Former G League Ignite teammates Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis heading to NBA's Central Division

Former G League Ignite teammates Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis will begin their NBA careers as Central Division rivals while the program that developed them disappears.

The Detroit Pistons selected Holland with the fifth overall pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday night. The move surprised the 6-foot-8 forward, who said he didn’t have any contact with the Pistons before the draft.

“It’s a huge shock to me,” Holland said.

Six picks later, the Bulls took Buzelis, a Chicago-area product and 6-9 forward whose parents played professionally in Lithuania.

“Me being born and raised there (in Chicago), it just makes it so much better,” Buzelis said. “I mean, it means everything to me.”

Holland, 18, averaged 19.5 points in 14 games with the NBA G League Ignite before a thumb injury knocked him out for the rest of the season. Buzelis, 19, averaged 14.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 26 games.

The NBA announced three months ago that the G League Ignite program wouldn’t exist beyond 2024.

The Ignite provided an opportunity for NBA prospects who weren’t yet draft-eligible to play pro basketball and prepare for the draft without having to attend college. The NBA determined that rule changes enabling college athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness made college basketball more appealing for players who typically had chosen the Ignite.

Buzelis said he benefited from his Ignite experience.

“Playing against the best players in the world,” Buzelis said. “Getting trained by the best coaches in the world and having some vets that have been on NBA rosters and know what it’s like to go through the route that we went on. So I think I gained an advantage by being there.”

Trajan Langdon, the Pistons' new president of basketball operations, bluntly described the distinctions in scouting Ignite players versus college guys.

“It’s just different," Langdon said. "Look, they’re playing against grown men.”

Holland was the first draft pick for Langdon, who already made a major shake-up by firing coach Monty Williams just a year after Detroit had given him a six-year, $78.5 million contract. The Pistons haven’t yet selected Williams’ replacement.

The Pistons have posted the league’s worst record each of the last two years, but they’ve been unlucky in the lottery and were picking fifth for a third straight draft. The Pistons, who haven’t reached the playoffs since 2019, used the No. 5 pick on Jaden Ivey in 2022 and on Ausar Thompson last year.

Needs: Shooting. The Bulls were 27th in the NBA in 3-pointers made and 26th in attempts last season, and they weren’t all that accurate, either. Chicago was 20th at 35.8% from beyond the arc.

Who they drafted: G League Ignite F Matas Buzelis at No. 11.

NBA comparison for Buzelis: A Chicago-area product whose parents played professionally in Lithuania, the 6-foot-9, 197-pound Buzelis has drawn some comparisons to Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren. Buzelis is known as a good ballhandler for his size and ability to finish at the rim. He’s also a versatile defender.

Needs: Now that they’ve found their coach ( Kenny Atkinson’s hiring isn’t yet official), the Cavs, focused on adding a young player to their established roster that got them to the Eastern Conference semifinals. There’s little pressure to add immediate help, so Cleveland was likely to pick a player it can develop or use as a future trade asset. They’ve coveted a two-way wing for some time, and there’s always room for another shooter.

Who they drafted: California F Jaylon Tyson at No. 20.

NBA comparison for Tatum: Miami’s Caleb Martin. The 6-foot-6 Tyson played at three schools in three years, going from Texas to Texas Tech to Cal, where he averaged 19.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season.

Needs: Frontcourt players, outside shooters and strong defenders.

Who they drafted: G League Ignite F Ron Holland at No. 5.

NBA comparison for Holland: Andre Iguodala. One of the best defensive forwards in the draft is similar in size and style to Iguodala, a one-time All-Star, two-time All-Defensive Team player and four-time NBA champion.

The Indiana Pacers didn’t have a first-round pick after making the deepest postseason run of any Central Division team, losing to Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. The Pacers have three second-round picks Thursday.

Needs: The Pacers could stand to build some long-term depth with center Myles Turner and valuable backup point guard T.J. McConnell eligible to hit free agency after the upcoming season.

Who they drafted: Nobody yet. The Pacers currently have three second-round picks: No. 36, No. 49 and No. 50.

Needs: The Bucks could use some wings. With Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley potentially leaving as free agents, the Bucks also may need to find a new shooting guard and backup point guard. Milwaukee also needs to find an heir apparent to 7-foot center Brook Lopez, who is 36 years old.

Who they drafted: G AJ Johnson at No. 23. Johnson is a California native who played most recently for the Illawarra Hawks of Australia's National Basketball League.

NBA comparison for Johnson: Bucks GM Jon Horst said Johnson is an athletic 6-5 combo guard with a 6-8 wingspan. Chicago's Zach LaVine arrived in the NBA a decade ago with similar dimensions and characteristics. But there's one major difference. LaVine was a double-figure scorer from his rookie season. Johnson didn't play much in Australia and may need plenty of time to develop into an NBA rotation player.

