The Lakers used the 47th pick of the NBA draft to select one of college basketball’s deadliest shooters: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.
Not only did the Ukraine native shoot the Big 12’s best 3-point percentage (44.4), he also set a Kansas program-record 115 triples, which ranked 10th in the entire NCAA.
By drafting Mykhailiuk and stretch center Moritz Wagner, the Lakers are looking to shore up last season’s 34.5 team 3-point percentage, which was the second-lowest in the NBA.
The 6-foot-8 shooting guard used his long-distance scoring to average 14.6 points, while also averaging 1.2 steals during his Second Team All-Big 12 campaign.
Although Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka called Mykhailiuk “one of our best knockdown shooters that we had in our building” for predraft workouts, the 21-year-old felt that he also proved to the team that he can do more than just connect from deep.
A former point guard, Mykhailiuk feels that his strengths include handling the ball, passing, attacking the hoop and hitting mid-range shots.
He also considers himself a “sneaky athlete.”
“I feel like it’s just a blessing to be part of the Lakers and be part of the NBA,” Mykhailiuk said. “With all of the Lakers’ history, t’s just a blessing to be part of the team.”