Nebrasketball: Dalano Banton Drafted in Second Round

In what is, frankly, a bit of a surprise move in what is quite the odd NBA Draft, Nebraska Cornhuskers’ departing point guard Dalano Banton was selected as the 46th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft tonight by the Toronto Raptors.

Banton, a 6-foot-9, 204-pound guard hails from Toronto originally. He becomes the 28th Husker to ever be drafted in program history, and the first in the Hoiberg era. He also becomes just the seventh Husker to be drafted in the second round, though the draft has been just two rounds since 1989. Marvin Stewart (1971) was the only Husker to be drafted in the second round or higher prior to 1989.

Banton played in all 27 games for Nebraska this past season and started in 22 of them. He averaged 9.6 points per game while leading the Huskers in both rebounding (5.9) and assists (3.9). He sat out the 2019-2020 season after transferring from Western Kentucky. After declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft, Banton earned an invite to the G-League Elite Camp and decided to keep his name in for the 2021 NBA Draft after receiving feedback following the event.

Banton will play next month in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League in Las Vegas Aug. 8-17 to start his pro-career. All games will be on one of the ESPN networks or NBA TV and on the ESPN App.