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Lakers draft D'Angelo Russell before 76ers can

NEW YORK - The roar at the Barclays Center was deafening when the Los Angeles Lakers selected D'Angelo Russell as the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft, but the cheering likely wasn't coming from Philadelphia fans.

NEW YORK - The roar at the Barclays Center was deafening when the Los Angeles Lakers selected D'Angelo Russell as the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft, but the cheering likely wasn't coming from Philadelphia fans.

Russell, the Ohio State point guard, would have filled a definite need for the 76ers and there was plenty of pre-draft buzz about the 6-foot-5 freshman.

Instead, the Lakers bypassed Duke center Jahlil Okafor for a guard, showing again how the NBA is evolving, especially after Golden State just won the championship with a guard-oriented team.

That left the Sixers drafting Okafor, who led Duke to the NCAA championship, at No. 3. This is far from a consolation prize.

After Minnesota selected Kentucky center Karl Anthony-Towns at No. 1 as expected, the draft became a scrambled, unpredictable affair when the Lakers upset conventional thinking in selecting Russell.

Point guards who have deep range are certainly in vogue in the NBA and Russell did shoot 41 percent from beyond the arc.

Instead of playing in Philadelphia, he will join Lower Merion product Kobe Bryant in the L.A. backcourt.

"Man, Kobe is a great dude," Russell said. "Not knowing how much he has left in the tank is the scary thing, knowing how much he brings to the game and if he leaves, what we'll lose."

Russell said he had no idea he'd be a Laker until his name was called. "I didn't know at all," he said. "I am still in shock."

Emmanuel Mudiay was the draft's second point guard selected, going at No. 7 to Denver.

If Russell drew applause, 7-foot-1 Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia did not receive a hero's welcome from the New York crowd when the Knicks selected him with the fourth overall pick.

"A lot of fans weren't happy that they drafted me, but I have to do everything that's in my hands to turn those booing fans into clapping fans," said Porzingis, delivering the best sound bite of the evening.

As for Towns, in March 2014 he was helping St. Joseph's (Metuchen) beat Paul VI for the South Jersey Non-Public A championship. Now he's the top overall pick, going to a team that hasn't made the postseason in the last 11 years.

"That's going to be the main goal for me, making the playoffs," Towns said.

It was the first time the Wolves had the first overall pick in their 26-year history.

It was the third time since 2010 that the No. 1 overall pick has come from Kentucky, with John Wall taken first by Washington in 2010 and Anthony Davis selected by New Orleans in 2012.

Kentucky ruled the draft, with four players in the top 13. Besides Towns, defensive standout Willie Cauley-Stein went sixth to Sacramento, Trey Lyles was selected 12th by Utah, and Devin Booker was No. 13 by Phoenix.

Duke also had two top-10 picks, with Justise Winslow selected 10th by Miami, joining Okafor.

@sjnard