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North Carolina is in the midst of a stunning NBA Draft drought

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Barring any shocking surprises at the 2025 NBA Draft, North Carolina will extend an unfortunate streak on Wednesday night. The Tar Heels have not produced a top-5 pick in the NBA Draft since Marvin Williams and Raymond Felton went in that range way back in 2005.

Here’s a visualization of UNC’s drought alongside rival Duke’s draft history as well:

The Tar Heels have only produced 3 top-10 picks over that same stretch: Coby White in 2019, Harrison Barnes in 2012 and Brandan Wright in 2007.

While the NBA Draft success hasn’t necessarily been there, the Tar Heels have still won at an impressive clip over the last 2+ decades. They’ve reached 5 Final Fours and have won 2 National Championships over this same stretch.

UNC has virtually no hope of producing even a lottery pick in this draft, let alone a top-5 prospect. Drake Powell is Carolina’s highest-ranked prospect in this class and most projections have him as a late first-round pick as of draft day. If he falls to the second round, it would mean 4 straight years for Carolina without a first-round pick.

There’s reason to believe this drought could end relatively soon, however. The Tar Heels have signed 5-star forward Caleb Wilson in the class of 2025. He’s the No. 5 overall player in the country for the class of 2025, per 247Sports Composite rankings. If Wilson has a great freshman year in Chapel Hill, we could finally see this drought end in 2026.

Spenser Davis

Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.