Wyoming’s Justin James Picked No. 40 By The Sacramento Kings

Former University of Wyoming basketball star Justin James was selected in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft Thursday night by the Sacramento Kings.

James was chosen with the 40th overall pick. He became the 29th Cowboy taken in the NBA Draft and is the first since Larry Nance Jr. in 2015.

James led the Mountain West Conference in scoring at 22.1 points per game, which ranked him No. 19 nationally last season. He also grabbed 8.5 rebounds per game and dished out 4.4 assists per contest. Both marks put him in the top seven in the conference. James led the MW in steals per game at 1.5. He’s the first player since Penny Hardaway in 1993 to average over 22 points per game, over four assists, eight rebounds and one steal per game.

During his senior season with the Pokes, James scored 706 total points ranking second in a single season in school history. That ranks behind only Josh Adams’ 740 in the 2015-16 season. James made 200 free throws this season. That led the MW and ranked No. 10 nationally.

With 2,061 points in his career, Justin James ranks third in school history and fourth in the history of the Mountain West Conference.

James was one of three players from the MW that heard their name called in Thursday night’s NBA Draft. The other two were Nevada’s Cody Martin (pick No. 36 – Charlotte Hornets) and San Diego State’s Jalen McDaniels (pick No. 52 – Charlotte Hornets).