One of the most decorated players in Auburn basketball history has secured himself a spot in the NBA.
Former Auburn star big man Johni Broome was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the NBA Draft on Thursday night as the No. 35 overall pick.
“I think what he (Jay Bilas) said is right. I'm a winner. I get things done offensively and defensively. So, the Sixers got a good one," Broome said on the ESPN broadcast after his selection.
As the Tigers’ anchor on the inside during their second Final Four run in six seasons, Broome averaged a double-double with a team-high 18.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks along with 2.9 assists. He will arrive in Philadelphia with an array of accolades: 2024 All-SEC First Team, SEC All-Defensive Team, a runner up for National Player of the Year behind the No. 1 overall pick in Duke’s Cooper Flagg, a consensus First Team All-American, The Sporting News Player of the Year and SEC Player of the Year.
Broome helped lead Auburn to an outright SEC regular-season championship and a program-record eight consecutive weeks atop the national rankings.
The all-around playmaking ability of Broome is nothing to sleep on either, as he is just one of four players in NCAA history to record at least 2,000 points, 1,200 rebounds, and 350 blocks, per NBADraft.net.
Throughout the draft process, Broome worked out and met with 10 organizations: the Clippers, Pistons, Hawks, Nets, Raptors, Celtics, Warriors, Thunder, Timberwolves and Suns. Measuring in at 6-foot-9 and 249 pounds, the biggest knock on Broome was that he had the fifth-worst vertical among all forwards at the combine with a 24.5-inch vertical. However, that doesn’t undermine what he did during his collegiate career.
Broome will now be the sixth active former Tiger in the NBA, joining Auburn’s most recent draftees in Walker Kessler and Jabari Smith, Jr., along with Chuma Okeke, Issac Okoro and JT Thor. Sharife Cooper declared for the draft after one season on the Plains, but spent much of his career in the G-League.
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