The Atlanta Hawks have swooped on Jock Landale but the Australian centre still faces a tough road to make it to the NBA.

The 211cm tall, 22-year-old and a talented group of other young Australians were passed over at the NBA Draft in New York on Thursday.

Just minutes after the draft's conclusion the Hawks threw Landale a lifeline by adding him to their Summer League squad.

"He hasn't signed but he will play with the Atlanta Hawks for Summer League," Landale's agent, Marlon Harrison, told AAP.

Summer League tournaments will be held in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas next month, giving Landale a chance to prove himself to the Hawks and other NBA teams and potentially secure a contract.

The Geelong Grammar graduate starred at California's St Mary's College the past four years and averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds in his final season.

Landale was also a finalist for US college basketball's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award the past two years but lacks the athleticism and three-point shooting accuracy NBA teams now crave in big men.

Australians Xavier Cooks (Winthrop University), Deng Adel (University of Louisville), Emmett Naar (St Mary's), Chima Moneke (UC Davis) and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (Baylor University) were also overlooked at the draft and face a similar path to Landale.

The draft's top overall pick was Bahamas-born 19-year-old centre-forward Deandre Ayton who went to the struggling Phoenix Suns.

The Sacramento Kings selected Duke big man Marvin Bagley with the second pick.

The Hawks took Slovenia's Luka Doncic with the third overall selection but then traded him to the Dallas Mavericks for fifth pick Trae Young and a future first round draft selection.