The 7ft Bargnani has been likened to Dallas' German star Dirk Nowitzki

The Raptors are banking on the 7ft forward living up to comparisons to Dallas' German star Dirk Nowitzki.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," he said. "It is an enormous pleasure to be here in New York, to become an NBA player."

Briton Joel Freeland was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the last pick of the first round.

Playing last season for Benetton Treviso in Italy's Lega A, Bargnani shot 37% from three-point range.

The 20-year-old Rome native said: "I hope to help the team as soon as possible.

"I'm a young player, I know that I will find a lot of tough moments because it's a new league and I'm used to playing in Europe. But I'm ready for this."

Andrea is a player that's not only going to help us in the short run, but we think he's going to grow into a terrific star Bryan Colangelo Toronto Raptors general manager

Bargnani is the second straight foreign-born first pick after Milwaukee chose Andrew Bogut of Australia last year, and he is the first top pick to not play university or high school basketball in the US since Houston took China's Yao Ming in 2002.

He had been considered a likely option for Toronto since last week, when Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo hired Benetton Treviso executive Maurizio Gherardini as vice president and assistant general manager.

Bargnani averaged 11.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in his third season with Benetton last year. His overall field goal percentage was 57.8%.

Like many European low-post players, the Italian has good hands and a steady shot from within 20ft. But he also has a more American ability to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket.

"Everyone has strengths and weaknesses," said Toronto boss Colangelo.

LAST 10 TOP NBA PICKS 2006 Andrea Bargnani (Italy) - Toronto Raptors 2005 Andrew Bogut (Utah) - Milwaukee Bucks 2004 Dwight Howard (SW Atlanta Christian Aca.) - Orlando Magic 2003 LeBron James (St Vincent-St Mary HS, Ohio) - Cleveland Cavaliers 2002 Yao Ming (China) - Houston Rockets 2001 Kwame Brown (Glynn Academy, Georgia) - Washington Wizards 2000 Kenyon Martin (Cincinnati) - New Jersey Nets 1999 Elton Brand (Duke) - Chicago Bulls 1998 Michael Olowokandi (Pacific) - LA Clippers 1997 Tim Duncan (Wake Forest) - San Antonio Spurs

"But at the end of the day, we felt Andrea Bargnani was really the best pick for the future of this organisation.

"It's not about today. It's about today and tomorrow. We think Andrea is a player that's not only going to help us in the short run, but we think he's going to grow into a terrific star in this league."

Chicago opted for University of Texas forward LaMarcus Aldridge with the second pick, one of the Bulls' two selections in the first round.

Gonzaga University's Adam Morrison went to Charlotte with the third pick, the Bobcats' first since pick Michael Jordan became a part owner of the team this month. Morrison was the top-scorer in college basketball last season with 28.1 points per game.

The Portland Trail Blazers followed by nabbing forward Tyrus Thomas of LSU with the fourth pick, and later announced they had dealt Thomas, forward Viktor Khryapa and a future second-round pick to Chicago for Aldridge.

Duke forward Shelden Williams went next, to the Atlanta Hawks, and Washington's Brandon Roy was picked by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the sixth selection.

A total of six international players were selected in a first round that witnessed numerous trades.

As well as Bargnani, Seattle picked Senegal's Sene Saer, Philadelphia opted for Thabo Sefolosha of Sweden, Oleksiy Pecherov of Ukraine was selected by Washington and Spain's Sergio Rodriguez went to Phoenix.

England's Freeland, picked by Portland, has been playing the Spanish fourth division with Gran Canaria Fadesa.

He joins Londoners Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, both at Chicago, in the NBA.