AP Sports Writers Larry Lage, Michael Marot, Andrew Seligman and Tom Withers and AP freelance writer Phillip Wilson contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show that AJ Johnson was taken with the 23rd overall pick

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Ron Holland II, walks across the stage after being selected by the Detroit Pistons as the fifth pick during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Ron Holland II, right, poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected by the Detroit Pistons as the fifth pick during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Ron Holland II, right, greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected by the Detroit Pistons as the fifth pick during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Matas Buzelis hugs NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected by the Chicago Bulls as the 11th pick during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Matas Buzelis hugs family and friends after being selected by the Chicago Bulls as the 11th pick during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Matas Buzelis hugs family and friends after being selected by the Chicago Bulls as the 11th pick during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Orlando Cepeda, the slugging first baseman nicknamed “Baby Bull” who became a Hall of Famer among the early Puerto Ricans to star in the major leagues, has died. He was 86.

The San Francisco Giants and his family announced the death Friday night, and a moment of silence was held as his photo showed on the scoreboard at Oracle Park midway through a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Our beloved Orlando passed away peacefully at home this evening, listening to his favorite music and surrounded by his loved ones,” his wife, Nydia, said in a statement released through the team. “We take comfort that he is at peace.”

It’s been a heartbreaking month for the Giants given Cepeda’s death followed that of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who died 10 days earlier on June 18 at age 93.

“Man, what another gut punch,” said Giants manager Bob Melvin, who grew up in the Bay Area cheering for the team. “Another just incredible personality and just beloved here. Statue out front. The numbers he put up, there are a lot of legends here and he’s certainly right in the middle of that. To have it so close in proximity to Willie, it’s kind of staggering.”

Cepeda was a regular at Giants home games through the 2017 season until he dealt with some health challenges. He was hospitalized in the Bay Area in February 2018 following a cardiac event.

One of the first Puerto Rican stars in the majors but limited by knee issues, he became Boston’s first designated hitter and credits his time as a DH for getting him enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 1999 as selected by the Veteran’s Committee.

“Orlando Cepeda’s unabashed love for the game of baseball sparkled during his extraordinary playing career, and later as one of the game’s enduring ambassadors,” Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark said. “We will miss his wonderful smile at Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown, where his spirit will shine forever, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the Cepeda family.”

When the Red Sox called Cepeda in December 1972 to inquire whether he’d like to be their first designated hitter, the unemployed player accepted on the spot.

“Boston called and asked me if I was interested in being the DH, and I said yes,” Cepeda recalled in a 2013 interview with The Associated Press in the 40th year of the DH. “The DH got me to the Hall of Fame. The rule got me to the Hall of Fame.”

He didn’t know what it would mean for his career, acknowledging, “I didn’t know anything about the DH.” The experiment worked out beautifully for Cepeda, who played in 142 games that season — the second-to-last in a decorated 17-year major league career. The A’s had released Cepeda only months after acquiring him from Atlanta on June 29, 1972.

Cepeda was celebrated at Fenway Park on May 8, 2013, for a ceremony celebrating his role as designated hitter. The Red Sox had invited him for their first home series of the season but his former Giants franchise was honoring the reigning World Series champions at the same time.

“It means a lot,” Cepeda said then. “Amazing. When you think everything’s finished, it’s only the beginning.”

He said then-A’s owner Charlie Finley sent him a telegram to call him within a 24-hour period or he’d be released. Cepeda didn’t meet the deadline and was let go in December 1972. He played in only three games for Oakland after the A’s acquired him for pitcher Denny McLain. Cepeda was placed on the disabled list with a left knee injury. He had 10 knee operations in all, sidelining him four different years.

Cepeda had been a first baseman and outfielder before joining the first class of baseball’s designated hitters under the new American League rule.

“They were talking about only doing it for three years,” he said. “And people still don’t like the idea of the DH. They said it wouldn’t last.”

The addition of the DH opened new opportunities for players such as Cepeda and others from his era who could still produce at the plate late in their careers but no longer played the field with the spot-on defense of their primes.

Cepeda was thrilled to have another chance.

He hit .289 with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs in 1973, starting off strongly with a .333 average and five homers in April. He drove in 23 runs in August on the way to DH of the Year honors. On Aug. 8 at Kansas City, Cepeda hit four doubles.

“That was one of the best years,” Cepeda recalled, “because I was playing on one leg and I hit .289. And I hit four doubles in one game. Both my knees were hurting, and I was designated hitter of the year.”

Cepeda topped Baltimore’s Tommy Davis (.306, seven homers, 89 RBIs) and Minnesota’s Tony Oliva (.291, 16 HRs, 92 RBIs) for top DH honors.

