Bamba highest NYC pick since ’99

This was a start, not a finish. Just another step for Mohamed Bamba in a journey that has taken the Harlem native to heights few New York City prospects have reached.

On Thursday night in his hometown, the 7-foot center with the superhuman 7-foot-10 wingspan became the highest draft pick from the city in 19 years, chosen sixth overall by the Magic. And while the shotblocking demon said he was humbled and honored by the selection, he set his sights incredibly high shortly afterward.

“When it’s all said and done, I want to be walking across the stage, and I want to be putting on a jacket that has this little seal that says ‘Hall of Fame,’ ” he said. “There’s a lot to do before there, trust me, and it’s a lofty goal, but that’s the mind set that I’m going to have to have to do that.

“I definitely want to be Defensive Player of the Year. I truly believe I can be that caliber of a defender very early on in my career.”

Bamba is the highest pick from the city since Lamar Odom went fourth overall to the Clippers in 1999, and the first top-10 pick since Kemba Walker was taken by the Hornets with the ninth pick in 2011. Bamba began to chart this path in the eighth grade, when he left home for prep schools Cardigan Mountain School (N.H.) and The Westtown School (Pa.), though he played AAU locally with the PSA Cardinals.

It led him to Texas, where he further thrived under coach Shaka Smart’s tutelage. The son of West African immigrants led the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament and has shown shooting range up to the 3-point line few believed he had in workouts.

“I can’t believe this, to be honest,” he said. “Everything just came back full circle for me. To be able to be drafted here in New York is just — I don’t know. Words can’t explain it.”