)
New Orleans 7-foot-1 rookie Hunter Dickinson is part of a growing trend in college basketball, with players staying lengthier periods of time prior to entering the NBA. Dickinson actually initially declared for the NBA draft back in 2021, but withdrew and wound up playing a total of five years of college hoops, split between Michigan and Kansas. He’s the first player to ever be named an All-American at two different schools, earning that honor in 2021, 2024 and 2025. Dickinson signed a two-way contract with the Pelicans in July, just prior to playing for the club’s summer league squad in Las Vegas.
Best moment as an athlete: “Playing in Allen Fieldhouse (as a Kansas Jayhawks player). That was super fun. I enjoyed that.”
How he chose his current uniform number of 4: “It was the lowest number I could get. I was cool with 4.”
One thing fans might be surprised to know about him: “I’m a big video gamer. PS5.”
Favorite thing about New Orleans: “It has a good balance. You can have fun and do a lot of different things here, but it’s not super busy like a New York City or Los Angeles. It’s cool being here and interacting with the city.”
Pregame ritual: “I warm up the same way every time when we do pregame layup lines. It’s a right-hand layup, then left-hand dunk, then left-hand hook, mid-range shot, then three-pointer. Every time I do the same thing.”
Favorite athlete as a kid: “Probably Dirk Nowitzki.”
What he’d be doing if he weren’t an NBA player: “If I’m still 7-foot-1 but not in the NBA, I’d probably do basketball broadcasting. I’ve been playing basketball my whole life, so whenever I’m done playing, whatever I do will probably be centered around the game. Maybe coaching – I like coaching a lot.”
Closest friends currently playing on NBA teams or in other pro sports: “I went to high school with Jordan Hawkins at DeMatha (in Maryland). I know Saddiq Bey from the DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia) area. I played in college (at Michigan) with Franz Wagner, Jett Howard and Caleb Houstan, who all play for Orlando. At Kansas, I played with Kevin McCullar of the Knicks, and Johnny Furphy of the Pacers.”