SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio native Kevin McCullar Jr. was drafted by the New York Knicks with the 56th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Long before McCullar Jr. was a draft pick in the NBA, he was a superstar in San Antonio, where he attended Wagner High School and led them all the way to the 6A title game as a sophomore. He boasted an average line of 16.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in his senior season alone, landing him on the ESPN Top-30 national player list as a 4-star recruit.
His father, Kevin McCullar Sr., played football at Texas Tech before reaching the NFL, which might've helped his son's decision to commit to Texas Tech out of high school.
While at Tech, McCullar Jr. started his career as a redshirt freshman before starting the final six games of the season; that's when coaches saw their first glimpse of what he was capable of heading into that offseason. The next two seasons at Texas Tech showed that McCullar Jr. was primed for success as he led the team in several stats and helped them reach back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
He made the Academic All-Big12 Team two years in a row as well.
McCullar Jr. transferred to Kansas to finish his collegiate career where he only helped his case to make it to the NBA.
In two years at Kansas, McCullar Jr. was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team, was an All-Big 12 First Team selection and was named as a finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year, a feat he accomplished for three consecutive seasons.
In his senior year, he became the first NCAA player since the 2007-08 season to record back-to-back triple-doubles, which were also only the third and fourth in Kansas history.
McCullar Jr. finished his collegiate career with a total of 1,517 points, 745 rebounds, 338 assists and 217 steals between his three seasons at Texas Tech and two with Kansas.
And now, with the 56th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks have selected Kevin McCullar Jr. He joins a team that came just one win short of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and features plenty of starpower heading into another season where they're expected to be a contender to win it all.