When the Houston Rockets selected Usman Garuba with the 23rd overall pick in last week’s NBA Draft, he did not shake commissioner Adam Silver’s hand like many prospects do on draft night.
Instead, he was over 6,000 miles away in Tokyo, Japan playing with the Spanish national team in pursuit of a gold medal.
Garuba, 19, was the youngest player on the squad featuring a good number of players who have tested NBA waters in their careers, and on Thursday night, Garuba joined that group when the Rockets were fortunate to pick him at 23.