Associated Press
Wednesday, June 28, 2006 9:49 PM

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Wizards selected Oleksiy Pecherov, a forward from the Ukraine, with their first-round pick in Wednesday's NBA Draft.

The 7-footer, selected at No. 18, becomes the first foreign-born player ever selected in the first round by Washington. The Wizards picked Pecherov over several guards and instead focused on adding depth to its frontcourt to go along with forward Etan Thomas and center Brendan Haywood.

Percherov averaged 11.2 points in 23 games for Paris Basket Racing in the France Pro A league.

The Wizards were set to pick later in the second round at No. 48 overall.