Former NBA guard Brandon Knight discussed his disappointment on the night of the 2011 NBA Draft, admitting that he cried after being selected eighth overall despite expecting to be a top-five pick.
Knight explained that he had set a goal of being drafted among the first five players and believed his performances had put him in a position to achieve it.
“It’s funny because I cried a lot on that night because I always was a goal setter, very ambitious person… I had always written down I want to be a top five pick, and I was technically slotted to do that on every draft board.”
The former Kentucky standout entered the draft expecting to hear his name called early, but the Cleveland Cavaliers’ decision to select Tristan Thompson with the fourth pick changed his expectations.
“I’m sitting there in the draft and I’m like, all right I’m going to go top five. And then I’ll never forget Tristan Thompson who was slotted to go like 12, 13, his name jumps up to 4 and I’m like, uh oh, that’s going to push everybody back.”
Knight believed Thompson’s unexpected selection affected the order of subsequent picks.
He also pointed out that several teams drafting ahead of Detroit already had point guards or were looking to address other positions.
“And the teams that I could have went to either had point guards or didn’t have a need. So once that happened, I fell to eight… There’s no way that there’s five guys in this draft better than me.”
The Detroit Pistons eventually selected Knight with the eighth overall pick, following Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter, Tristan Thompson, Jonas Valanciunas, Jan Vesely, and Bismack Biyombo.
The 2011 draft also included several players who went on to have successful NBA careers. Kemba Walker was selected ninth, Klay Thompson went 11th, and Kawhi Leonard was chosen 15th.
Knight went on to play for several NBA teams, including the Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, and Phoenix Suns.
