Former Blue Devil Sharpshooter Drains First NBA Field Goal

Dariq Whitehead, a former five-star recruit who went No. 22 overall to the Brooklyn Nets at the 2023 NBA Draft following his one-and-done Duke basketball campaign, was out of commission for Summer League and preseason action while recovering from a second procedure on his once-fractured right foot that he underwent in May.

He's since played 13 G League games for the Long Island Nets, averaging 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 18.2 minutes per outing.

In late November, the 19-year-old forward made his NBA debut. He received three minutes of mop-up duty and recorded his first point — via a 1-for-2 clip at the charity stripe — and first block in league. But he did not have a field goal attempt.

Whitehead, who shot 42.9 percent from downtown as a Blue Devil and improved throughout the year after bouncing back from the foot injury he sustained two months before the season began, hadn't been on the floor for the Brooklyn Nets since that night.

On Wednesday night, though, in a 144-122 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks (23-8), Whitehead logged 21 minutes off the bench.

Granted, his stat line, which included four boards and three dimes, was far from stellar.

That said, he didn't commit a turnover. And despite shooting only 1-for-5 from the field, including an 0-for-3 mark beyond the arc, he's sure to always remember the following silky floater that he swished with four minutes and change remaining in the fourth quarter.

After all, it goes down as his first made NBA field goal: