The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team, representing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has had 113 players drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) since the league began holding the yearly event in 1947. Each NBA franchise seeks to add new players through an annual draft. The NBA uses a draft lottery to determine the first three picks of the NBA draft; the 14 teams that did not make the playoffs the previous year are eligible to participate. After the first three picks are decided, the rest of the teams pick in reverse order of their win–loss record. [1] [2] To be eligible for the NBA draft, a player in the United States must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft and must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class. [3]
The drafts held between 1947 and 1949 were held by the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The BAA became the National Basketball Association after absorbing teams from the National Basketball League in the fall of 1949. Official NBA publications include the BAA Drafts as part of the NBA's draft history. From 1967 until the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, the American Basketball Association (ABA) held its own draft. [4]
Through the 2019 NBA draft, a Tar Heel has been chosen first overall two times in the history of the event, James Worthy in 1982 and Brad Daugherty in 1986. Out of the thirty teams that currently make up the NBA, seven have not picked a player from North Carolina. The New York Knicks have selected nine former Tar Heels, which is the most of any current NBA franchise. Fifty-two Tar Heels have been drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft, with Coby White, Cameron Johnson, and Nassir Little being the latest. The most Tar Heels selected in the first round of a single NBA Draft is four, which happened twice, in 2005 and 2012. [5] Sixteen players have been selected to either an ABA or NBA All-Star Game, sixteen have been a member of an NBA or ABA championship winning team, and nine have achieved both. The most Tar Heels selected in a single NBA Draft is five, in 1980. Of all the Tar Heels that have been drafted, five have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
G | Guard | F | Forward | C | Center |
* | Selected to an NBA/ABA All-Star Game | ||||
† | Won an NBA/ABA championship | ||||
‡ | Selected to an All-Star Game and won an NBA/ABA championship |
Year | League | Round | Pick | Overall | Name | Position | Team [A 1] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1948 | BAA | — | — | — | Norman Kohler | G | Indianapolis Olympians | — |
— | — | — | Bob Paxton | F, C | Indianapolis Olympians | — | ||
— | — | — | Hook Dillon | F | Chicago Stags | — | ||
1967 | ABA | — | — | — | Bob Lewis | G | Anaheim Amigos | — |
1968 | ABA | — | — | — | Larry Miller | G, F | Los Angeles Stars | — |
1969 | ABA | — | — | — | Dick Gruber† | G | Indiana Pacers | ABA Champion (1970) [12] |
ABA | — | — | — | Bill Bunting | F, C | Miami Floridians | — | |
— | — | — | Rusty Clark | C | Los Angeles Stars | — | ||
1970 | ABA | — | — | — | Charles Scott‡ | G | Virginia Squires | NBA All-Star (1973, 1974, 1975) [13] ABA All-Star (1971, 1972) [13] NBA Champion (1976) [13] [14] ABA Rookie of the Year (1971) [13] |
1971 | ABA | — | — | — | Lee Dedmon | C | Utah Stars | — |
1972 | ABA | — | — | — | Dennis Wuycik | F | Carolina Cougars | — |
— | — | — | Bill Chamberlain | F | Carolina Cougars | — | ||
— | — | — | Steve Previs | G | Carolina Cougars | — | ||
1973 | ABA | — | — | — | Bobby Jones ‡ | F | Carolina Cougars | ABA All-Star (1976) [18] NBA All-Star (1977, 1978, 1981, 1982) [18] NBA Champion (1983) [18] [19] NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1983) [18] |
ABA | — | — | — | George Karl | G | Memphis Tams | — | |
1974 | ABA | 4 | 1 | 31 | Darrell Elston | G | Carolina Cougars | — |
The 1972 NBA draft was the 26th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 10 and 15, 1972 before the 1972–73 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Portland Trail Blazers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Buffalo Braves were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. As a result of last year's supplemental hardship draft, the Cincinnati Royals, the Atlanta Hawks, the Golden State Warriors and the Baltimore Bullets forfeited their first-round picks, while the Los Angeles Lakers forfeited their fourth round pick. Prior to the start of the season, the Cincinnati Royals relocated and became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. The draft consisted of 18 rounds comprising the selection of 198 players.
The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.
Wayne Robert Ellington Jr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a player development coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Known for his shooting ability, he was nicknamed "The Man With The Golden Arm". He played for the University of North Carolina from 2006 to 2009. He chose to forgo his final season of college eligibility to declare for the 2009 NBA draft, and was drafted 28th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 1970 NBA expansion draft was the fifth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 11, 1970, so that the newly founded Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers could acquire players for the 1970–71 season. Buffalo, Cleveland, and Portland were awarded the expansion teams on February 6, 1970. Houston was also awarded a franchise, but the group backing the team was unable to come up with the US$750,000 down payment on the US$3.7 million entrance fee that was required before the 1970 NBA draft. The Braves later underwent two relocations, moving to San Diego in 1978 and changing their name from the Braves to the Clippers, and then relocating to Los Angeles in 1984. They are currently known as the Los Angeles Clippers.
Tyler Paul Zeller is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of North Carolina, where as a freshman he played on their 2009 national championship team and as a senior was an All-American and the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. He is the nephew of former NBA player Al Eberhard, and the brother of fellow NBA players Cody Zeller and Luke Zeller.
Larry Donelle Drew II is an American former professional basketball player. He won the John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award in 2008 before starting his college basketball career with the North Carolina Tar Heels. He went on to win a national championship in 2009 with the Tar Heels before deciding to leave the program midseason in 2011. He transferred to the UCLA Bruins' program, where he played one season and broke the single-season school record for assists. Drew was named to the All-Pac-12 first team. He won a gold medal with the United States national team at the FIBA AmeriCup in 2017.
James Michael Ray McAdoo is an American professional basketball player for the Sun Rockers Shibuya of the B.League in Japan. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, and twice earned second-team all-conference honors in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). McAdoo won two NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors. He has also played in various international leagues, including the EuroCup, Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL), and ABA League.
The 2008 NBA Development League expansion draft was the third expansion draft of the National Basketball Association Development League (NBADL). The draft was held on September 24, 2008, so that the newly founded Reno Bighorns and Erie BayHawks could acquire players for the upcoming 2008–09 season.
Kendall Dewan Marshall is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was born in Dumfries, Virginia, and attended Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick.
Marcus Taylor Paige is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He played college basketball for the University of North Carolina, where he helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2016 NCAA championship game, and now serves in a support staff role at his alma mater. In addition to being a citizen of the United States, Paige also has Serbian citizenship.
Samuel Peterson "P. J." Hairston Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of North Carolina. He finished his sophomore season in 2013 and was eligible for the 2014 NBA draft. He was selected with the 26th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Miami Heat, and was later traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Shabazz Napier.
The 1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game took place on Monday, March 29, between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Georgetown Hoyas at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The match-up was the final one of the forty-fourth consecutive NCAA tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to crown a national champion for men's basketball at the Division I level.