Cavaliers select Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji at No. 14 overall

The Kansas wing has long been linked to Cleveland.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have added Ochai Agbaji, the Kansas product and Most Outstanding Player at last year’s Final Four, with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Agbjai, 22, is a 6’5”, 215-pound wing with a 6’10” wingspan who fits a need for Cleveland. This is a team in real need of players on the wing who can shoot and defend and Agbjai is that guy. He maybe doesn’t have the upside of other wing options, but he’s going to likely be good in his role. He provides something they actually need.

Last year at Kanas, he averaged 18.8 points per game and shot 41% from three. He was also an AP All-American in his senior year with the Jayhawks. He improved each year as a shooter in college, jumping from 31% as a freshman to 34% as a sophomore to 38% as a junior and, finally, 41% as a senior. As a defender, he figures to be, at worst, solid. He feels like a J.B. Bickerstaff player.

“I think I can play off whoever it is, a guy who sees the court well, has a good IQ and can find me in the right spots, whether it’s cutting to the basket or spotting up in the corner, different spots on the court,” Agbaji said in a pre-draft interview, per the Athletic. “But I feel like I’m really unselfish. I’ll screen. I’ll play for the other guys on the team and just try to win.”