The Sacramento Kings tonight selected Justin James and Vanja Marinkovic (VON-yuh ma-RIN-ko-vitch) with the 40th and 60th overall selections respectively in the 2019 NBA Draft, according to General Manager Vlade Divac.
With the 40th overall pick, Sacramento selected James out of Wyoming who averaged 22.1 points (.409 FG%, .296 3pt%, .741 FT%), 8.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 38.2 minutes per game in 32 games (32 starts) during his senior season in 2018-19. James totaled the second most points in a single season in program history (706) and led the Mountain West Conference in points per game, ranking his scoring average 19th in the nation. James earned All-Mountain West First Team honors as selected by the media and was chosen by the coaches to the All-Mountain West Second Team. James finished third in career points (2,061) in Wyoming Men’s Basketball history and fourth in career points in Mountain West Conference history.
A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Marinkovic was drafted with the 60th overall pick by the Kings after he averaged 12.2 points (.402 FG%, .328 3pt%, .750 FT%), 2.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 27.7 minutes per game in 23 games (19 starts) for Partizan Belgrade of the Adriatic League First Division during the 2018-19 season. Marinkovic posted 12.4 points (.419 FG%, .356 3pt%, .776 FT%), 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 29.1 minutes per game in 16 games (15 starts) during the ULEB EuroCup and FIBA Champions League for Partizan Belgrade, which he ranked 16th in EuroCup play. The 6-6 guard is also a member of the Serbian National team and played for Partizan alongside Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic during the 2013-14 season.