Whether you are a NBA fan or even a Terrence Clarke fan you had to love what the NBA did to honor the former University of Kentucky player Thursday night during the draft. Clarke played for Kentucky during an injury-plagued 2020-21 season but was killed in a single car accident April 23 in Los Angeles. Clarke, 19, had been training for the draft at a facility with former UK teammate Brandon Boston before being killed after leaving the workout.
After the lottery portion of the draft, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recognized Clarke as an official draftee.
“Terrence was expected to be drafted tonight but he tragically passed in April following a car crash,” Adam Silver said on ABC-TV. “He was 19. His extraordinary talent and commitment to the game deserve to be recognized on this stage.”
Credit those at Madison Square Garden for responding with a chant of “Terrence! Terrence! Terrence!” after Silverman spoke.
Clarke’s mother, Osmine, along with his brother, Gaven, and sister, Tatiana, were also at the draft and came on stage during the tribute by Silverman in a touching moment for UK fans
“Please know that he will forever be a part of the NBA family,” Silverman said.
Then he proclaimed: “With the next pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the NBA selects Terrence Clarke from the University of Kentucky.”
I can only imagine what that meant not only to Clarke’s family but also to UK coach John Calipari who had rushed to California to be with Clarke’s family after his passing.
Earlier Thursday Calipari made it clear on Twitter exactly what Clarke meant to him.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him, his mom, Osmine, and their family. I can only imagine how wide that smile of Terrence’s would have been hearing his name called. I’ve got a feeling he’ll be watching down on his teammates tonight and telling them to relax, enjoy the moment and have fun. That was the kind of person he was,” Calipari tweeted.
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Not long after the Clarke tribute, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Clarke’s teammate Isaiah Jackson with the 22nd overall pick. Some had projected Clarke might go in the top 20 and he was in New York for the draft. However, he was then traded to the Washington Wizards as part of a draft-night deal and then sent to Indianapolis.
Last year Kentucky’s Tyrese Maxey was picked No. 21 by Philadelphia and Immanuel Quickley went No. 25 to Oklahoma City before being traded to the New York Knicks. Both Maxey and Quickley had solid rookie seasons.
Before Jackson, the highest pick in Calipari’s tenure at UK for the first player selected in the draft was Maxey last year.
