could be the first. He and EuroBasket guard Luka Doncic widely considered the top two choices in the draft class.

The Arizona center posed for a picture with hats from the four teams who had the best odds to get the No. 1 pick in the lottery on Tuesday.

The hat perched on his head? None other than the team with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The Phoenix Suns.

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Could Deandre Ayton be the first player out of Arizona to be drafted No. 1?