Since the NBA draft’s inception in 1947, around 1,500 players have been drafted in the first round. About 90 percent of those players came from a Division I school. Chances are, if you picked one at random, they’d have worn blue in college.
The 2023 NBA draft was Thursday, June 22. The San Antonio Spurs began the draft by selecting French star Victor Wembanyama with the first-overall pick. Alabama’s Brandon Miller was second off the board going to the Charlotte Hornets. In 2022, Duke’s Paolo Banchero went No. 1 overall to the Orlando Magic.
In 2021, the Detroit Pistons led off the night drafting Oklahoma State sensation Cade Cunningham as the first-overall pick. It’s the highest selection in Cowboy basketball history and the first time since Bob Fenimore in 1947 that an Oklahoma State athlete went No. 1 overall in a professional draft.
In 2020, Georgia star Anthony Edwards went No. 1 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Edwards was the first player from UGA to go No. 1 overall and the Bulldogs’ ninth first-round pick.
Here’s how the top 20 schools stack up:
| Rank | College | Conference | First-round picks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky | SEC | 58 |
| 2 | Duke | ACC | 55 |
| 3 | North Carolina | ACC | 53 |
| 4 | UCLA | Pac-12 | 41 |
| 5 | Kansas | Big 12 | 36 |
| 6 | Michigan | Big Ten | 30 |
| 7 | Indiana | Big Ten | 28 |
| 8 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 26 |
| 9 | Ohio State | ACC | 25 |
| 10 | Louisville | Atlantic Coast | 24 |
| 10 | Syracuse | Atlantic Coast | 24 |
| 12 | Connecticut | ACC | 22 |
| 13 | Michigan State | Big Ten | 21 |
| 13 | Notre Dame | ACC | 21 |
| 15 | Maryland | Big Ten | 20 |
| 16 | Georgia Tech | ACC | 19 |
| 16 | Texas | Big 12 | 19 |
| 16 | Alabama | SEC | 19 |
| 19 | Tennessee | SEC | 17 |
| 19 | LSU | SEC | 17 |
| 21 | North Carolina State | ACC | 16 |
| 21 | Minnesota | Big Ten | 16 |
| 21 | St. John’s (NY) | Big East | 16 |
No big surprises there. The top 10 schools account for more than half of the NCAA championships alone.
No schools have seen more No. 1 picks than Duke, which has seen five.
Duke’s five are Art Heyman (1963, New York Knicks), Elton Brand (1999, Chicago Bulls), Kyrie Irving (2011, Cleveland Cavaliers), Zion Williamson (2019, New Orleans Pelicans) and Paolo Banchero (2022, Orlando Magic)
In all, 46 schools have had at least one No. 1 pick taken.
Here’s how the top schools rank:
| Rank | College | Conference | No. 1 overall picks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke | ACC | 5 |
| 2 | Kentucky | SEC | 3 |
| 3 | North Carolina | ACC | 2 |
| 3 | UCLA | Pac-12 | 2 |
| 3 | Kansas | Big 12 | 2 |
| 3 | Indiana | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Michigan | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Maryland | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | UNLV | Mountain West | 2 |
| 3 | LSU | SEC | 2 |
| 3 | Georgetown | Big East | 2 |
| 3 | Utah | Pac-12 | 2 |
| 3 | Houston | AAC | 2 |
| 3 | Cincinnati | AAC | 2 |
| 3 | Purdue | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Kansas State | Big 12 | 2 |
| 3 | West Virginia | Big 12 | 2 |
| 3 | UTEP | Conference USA | 2 |
| 3 | Duquesne | Atlantic 10 | 2 |
Having North Carolina second in overall picks, and Duke with the most No. 1 picks, should clue you in to which conference reigns supreme in the NBA draft.
Through 2022, the Atlantic Coast Conference has had an impressive 285 players drafted in the first round, approximately 20 percent of all Division I players drafted. The Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC are right behind the ACC.
