NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers got the player they wanted and Lonzo Ball the team he wanted.

The 76ers selected guard Markelle Fultz on Thursday night with the No. 1 pick and the Lakers followed by taking Ball, the start of a record-setting run of one-and-dones in the NBA draft.

Markelle Fultz, who averaged more than 23 points per game in his one season at the University of Washington, was drafted by the 76ers with the No. 1 overall pick. Associated Press/Elaine Thompson

Lonzo Ball will get to stay home as he embarks on his pro career, as the Southern California native was drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. Associated Press/Mark Humphrey

The point guards from the Pac-12 Conference began a run of seven straight freshmen. Nine of the first 10 selections played just one season of college ball.

A night that’s usually about the rookies quickly was jolted by another of the big moves involving veterans that have come in a flurry since the NBA finals. The Chicago Bulls traded three-time all-star Jimmy Butler and the 16th overall pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the No. 7 overall draft pick – Arizona forward Lauri Markkanen.

While that was being completed, the draft got off to a familiar start, with the same teams drafting in the top-four positions and same order as last year: Philadelphia, the Lakers, Boston and Phoenix.

Fultz averaged 23.2 points last season, tops among freshmen, and added 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, excelling on a team that finished 9-22 and lost its final 13 games. He walked across the stage Thursday night at Barclays Center wearing orange sneakers made of basketballs.

The 76ers had the No. 1 pick for the second straight year after trading with the Celtics on Monday. Now they add Fultz to a promising young core that includes Rookie of the Year finalists Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, plus Ben Simmons, the top overall pick from last year who sat out all season because of a foot injury.

“This city has to feel fantastic,” 76ers Coach Brett Brown said.

Fultz, who played just 25 games in college, said it was always his dream to be the top pick and wasn’t bothered that Boston traded the chance to take him.

“In high school, I told my trainer, Keith (Williams), I wanted to be the No. 1 player in the country and the No. 1 draft pick, so it was a goal I set out there, and that’s what I was striving for,” Fultz said.

Ball then got the wish he and his father, LaVar, wanted all along by staying in Los Angeles, where he starred last season at UCLA. LaVar Ball had said his son would only play for the Lakers, and it was clear that would happen when Lonzo got a phone call with the Lakers on the clock.

As Lonzo walked on stage to meet Commissioner Adam Silver and put on a purple Lakers hat, LaVar put on a gold and purple Big Baller Brand hat, the company he has started.

“Tonight was supposed to be a good night. Definitely was, and now I’m just focused on playing,” Lonzo Ball said. “Just want to get on the court.”

After the worst four-year stretch in franchise history, the 16-time NBA champion Lakers are rebuilding with the point guard who led the nation with 7.7 assists per game last season. With preternatural court vision, a solid scoring touch and a desire to become a leader, the Los Angeles-area native had everything that his hometown team wanted.

“Guys are going to naturally gravitate toward someone who wants to make them better,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “To me, he’s the type of player that, when he’s on the floor, all four guys that are out there with him become better instantly. And that’s a quality and a trait that not many people have. The great ones all have it, and we hope that by the way he plays, everyone else on our team becomes better.”

The Celtics then took Duke’s Jayson Tatum at No. 3 after moving down two spots in the trade with Philadelphia.

The Suns took Josh Jackson of Kansas, the Sacramento Kings took Kentucky guard De’Aaron Fox at No. 5, and the run of freshmen continued when the Orlando Magic selected Jonathan Isaac.

Silver has talked about changing the NBA’s age limit – the current rule is that American-born players must be 19 and a year out of high school to be eligible – but teams seem just fine with the current system. The run of freshmen bettered the 2014 record of four straight first-year players to start the draft, finally ending when the New York Knicks took French guard Frank Ntilikina at No. 8.

The top 10 was rounded out by two more freshmen: Dennis Smith Jr. of North Carolina State to Dallas at No. 9, and Gonzaga’s Zach Collins at No. 10 with the Kings’ second pick.

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