Australian guard Exum meets 7 NBA teams

Australia's expected top pick in the NBA Draft guard Dante Exum has met with the LA Lakers, Orlando Magic and five other teams.

Australian basketballer Dante Exum

Australian basketballer Dante Exum has met with 7 teams during the NBA draft in Chicago. (AAP)

It was mission accomplished for Dante Exum, the Australian basketball prodigy who has survived his first major test on the way to possible stardom.

The 18-year-old lived up to the hype at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago, impressing team executives, coaches and the US media with his speed, jumping ability, wingspan and intelligence.

In speed tests, Exum eclipsed every other shooting guard.

He has met with seven teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks, and remains the consensus number four pick in June's NBA Draft, with a chance to break into the top three.

"I interviewed with four teams in total yesterday, so I think that's seven teams now," Exum told ESPN.

"They just want to get me in, learn a bit about me and know what I'm about."

The combine, shown live on US TV, gives teams a chance to meet, observe and measure the top young basketballers who have declared for draft.

Exum was the star attraction, but not just because some analysts compare him to a young Michael Jordan.

Exum has been dubbed the draft's international man of mystery because he did not play US college basketball and the only time many NBA coaches and executives had seen him was via YouTube video clips.

Teams were able to measure players at the combine, quelling fears they might have bumped up their height and wingspan.

Exum was 198cm tall in shoes and 194cm without, but it was his wingspan of 207cm that had NBA teams drooling, confirming the Australian Institute of Sport graduate had the physical potential to be a dominant point or shooting guard.

The one major question mark teams have with Exum is he made the strategic move of not bouncing or shooting a basketball in Chicago, declining to participate in drills with other players.

Scouts say Exum's shooting accuracy is his weakness, but teams will have the opportunity to test him during planned workouts over the next few weeks.

The expected top three draft picks, US college stars Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Jabari Parker, also made the strategic move of opting not to attend the combine.


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Source: AAP


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