This NBA Draft should be another celebration for Auburn

Johni Broome will likely make it seven picks in seven years for the Tigers. It's a sign that the program is rolling — and it's not slowing down.

(Steven Leonard/Auburn Tigers)

AUBURN — Auburn basketball won’t be front and center at tonight’s NBA Draft.

It’s actually been a few years since the Tigers have been there. Four years ago, Auburn put two first-rounders into the NBA for the first time in program history: Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.

In three seasons with the Houston Rockets, Smith has proven to be a truly valuable piece for a resurgent franchise. A few days ago, the Rockets reportedly refused to include the former No. 3 pick in their trade for future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant, opting to ship leading scorer, former No. 2 pick and — interestingly enough — past Auburn basketball recruiting target Jalen Green instead.

Kessler, meanwhile, has parlayed his late first-round selection into a fantastic start with the Utah Jazz. He’s consistently been one of the league’s top shot-blockers. This past campaign, Kessler averaged 11.1 points and 12.2 rebounds per game and was the NBA’s single-best player in offensive rebounds. The Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James and Luka Doncic, have been after him in trade talks for a long time.

While Smith and Kessler have established themselves in the NBA over the last three years, Auburn hasn’t put another player into the draft. The Tigers have continued to win and compete for championships under Bruce Pearl, but it hasn’t been with notable pro production.

That will likely change Thursday night, as the greatest player in Auburn men’s basketball history should get a call on Night 2 of the NBA Draft.

The legendary collegiate career of Johni Broome will officially be over, and he will start his journey as a pro player.

Barring something unforeseen, Broome won’t hear his name called in the first round Wednesday. But he’s widely expected to be a second-round selection Thursday. Just look at the latest batch of draft projections heading into draft day:

• ESPN: No. 44 overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder

• The Athletic: No. 38 overall to the San Antonio Spurs

• Bleacher Report: No. 43 overall to the Utah Jazz

• Sports Illustrated: No. 47 overall to the Milwaukee Bucks

• Yahoo Sports: No. 51 overall to the Los Angeles Clippers

• The Ringer: No. 41 overall prospect (doesn’t have two-round mock draft)

• Tankathon: No. 37 overall to the Detroit Pistons

• CBS Sports: No. 35 overall prospect (doesn’t have two-round mock draft)

• No Ceilings: No. 35 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers

• Swish Theory: No. 33 overall prospect (doesn’t have two-round mock draft)

Broome is an early-to-mid second-round draft prospect, which means he won’t get the fanfare and the buzz of the picks who will go in the first 30 selections. The draft’s coverage will move off from ABC at that point. It’s on a completely different day now, continuing a format that was introduced last year.

Who knows? ESPN might be in a commercial break when Broome is selected. It’s happened before with a second-round pick — one that turned out to be a future three-time MVP and a current “best player in the entire world” candidate.

Broome was neck-and-neck with tonight’s No. 1 overall selection, Cooper Flagg, for the title of best player in college basketball all last season. The Auburn big man even got a National Player of the Year award away from FlaggMania, picking up the honor from Sporting News on his way to unanimous first-team All-American status.

Flagg, though, is a young-for-his-class 18-year-old phenom who seems to do every single thing well on a basketball court with versatility and explosiveness. Broome will turn 23 before his first season in the NBA and doesn’t boast top-tier athleticism. Those are usually two major strikes against a draft prospect.

But here Broome is, standing on the precipice of getting drafted. What’s undeniable is that Broome is elite at what he does, and that translated into one of the best statistical runs in the history of Auburn — and SEC — basketball. While it might be old-school basketball, it gets massive results. And the league can’t ignore that.

Broome’s presumptive selection in the second round of this year’s NBA Draft, again, won’t be met with massive fanfare from the basketball world.

However, this time should be the latest celebration of what Auburn basketball has become under Pearl and his staff — and where it could be headed.

Because, after all, this week almost had a guaranteed two Tigers in the draft.