Josh Christopher became the ninth NBA first-round draft pick in Sun Devil history on Thursday when the Houston Rockets took him with the 24th pick.
He averaged 14.3 points per game in the COVID shortened 2020-21 season in 15 games before his season was cut short due to injury due to a hard fall after a clean block against Oregon on Feb. 11. He scored in double digits in 13 of the first 14 games including 28 vs. Villanova, 24 vs. UTEP, 22 vs. UCLA and 18 vs. Arizona.
He shot 44-of-55 (.800) from the free throw line and also averaged 4.7 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game.
He averaged 14.3 points per game in the COVID shortened 2020-21 season in 15 games before his season was cut short due to injury due to a hard fall after a clean block against Oregon on Feb. 11. He scored in double digits in 13 of the first 14 games including 28 vs. Villanova, 24 vs. UTEP, 22 vs. UCLA and 18 vs. Arizona.
He shot 44-of-55 (.800) from the free throw line and also averaged 4.7 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game.
| Arizona State NBA First-Round Draft Picks | ||||
| YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION | SUN DEVIL | TEAM |
| 1964 | 1 | 2 | Joe Caldwell | Detroit |
| 1975 | 1 | 5 | Lionel Hollins | Portland |
| 1981 | 1 | 21 | Alton Lister | Milwaukee |
| 1982 | 1 | 11 | Lafayette Lever | Portland |
| 1983 | 1 | 4 | Byron Scott | San Diego |
| 1995 | 1 | 27 | Mario Bennett | Phoenix |
| 2005 | 1 | 9 | Ike Diogu | Golden State |
| 2009 | 1 | 3 | James Harden | Oklahoma City |
| 2021 | 1 | 24 | Josh Christopher | Houston |
JAYGUP to H-TOWN ????
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) July 30, 2021
With 24th pick in the 2021 #NBADraft, the Houston Rockets select Josh Christopher.@Jaygup23 // #LeagueDevil pic.twitter.com/uMxrAWFSos
All American. pic.twitter.com/Wq06IpvCdi
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) September 23, 2020