One of the most impressive streaks in the history of the NBA draft — one that involves the Kentucky basketball program — will likely end Wednesday night.
For the first time since 2009, Kentucky won’t have a player selected in the first round of the NBA draft. At least, that appears to be the case.
Of the six players from Mark Pope’s first Kentucky basketball team who are eligible to be selected in this week’s NBA draft, none are projected as first-round picks.
The two Wildcats most likely to hear their names called — wing Koby Brea and center Amari Williams — are both expected to be second-round selections. Monday’s latest mock drafts from national outlets such as ESPN, The Athletic and Yahoo all had Brea and Williams being selected in the second round.
The likes of Ansley Almonor, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson are not expected to be chosen in the draft, but they will have opportunities to try and earn a roster spot through NBA Summer League activities.
This year’s NBA draft will be a two-day event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. All 30 first-round picks will be made Wednesday night. All 29 second-round selections, for a total of 59 picks, will be made Thursday night.
And if expectations hold on Wednesday, then UK will be shut out of the first round for the first time in 16 years.
Obviously, Kentucky’s recent run of NBA draft success can be tied directly to John Calipari, who produced 37 first-round picks during his 15-season run as the UK basketball coach. In each of the 15 NBA drafts that occurred with Calipari-coached Kentucky players — the drafts spanning from 2010 to 2024 — at least one Wildcat was taken in the first round.
In total, the Kentucky program has had 60 all-time first-round selections, dating back to No. 2 overall pick Alex Groza in 1949.
The Wildcats had a total of 50 NBA draft picks during the Calipari coaching era, which spanned from 2009 to 2024. This included a trio of No. 1 overall picks, 25 lottery selections and the aforementioned 37 first-rounders.
As has been well documented, Pope never produced an NBA draft pick during his nine combined seasons as the head coach at Utah Valley and BYU. That streak will almost certainly come to an end this week, though.
Brea is firmly projected as a second-round draft pick, and Williams has substantial buzz himself as a late second-round choice. This means Pope is finally set to produce an NBA draft selection following his 10th season as a college head coach.
Another player with obvious Kentucky connections is expected to be drafted this week. That’s Adou Thiero, who played two seasons for Calipari at Kentucky before following the former UK coach to Arkansas for the 2024-25 campaign. While Thiero will officially be recorded as an Arkansas player in the draft annals, plenty of his basketball development occurred in Lexington.
ESPN and The Athletic both have Thiero as a second-round draft pick. Yahoo has Thiero going off the board late in the first round.
While Kentucky’s first-round draft pick streak is likely to end this week, another long-term run of draft success for the UK program will continue. With Brea and Williams both likely to be taken in this week’s draft, Kentucky will continue a stretch of having at least one player taken in each NBA draft since 2008. This would be a stretch of 18 consecutive drafts with at least one Kentucky player selected.
Kentucky is the only school in the country to have at least one player selected in each NBA draft since 2008.
It’s important to remember that there isn’t a linear correlation between NBA draft picks, even first-round selections, and success on the college hardwood.
The most obvious example of this comes when studying Calipari’s final UK teams.
Calipari’s final three Kentucky teams to play in the NCAA Tournament — the 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 squads — produced a combined seven NBA draft picks, with five of those being first-round selections. UK went a combined 1-3 during those three NCAA Tournaments, failing to advance past the second round each time.
Pope’s first Kentucky team last season, despite likely not featuring a first-round draft pick, won a pair of games in March Madness to reach the Sweet 16, which marked the first time the Wildcats played on that stage since 2019.
Which Calipari players at Kentucky were first-round NBA draft picks?
Here’s the complete list of Calipari-coached Kentucky players who were selected in the first round of the NBA draft. This list spans the 2010 through 2024 NBA drafts.
2024: Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets (3rd pick); Rob Dillingham, Minnesota Timberwolves (8th pick via San Antonio Spurs).
2023: Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder (10th pick via Dallas Mavericks).
2022: Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers (7th pick); TyTy Washington, Houston Rockets (29th pick via Memphis Grizzlies).
2021: Isaiah Jackson, Indiana Pacers (22nd pick via Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards).
2020: Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers (21st pick); Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks (25th pick via Oklahoma City Thunder).
2019: PJ Washington, Charlotte Hornets (12th pick); Tyler Herro, Miami Heat (13th pick); Keldon Johnson, San Antonio Spurs (29th pick).
2018: Kevin Knox, New York Knicks (9th pick); Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Charlotte Hornets (11th pick).
2017: De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings (5th pick); Malik Monk, Charlotte Hornets (11th pick); Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat (14th pick).
2016: Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets (7th pick); Skal Labissiere, Phoenix Suns (28th pick).
2015: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves (1st pick); Willie Cauley-Stein, Sacramento Kings (6th pick); Trey Lyles, Utah Jazz (12th pick); Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (13th pick).
2014: Julius Randle, Los Angeles Lakers (7th pick); James Young, Boston Celtics (17th pick).
2013: Nerlens Noel, New Orleans Pelicans (6th pick); Archie Goodwin, Oklahoma City Thunder (29th pick).
2012: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets (1st pick); Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats (2nd pick); Terrence Jones, Houston Rockets (18th pick); Marquis Teague, Chicago Bulls (29th pick).
2011: Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz (3rd pick); Brandon Knight, Detroit Pistons (8th pick).
2010: John Wall, Washington Wizards (1st pick); DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings (5th pick); Patrick Patterson, Houston Rockets (14th pick); Eric Bledsoe, Oklahoma City Thunder (18th pick); Daniel Orton, Orlando Magic (29th pick).