Top 5 colleges with most No. 1 NBA draft picks ft. Duke
It's time for the 2024 NBA draft again with Atlanta Hawks winning the No. 1 lottery pick for the first time. In ESPN's final consensus mock draft, French basketball star Zaccharie Risacher remains the projected No. 1 pick by the Atlanta Hawks, followed by Alex Sarr, Reed Sheppard and Stephon Castle.
Last year, it was another French basketball player, Victor Webmanyama, who was selected as the No. 1 pick, going to the San Antonio Spurs. Similarly, there have also been some college programs with multiple players selected as the No. 1 pick in the past.
Let's have a look at the top five colleges with the most No. 1 NBA draft picks.
Top 5 colleges with most No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft
#5, Kansas Jayhawks (2 picks)
In the 2014 NBA draft, Andrew Wiggins of the Kansas Jayhawks was selected as the No. 1 pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He declared for the draft after a one-and-done season, averaging 17.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 35 games.
Going back in time, it was Danny Manning in 1988 who was selected as the No. 1 pick by the LA Clippers. He played four seasons with the program and averaged 20.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, and 2.3 apg in his final season.
#4, bruins" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">UCLA Bruins (2 picks)
UCLA had its center Bill Walton selected as the No. 1 pick in the 1974 NBA draft. He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers after playing three seasons with the Bruins. He averaged 20.3 ppg and 15.7 rpg for the Bruins.
Another No. 1 pick from the program was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1969 by the Milwaukee Bucks. He averaged 26.4 ppg and 15.5 rpg in his collegiate career.
#3, North Carolina Tar Heels ( 2 picks)
ESPN's Brad Daugherty was the No. 1 pick in the 1986 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. In three seasons with UNC, he averaged 14.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg and 1.6 apg.
Another UNC star, James Worthy, was picked No. 1 by the LA Lakers in the 1982 NBA draft. A 6-foot-9 forward, he starred in 84 games, averaging 14.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, and 2.5 apg in three seasons.
#2, Kentucky Wildcats (3 picks)
One of the most successful programs in basketball history, the Kentucky Wildcats have had three players selected as the No. 1 pick. Their latest was the one-and-done Karl-Anthony Towns in 2015 who was picked by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He averaged 10.3 ppg while shooting 56.6% in the 2014-15 season.
Anthony Davis in 2012 by the New Orleans Hornets and John Wall in 2010 by the Washington Wizards were the other two UK players to be No. 1 draft picks.
#1, Duke Blue Devils (5 players)
It's none other than the Blue Devils, the five-time NCAA champions, who have had the most players selected as the No. 1 picks in college basketball history.
In 2022, it was Paolo Banchero who was the No. 1 pick by the Orlando Magic. Two years before that, in 2019, it was Zion Williamson by the New Orleans Pelicans. Current Mavericks star, Kyrie Irving was the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The others were Elton Brand in 1999 by the Chicago Bulls and Art Heyman in 1963 by the New York Knicks.