NBA Draft Results 2019: Team-by-Team Grades, List of Picks and Analysis

Thursday night marked the official start of the NBA career of Zion Williamson. The former Duke star was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the first pick in the 2019 NBA draft, and he'll now look to lead a franchise that recently agreed to trade away its former superstar, Anthony Davis, to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Williamson could quickly become the face of the Pelicans, and he's certainly the player they will likely build around moving forward. That's already started, as New Orleans drafted three other players, including two in the first round, on Thursday night.

But this isn't just the start to Williamson's pro career. Many top college and international prospects now have new homes after the two-round NBA draft took place.

Here's a team-by-team breakdown of the draft, followed by a closer look at which teams did the best jobs Thursday night.

2019 NBA Draft Results

Team-By-Team Breakdown, Grades

Atlanta Hawks
Picks: Virginia SF De'Andre Hunter (No. 4); Duke SF Cam Reddish (No. 10); Maryland C Bruno Fernando (No. 34)
Grade: A

Boston Celtics
Picks: Indiana SG Romeo Langford (No. 14); Tennessee PF Grant Williams (No. 22); Purdue PG Carsen Edwards (No. 33); LSU PG Tremont Waters (No. 51)
Grade: B+

Brooklyn Nets
Picks: Georgia PF Nicolas Claxton (No. 31); UCLA PG Jaylen Hands (No. 56)
Grade: C

Charlotte Hornets
Picks: Kentucky PF PJ Washington (No. 12); Nevada SG Cody Martin (No. 36); San Diego State PF Jalen McDaniels (No. 52)
Grade: B

Chicago Bulls
Picks: North Carolina SG Coby White (No. 7); Arkansas PF Daniel Gafford (No. 38)
Grade: B+

Cleveland Cavaliers
Picks: Vanderbilt PG Darius Garland (No. 5); Belmont SF Dylan Windler (No. 26); USC SG Kevin Porter Jr. (No. 30)
Grade: B+

Dallas Mavericks
Picks: Nebraska SF Isaiah Roby (No. 45)
Grade: N/A

Denver Nuggets
Picks: Oregon C Bol Bol (No. 44)
Grade: B+

Detroit Pistons
Picks: France PF Sekou Doumbouya (No. 15); Lithuania SG Deividas Sirvydis (No. 37); Tennessee PG Jordan Bone (No. 57)
Grade: A-

Golden State Warriors
Picks: Michigan SG Jordan Poole (No. 28); Serbia PF Alen Smailagic (No. 39); Villanova PF Eric Paschall (No. 41)
Grade: C

Houston Rockets
Picks: None
Grade: N/A

Indiana Pacers
Picks: Georgia C Goga Bitadze (No. 18)
Grade: B+

Los Angeles Clippers
Picks: Florida State C Mfiondu Kabengele (No. 27); Florida State SG Terance Mann (No. 48)
Grade: A-

Los Angeles Lakers
Picks: Iowa State SG Talen Horton-Tucker (No. 46)
Grade: B+

Memphis Grizzlies
Picks: Murray State PG Ja Morant (No. 2); Gonzaga PF Brandon Clarke (No. 21)
Grade: A

Miami Heat
Picks: Kentucky SG Tyler Herro (No. 13); Stanford SF KZ Okpala (No. 32)
Grade: B

Milwaukee Bucks
Picks: None
Grade: N/A

Minnesota Timberwolves
Picks: Texas Tech SG Jarrett Culver (No. 6); Washington SG Jaylen Nowell (No. 43)
Grade: B+

New Orleans Pelicans
Picks: Duke PF Zion Williamson (No. 1); Texas C Jaxson Hayes (No. 8); Virginia Tech SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker (No. 17); Brazil SG Marcos Louzada Silva (No. 35)
Grade: A+

New York Knicks
Picks: Duke SG RJ Barrett (No. 3); Michigan SF Ignas Brazdeikis (No. 47)
Grade: A-

Oklahoma City Thunder
Picks: SF Darius Bazley (No. 23)
Grade: C+

Orlando Magic
Picks: Auburn PF Chuma Okeke (No. 16)
Grade: C

Philadelphia 76ers
Picks: Washington SF Matisse Thybulle (No. 20); Iowa State SF Marial Shayok (No. 54)
Grade: C-

Phoenix Suns
Picks: North Carolina SF Cameron Johnson (No. 11); Virginia PG Ty Jerome (No. 24)
Grade: C

Portland Trail Blazers
Picks: North Carolina SF Nassir Little (No. 25)
Grade: A-

Sacramento Kings
Picks: Wyoming SG Justin James (No. 40); Virginia PG Kyle Guy (No. 55); Serbia SG Vanja Marinkovic (No. 60)
Grade: C+

San Antonio Spurs
Picks: Croatia PF Luka Samanic (No. 19); Kentucky SG Keldon Johnson (No. 29); Mississippi State SG Quinndary Weatherspoon (No. 49)
Grade: B

Toronto Raptors
Picks: Miami C Dewan Hernandez (No. 59)
Grade: B-

Utah Jazz
Picks: College of Charleston PF Jarrell Brantley (No. 50); Hofstra PG Justin Wright-Foreman (No. 53); Yale SG Miye Oni (No. 58)
Grade: B

Washington Wizards
Picks: Gonzaga PF Rui Hachimura (No. 9); Tennessee SF Admiral Schofield (No. 42)
Grade: B+

Top 3 Draft Grades

New Orleans Pelicans (A+)

The Pelicans added four players, including three in the first 17 picks. Of course, Williamson is the biggest acquisition, but Hayes and Alexander-Walker are also nice additions who could turn out to be solid pieces for New Orleans.

Williamson will soon become the Pelicans' cornerstone as they enter a new era and look to become a perennial contender in the Western Conference.

"We are [beginning to] crescendo now," New Orleans general manager David Griffin said, according to ESPN.com's Malika Andrews. "I think it is only going to continue to grow."

Memphis Grizzlies (A)

The Grizzlies added the best point guard in the class, Morant, then made another big acquisition by trading up to select Clarke at No. 21. Those are two players who will immediately make Memphis a better team.

With the Grizzlies trading point guard Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz, this is now Morant's offense to lead. And the former Murray State standout appears poised to do just that.

"It's been crazy," Morant said, according to ESPN.com's Tim Bontemps. "Obviously a wild moment for me, coming from my story, what I've been through to get to this point. I'm just very excited to be able to accomplish my dream."

Atlanta Hawks (A)

The Hawks owned two top-10 picks, and they used those to add a pair of talented players to their team.

First, they traded up from No. 8 to No. 4 to select Hunter, a strong defensive player who should have a smooth transition to the NBA. Then, they selected Reddish at No. 10. While Reddish wasn't rated as highly as his former Duke teammates Williamson and Barrett, he's a solid all-around player who should contribute quickly for Atlanta.

With these two soon-to-be rookies, along with Trae Young and John Collins, the Hawks now have a great young core to build around moving forward. So, this could become a consistently successful franchise in the years to come.