Duke's Matthew Hurt Will Declare for 2021 NBA Draft, Hire Agent

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Duke forward Matthew Hurt will be on the board at the 2021 NBA draft.

The sophomore told ESPN's Jonathan Givony he will hire an agent and forego his collegiate eligibility.

Hurt was a first-team All-ACC honoree and was named the conference's most improved player. He averaged 18.3 points and 6.1 rebounds on 55.6 percent shooting from the field and 44.4 percent from deep. 

The 6'9" star is ranked No. 48 in ESPN's Top 100 list for the 2021 draft, though he didn't make the cut in the latest big board from Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman. 

According to Givony, Hurt is the second-best three-point shooter among players who are projected to go in the draft. Davion Mitchell of Baylor has the slight edge behind the arc, coming off of a year in which he shot 44.7 percent from three.

Still, Hurt's statistics put him in historical company. According to Givony, he will be just the second player in the last 30 years to be drafted after posting at least a 63 percent success rate in two-point range and 44 percent from deep. 

The other was Doug McDermott, a Creighton product who is in his seventh NBA season and third with the Indiana Pacers.

Hurt previously played for Team USA at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship and played in the 2019 McDonald's All American Game and Nike Hoop Summit. 

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The NBA draft will be held July 29.