John Calipari congratulates Antonio Reeves after being selected in 2024 NBA Draft

On Thursday, the New Orleans Pelicans selected former Kentucky star Antonio Reeves with the No. 47 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Shortly after, former Kentucky head coach John Calipari congratulated Reeves on his accomplishment.

“So proud of Antonio Reeves,” Calipari wrote on X. “He has made himself an NBA player. A three level scorer who became a defender and a rebounder. Absolutely loved coaching him and seeing his growth!”

While Calipari is no longer at the helm of Kentucky, he’s still happy for his former player. After all, Calipari helped Reeves transform from an Illinois State standout into an All-American.

In his first season with UK in 2022-23, Reeves averaged 14.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while winning the SEC Sixth Man of the Year Award. Despite posting a stellar season, Reeves garnered little NBA attention. Thus, he opted to return to Kentucky for one more season.

The Big Blue Nation couldn’t be more thankful. In the 2023-24 season, Reeves started in all 33 of Kentucky’s games, averaging 20.2 points per game — the most ever by a player at UK under Calipari. The 6-foot-5 guard shot an incredible 51.2% from the field and 44.7% from beyond the arc.

For his efforts, he was named a USBWA Third-Team All-American, All-SEC First Team member and Wooden Award finalist. Now, Reeves will hope to see his success translate at the next level.

What are NBA experts saying about Antonio Reeves?

Although NBA experts are not sold on Reeves’ ability to succeed in the NBA yet, they don’t deny he boasts loads of talent. Ahead of the draft, RotoWire weighed in on Reeve’s NBA potential.

“At 6-foot-5, Reeves is an elite three-point shooter, but his jumper is a set shot with limited lift, which may be difficult to get off in the NBA,” RotoWire wrote. “He has the skill set to be a capable 3-and-D professional, but at 24 years old, Reeves isn’t an ideal prospect. He developed into a savvy all-around player in college, but his three-point prowess makes him worthy of NBA consideration.

“Reeves needs to display his sharpshooting prowess early, similar to Sam Hauser and Matt Ryan, who both showed promise as older prospects in the G League before getting NBA opportunities. If Reeves finds his way into a rotation, he could have an impact like Naji Marshall, who was a Swiss Army Knife off the bench for New Orleans in 2023-24 and shot 38.7% from deep on 2.3 attempts per game.”