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The legacy of Atlantic 10 men’s basketball has been felt in more ways than one. The impact of the A-10 has left a lasting mark in the NBA and the NBA Draft. In the A-10's fifty years of existence over 100 A-10 men’s basketball players have heard their names called in the NBA Draft. That includes a recent stretch in which an A-10 player has been drafted for the last six consecutive years.
Take a look back at memorable A-10 moments in the NBA Draft.
First Ever in the First Round
Norm Nixon was the first Atlantic 10 player selected in the NBA Draft. Nixon, who played at Duquesne, was taken as the 22nd overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1977 NBA Draft. The former Duke played ten seasons in the NBA with the Lakers and the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers. Nixon was a two-time All-Star and finished in the top five of the Rookie of the Year voting in 1977-78.
Seven in the Top 10
The Atlantic 10 men’s basketball’s rich history is filled with seven top 10 NBA Draft picks. While Nixon was the first, first-rounder, James Bailey was the first top 10 pick out of the A-10. Bailey, who played at Rutgers, was the sixth overall selection in the 1979 draft by the Seattle Super Sonics. Bailey is joined by six other conference players who were chosen in the top 10. Tim Perry, Mark Macon and Eddie Jones were top 10 selections out of Temple. Perry was seventh overall by the Phoenix Suns in 1988. Macon went eighth in 1991 to the Denver Nuggets. Jones went tenth in 1994 by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Marcus Camby out of Massachusetts was selected second overall by the Toronto Raptors. Lamar Odom of Rhode Island was fourth overall in the 1999 draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Most recently, Obi Toppin was selected eighth overall in 2020 draft by the New York Knicks.
Highest Selection in the Draft
Camby had a stellar career with the Massachusetts Minutemen. A First-Team All-American, Camby led the Minutemen to the 1996 Final Four. That year he was awarded the 1996 John R. Wooden Award and was named the Naismith National Player of the Year. Camby averaged 20.5 points per game on a Minutemen team that went 35-2. He was selected second overall in the 1996 draft by the Raptors, which marked him as the highest ever draft pick out of the Atlantic 10. Camby had a 17-year NBA career and played for six teams. He was named the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year.
Six Years in a Row
For six straight years, six players from the Atlantic 10 were chosen in the NBA Draft. Dating back to 2020 when Toppin was selected, seven A-10 players were drafted. In that span, Toppin, Toumani Camara and DaRon Holmes of Dayton, VCU’s Bones Hyland, Vince Williams Jr. and Max Shulga, and Saint Joseph’s Rasheer Fleming were drafted. Of those draftees, three were first-rounders: Toppin, Hyland and Holmes. Over the course of the past decade, eight players were drafted from an A-10 school, four of which were first round draftees. In the A-10's 50-year history, the conference has watched 105 players selected in the NBA Draft.
Seven Players. One Draft Class.
Since the league’s creation in 1975, the Atlantic 10 Conference has frequently produced NBA talent. The most A-10 players that were drafted in one season occurred in three separate draft classes. The 1978, 1983 and 1984 drafts produced seven players from the A-10. That included back-to-back drafts (1983 and 1984) in which an A-10 player was selected in the first round: Roy Hinson of Rutgers and Terence Stansbury of Temple. Of those draft classes, three players were called in the second round. Those players were Keith Herron of Villanova, Horrace Owens of Rhode Island and Tony Costner of Saint Joseph’s. The NBA moved to a two-round draft format ahead of the 1989 draft. Since then, the most A-10 draftees in a class were five in 2004. The 2004 draft class was highlighted by Jameer Nelson. Nelson, who played at Saint Joseph’s, was the 20th overall pick by the Denver Nuggets.