NBA Draft Prospect Delon Wright Follows Brother's Footsteps to NBA

Delon Wright has been through the NBA draft process before, but June 25, 2015, will be the first time his role in the proceedings goes beyond harassing his brother.

Eleven years ago, Delon's older sibling, Dorell Wright, sat nervously at home, waiting for his name to be called. Dorell was fresh out of high school, a likely lottery selection, but still anxious as names other than his own filled the empty spaces in the first round of the 2004 NBA draft.

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

"I won’t do him like he did me on draft night," Dorell said. "I’m sitting on the couch, and the 10th pick goes by, and the 11th pick goes by, and Delon keeps on running up to me like, 'Why didn’t they call your name yet? Why didn’t they call your name yet?'

"He kept asking me, kept bothering me, and I’m like, 'Mom, can you please tell him to get out of my face and leave me alone?!' I won’t do him like that because it’s very nerve-wracking."

"I don't remember it too much," Delon recalls. "But so many people have told me stories about it that I think it has to be true. When I was younger, he used to give me a hard time, so it was natural for me to shoot back at him and bug him. I wasn't doing it to be mean, though. I just didn't know any better."

Eleven years later, it's Delon's turn to hear his name called on draft night. 

Scouting Delon, with Dorell

Delon, projected by most experts, such as Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman, to be taken in the mid-to-late first round, is a vastly different player than Dorell (who eventually went 19th to the Miami Heat in 2004).

At 6'6", Delon has NBA size at the point. His outside shot needs work, but he brings plenty of other plusses to the equation.

Dorell explains Delon is "a lot smoother than I was," but "I'm the one with all the charisma and the swag and stuff like that, though. So I got him on that."

Delon spent two years in junior college before landing at Utah, where swag is generally scarce. There, he quickly became one of the Pac-12 conference's most dominant players. He was a first-team All-Pac-12 and second-team All-American in 2015. He took home the Bob Cousy Award as the country's best point guard. Only Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky accumulated more win shares (9.8) than Wright's 8.4 on the season, according to Sports-Reference.com. 

Dorell says his brother stands out most on the defensive end.

"That's the No. 1 thing, and that's the thing that every team in the NBA needs. He's willing to sacrifice his offensive game to get on the court to guard guys."

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

Delon steals basketballs, Dorell steals moves

Delon has the size to guard either backcourt position and features strong anticipation skills—not to mention fantastic hands. His 73 steals ranked 18th in the nation last season.

Delon is quick to admit there's an area of Dorell's game he wishes he had: "Definitely the three-ball. That three-pointer. That's his specialty. If I had just half of that shot, I'll be fine with that."

But Delon thinks he's got his brother beat on the defensive end.

"Getting steals and deflections, things like that. He has that a little bit in his game, but primarily it's not one of his strong sides on defense."

Ironically, Dorell has stolen a thing or two from his younger brother.

"That’s where I got my pump fake from, from Delon. Delon had been always the slowest, smallest guy on the teams he played on before he grew, and he always used to use pump fakes. And my dad would always use Delon as an example and say, ‘You see how Delon does that?’ So I kind of got that from him a while ago."

Delon thinks there may be some revisionist history at work here.

"If he said that, I'll take it. But I'm not sure. He was with Dwyane Wade for six years, and I actually got my pump fake from watching D-Wade. Maybe there's a circle or something there."

Thanks to Dorell, Delon will enter the league more comfortably than most rookies. Having been around NBA players since age 12, Delon isn't easily starstruck.

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

"I still see some of those guys and think, 'Oh wow, that's so and so.' But just being around (Dorell), I've been meeting these guys since I was going into seventh grade. I'm not really in shock anymore when I see some of these guys. It's kind of natural now."

Another benefit of growing up around NBA talent: the chance to get your game validated early.

"I can't specifically say any names, but there was a gym in L.A., and there were about three courts of all NBA guys," Delon recalled. "My brother let me play, and I did pretty good. I was hitting shots and getting steals and stuff like that. And some of the guys there were like, 'Yeah, you're going to be good.' That was probably the first time I got to play with a whole bunch of other NBA guys and play pretty well. This was 2010. I was 18."

Figure it out, bro

Dorell doesn't plan to hold Delon's hand through the draft process—partly because their paths to selection night have been so different (Dorell skipped college altogether, while Delon, 23, got four years of post-high school seasoning), and partly because Dorell understands the value of figuring things out independently. 

"I totally want to be that brother that gives advice, lets him know this and that. But I don’t want to overstep my bounds because when I was going through it, I really had no idea what was going to happen. So I had to learn it on my own."

Fernando Medina/Getty Images

That's not to say Dorell will leave his brother out to dry. It's just that the veteran wants to wait until Delon's situation solidifies before he gives him the lay of the land.

"I just want to see the situation he’s in so I can get a better read for it. If he’s on a young, developing team, I’m going to have advice for him. If he’s on a team that’s nothing but veterans and there’s two or three guys in front of him. ... I’m going to let him know what he needs to do to be successful and to stick around and to get his playing time."

It's not entirely out of the question that Dorell could offer hands-on guidance during Delon's rookie season. Dorell, 29, is an unrestricted free agent, meaning he's at liberty to sign with any team.

"Of course I’ve thought about (playing with Delon). I would like to play with him, but at the same time I wouldn’t, just because I don’t want to be hanging around like I’m the big brother, you know? I want him to experience things on his own. ... I don’t know if he’d want that, either.

"I wouldn't mind playing with him, but I'd rather not," Delon explained. "I'd rather figure it out on my own and be under the wing of some other veterans."

Besides, Dorell has spent a lifetime giving his brother lessons on what his first year will be like.

"We used to have a basketball court in front of our house, and it was kind of on a hill," Delon recounted. "So I had to go out, and it would be dark, and I'd have to rebound for him. And if a ball would miss badly, it would roll down the hill. So I would have to go chase the ball for him."

Steve Dykes/Associated Press

"He’s been my rookie his whole life," Dorell said. "I just saw him this weekend in L.A., and he was at my hotel, and I was like, 'Come on, rook, I need you to take the table outside.' And he’s like 'Maaaaaaan.' And I said, 'Hey, I’m just getting you ready.' I’ve been doing him like that his whole life."

Delon's game figures to translate to the next level, particularly on defense. Good genes, early tests against NBA talent and a tolerance for hazing make Delon a uniquely prepared NBA prospect.

And though Dorell is content to let Delon navigate much of this new path on his own, as an older brother, he's still proud of his role in the process.

"I’m gonna feel awesome," Dorell said of the moment when his brother officially joins him in the NBA fraternity. "My mom and dad, too, they’re going to be overwhelmed. It’s a humbling experience to see your brother six years younger than you follow in your footsteps, because it means the things I’ve been doing my whole life, since I was six years old when he was born, have been the right things. I haven’t lived a clean-slate life. I’ve had my ups and downs, but the things I’ve learned have helped me and helped him as well."

"For sure, he'll be ready," Dorell concluded.

And if he's not, a little brotherly guidance is only a phone call away.

All quotes obtained firsthand.