BROOKLYN, N.Y. – It was nearly the close of the first round for the 2024 NBA Draft before the call of a lifetime came for former Virginia forward Ryan Dunn. The Denver Nuggets drafted him 28th overall Wednesday. Dunn is expected to be traded to the Phoenix Suns.
Dunn became the 10th Virginia player selected in the NBA Draft since 2012, joining Mike Scott (2012), Joe Harris (2014), Justin Anderson (2015), Malcolm Brogdon (2016), Devon Hall (2018), De’Andre Hunter (2019), Ty Jerome (2019), Kyle Guy (2019) and Trey Murphy III (2021). Hunter, Anderson, Jerome and Murphy were first-round selections, while Scott, Harris, Brogdon, Hall and Guy were drafted in the second round.
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Dunn is also the 12th UVA player to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, joining Barry Parkhill (1973), Wally Walker (1976), Jeff Lamp (1981), Ralph Sampson (1983), Olden Polynice (1987), Bryant Stith (1992), Cory Alexander (1995), Anderson (2015), Hunter (2019), Jerome (2019) and Murphy III (2021).
The 6-8 forward averaged 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocked shots and 1.3 steals en route to All-ACC honorable mention honors in 2023-24. Dunn was named to the All-ACC Defensive team after leading the league in blocked shots. Dunn reached double figures in scoring in 11 games and tallied a team-high five double-doubles. He averaged 2.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in 12.9 minutes per game as a freshman in 2022-23.