TyTy Washington has a bit of wait before being selected 29th in NBA Draft

By Dennis Varney

Updated June 24, 2022 7:48 AM

TyTy Washington Jr. shakes hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 29th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 23, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) John Minchillo AP

2022 NBA Draft coverage

A pair of Kentucky basketball players -- Shaedon Sharpe and TyTy Washington -- were chosen in the first round of 2022 NBA Draft. Click below for the Lexington Herald-Leader’s coverage from Thursday night.

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Kentucky’s TyTy Washington is headed to Houston. The Memphis Grizzlies chose him with the 29th overall pick of the NBA Draft on Thursday night, but the Rockets traded for that pick.

That selection followed Shaedon Sharpe, who was the seventh overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers.

At one point during the pre-draft process, Washington was considered to have an excellent shot to be a lottery pick (top 14), but his stock dropped as draft night neared. When the San Antonio Spurs chose Ohio State’s Malaki Branham at No. 20, Washington moved to the top of Jay Bilas’ Best Available Player list.

“I mean, every player wants to be a top pick, high pick and stuff like that,” Washington said afterward. “As I was falling, I wasn’t really stressing about it. It only takes one team to believe in you, and you can go out there and shock the world. That’s kind of my mindset on it. I always bet on myself, so I’m just going to go out there with a chip on my shoulder and remember all the teams that skipped me.”

Washington, a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 12.5 points and 3.9 assists in his lone season at UK, earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors by both the league’s coaches and media members. He was a five-time SEC Freshman of the Week selection. He shot 45.1% from the field and 35.0% from three-point range.

“Much like some of our other guys like Keldon (Johnson), Tyrese (Maxey) and Immanuel (Quickley) — TyTy is going to make a lot of teams regret passing on him,” UK Coach John Calipari said in a news release by the school. “His basketball IQ is advanced for a player of his age, and he has a bright future ahead of him.”

One of Washington’s most notable UK performances came when called upon to take the lead role as point guard when Sahvir Wheeler was out against Georgia with a neck injury. Washington scored 17 points and broke John Wall’s single-game school record with 17 assists.

This story was originally published June 23, 2022 at 10:57 PM.