“It wasn’t easy for me to win the award,” Cepeda said. “They had some great years.”

Cepeda knew little English when he arrived in the minor leagues in the mid-1950s, putting him among the first wave of Spanish-speaking players thrown into a different culture to play professional baseball, build new lives and send money back home.

It was an opportunity to succeed in a sport he loved, as long as daunting challenges off the field could be overcome.

Early on, Cepeda was told by a manager to go home to Puerto Rico and learn English before coming back to his career in the U.S.

“Coming here my first year, everything was a novelty to me, a surprise,” Cepeda recalled in a 2014 interview with the AP. “When I came to Virginia, I was there for one month and my father died. My dad said, ‘I want to see my son play pro ball,’ and he died the day before I played my first game in Virginia.

“From there I went to Puerto Rico and when I came back here, I had to come back because we didn’t have no money and my mother said, ‘You’ve got to go back and send me money, we don’t have money to eat,’” he said.

Cepeda had continued to be encouraged watching so many young players from Latin America arriving in the United States with better English skills, thanks in large part to all 30 major league organizations putting more emphasis into such training through academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

There also are English classes offered to young players during spring training and into extended spring, plus through the various levels of the minor leagues.

“Orlando overcame challenges throughout his life to build a Hall of Fame career," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “This beloved figure from Puerto Rico was one of the many players of his era who helped turn baseball into a multicultural game.”

He had his troubles, too.

Cepeda was arrested in May 2007 after being pulled him over for speeding when officers discovered drugs in the car.

The California Highway Patrol officer arrested Cepeda after finding a “usable” amount of a white-powder substance that likely was methamphetamine or cocaine, while marijuana and a syringe were also discovered.

After his playing career ended, Cepeda was convicted in 1976 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, of smuggling marijuana and sentenced to five years in prison.

That conviction was probably one reason he was not elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Cepeda eventually was elected by the Veterans Committee in 1999.

Cepeda played first base during his 17 seasons in the majors, beginning with the Giants. He also spent time with St. Louis, Atlanta, Oakland, Boston and Kansas City. In the spring of 1969, Cepeda was traded by the Cardinals to the Braves for Joe Torre.

A seven-time All-Star who played in three World Series, Cepeda was the 1958 NL Rookie of the Year with San Francisco and NL MVP in 1967 with St. Louis, a city sad to see him go in that trade that brought Torre to town. In 1961, Cepeda led the NL with 46 homers and 142 RBIs. Cepeda was a .297 career hitter with 379 home runs.

It wasn’t until after that 1973 season as DH that Cepeda could look back and appreciate all he had accomplished that year — along with the big part he played in history and change in the sport.

“I just did it,” he said of learning the DH. “Every day, I say to myself, how lucky I am to be born with the skills to play ball.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

St. Louis Cardinals' Orlando Cepeda scores in the eighth inning of a baseball game as New York Mets catcher J.C. Martin, right, and umpire Tim McCarver, left, watch at Shea Stadium in New York in 1968. Cepeda, the slugging first baseman nicknamed “Baby Bull” who became a Hall of Famer among the early Puerto Ricans to star in the major leagues, has died. He was 86. The San Francisco Giants and his family announced the death Friday night, June 28, 2024, and a moment of silence was held on the scoreboard at Oracle Park midway through a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Willie Mays, left, is joined by former San Francisco Giants' Orlando Cepeda, right, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal, front, before Game 3 of the World Series between the Giants and the Anaheim Angels in San Francisco,Oct. 22, 2002. Mays, the electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players, has died. He was 93. Mays' family and the San Francisco Giants jointly announced Tuesday night, June 18, 2024, he had “passed away peacefully” Tuesday afternoon surrounded by loved ones. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

FILE - St. Louis Cardinals' Orlando Cepeda, left, and Boston Red Sox's Carl Yastrzemski pose for a photo in March 1968 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Cepeda, the slugging first baseman nicknamed “Baby Bull” who became a Hall of Famer among the early Puerto Ricans to star in the major leagues, has died. He was 86. The San Francisco Giants and his family announced the death Friday night, June 28, 2024, and a moment of silence was held on the scoreboard at Oracle Park midway through a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Harry Hall, File)

Players stand on the field as the San Francisco Giants announce the death of former baseball player Orlando Cepeda, before the sixth inning of the team's baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, June 28, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

FILE - Atlanta Braves' Orlando Cepeda poses for a photo in 1970, location not known. Cepeda, the slugging first baseman nicknamed “Baby Bull” who became a Hall of Famer among the early Puerto Ricans to star in the major leagues, has died. He was 86. The San Francisco Giants and his family announced the death Friday night, June 28, 2024, and a moment of silence was held on the scoreboard at Oracle Park midway through a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo, File)