The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, has had 138 players drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) since the league began holding drafts in 1947.[1] Kentucky has had 60 players selected in the opening round of the draft.
Each NBA franchise seeks to add new players through an annual draft. The NBA uses a draft lottery to determine the first four picks of the NBA draft; the 14 teams that did not make the playoffs the previous year are eligible to participate. After the first four picks are decided, the rest of the teams pick in reverse order of their win–loss record.[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. From 1967 until the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, the American Basketball Association (ABA) held its own draft.
| F | Forward | C | Center | G | Guard |
| Selected to an all-star game (ABA All-Star Game, NBA All-Star game) | ||||||
| Won a championship (ABA Champion), NBA Champion) | ||||||
| Inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | ||||||
| Year | Round | Pick | Overall | Player name | Position | NBA team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 2 | 9 | 20 | F | — | ||
| 1948 | 2 | 6 | 18 | F | — | ||
| 2 | 12 | 24 | G | Washington Capitols | — | ||
| 3 | 8 | 32 | G | — | |||
| 1949 | 1 | 2 | 2 | F | NBA All-Star (1951) | ||
| 1 | 8 | 8 | G | Washington Capitols | — | ||
| 2 | 10 | 22 | G | NBA All-Star (1951) | |||
| 5 | 8 | 52 | SG | — | |||
| 1950 | 7 | 1 | 73 | F | — | ||
| 4 | 9 | 45 | F | — | |||
| 1951 | No selections | ||||||
| 1952 | 3 | 1 | 21 | G | — | ||
| 3 | 5 | 25 | G | Indianapolis Olympians | — | ||
| 1953 | 1 | 5 | 5 | G | Boston Celtics | NBA Champion (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee (1981) | |
| 3 | 6 | 22 | G | Boston Celtics | NBA Champion (1958) NBA All-Star (1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee (1977) | ||
| 7 | 6 | 58 | F | Boston Celtics | NBA Champion (1957, 1959) | ||
| 10 | 7 | 86 | G | New York Knicks | — | ||
| 1954 | No selections | ||||||
| 1955 | 5 | 2 | 32 | F | Rochester Royals | — | |
| 1956 | 3 | 3 | 18 | G | — | ||
| 2 | 1 | 8 | F | Rochester Royals | — | ||
| 10 | 3 | 72 | F | Minneapolis Lakers | — | ||
| 1957 | 10 | 4 | 73 | G | Philadelphia 76ers | — | |
| 1958 | 2 | 2 | 9 | F | Cincinnati Royals | — | |
| 1959 | 4 | 6 | 28 | G | New York Knicks | — | |
| 1960 | 4 | 8 | 32 | G | Boston Celtics | — | |
| 7 | 5 | 53 | G | Syracuse Nationals | — | ||
| 18 | 2 | 96 | G | Cincinnati Royals | — | ||
| 1961 | 5 | 4 | 45 | G, F | Los Angeles Lakers | — | |
| 7 | 5 | 64 | G, F | Syracuse Nationals | — | ||
| 13 | 1 | 102 | C | New York Knicks | — | ||
| 1962 | 8 | 1 | 61 | F | Chicago Zephyrs | — | |
| 1963 | No selections | ||||||
| 1964 | 2 | 5 | 12 | F | Los Angeles Lakers | — | |
| 1965 | No selections | ||||||
| 1966 | 3 | 4 | 24 | G | St. Louis Hawks | — | |
| 1967 | 1 | 7 | 7 | G, F | San Diego Rockets | NBA Champion (1972 as player; 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2006 as head coach; 2012, 2013 as executive) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee (2008) | |
| 4 | 7 | 28 | G | Cincinnati Royals | ABA Champion (1975) ABA All-Star (1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975) All-ABA Second Team (1968, 1969, 1970, 1974) | ||
| 1968 | 5 | 10 | 60 | F | Boston Celtics | — | |
| 9 | 13 | 119 | F | Milwaukee Bucks | — | ||
| 1969 | 10 | 15 | 139 | G | Los Angeles Lakers | — | |
| 1970 | 8 | 3 | 122 | F | Detroit Pistons | ABA Champion (1975) NBA All-Star (1977) ABA All-Star (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee (1993) | |
| 8 | 11 | 130 | F | Chicago Bulls | — | ||
| 1971 | 3 | 2 | 37 | F | Portland Trail Blazers | NBA Champion (1977) | |
| 1972 | No selections | ||||||
| 1973 | No selections | ||||||
| 1974 | No selections | ||||||
| 1975 | 1 | 18 | 18 | G | Washington Bullets | NBA Champion (1978) | |
| 2 | 18 | 36 | G | Phoenix Suns | — | ||
| 3 | 12 | 49 | G | Kansas City Kings | — | ||
| 7 | 5 | 113 | G | Philadelphia 76ers | — | ||
| 1976 | No selections | ||||||
| 1977 | 2 | 2 | 24 | G | Buffalo Braves | – | |
| 1978 | 1 | 4 | 4 | C | Indiana Pacers | NBA Champion (1981) | |
| 1 | 16 | 16 | F | Atlanta Hawks | – | ||
| 2 | 18 | 39 | F | Seattle SuperSonics | – | ||
| 3 | 1 | 45 | F | New Jersey Nets | – | ||
| 1979 | 1 | 22 | 22 | G | Phoenix Suns | – | |
| 6 | 3 | 111 | G | Detroit Pistons | – | ||
| 1980 | 5 | 12 | 101 | F | Cleveland Cavaliers | – | |
| 9 | 4 | 183 | G | Chicago Bulls | – | ||
| 1981 | 6 | 12 | 127 | F, C | Houston Rockets | – | |
| 1982 | 7 | 7 | 145 | G | Chicago Bulls | – | |
| 1983 | 2 | 9 | 33 | G | Dallas Mavericks | – | |
| 3 | 21 | 67 | F | Cleveland Cavaliers | – | ||
| 6 | 18 | 134 | F | Milwaukee Bucks | – | ||
| 1984 | 1 | 2 | 2 | F, C | Portland Trail Blazers | – | |
| 1 | 6 | 6 | F, C | Washington Bullets | – | ||
| 4 | 11 | 81 | G | Atlanta Hawks | – | ||
| 6 | 11 | 127 | G | Atlanta Hawks | — | ||
| 8 | 1 | 163 | G | Indiana Pacers | — | ||
| 1985 | No selections | ||||||
| 1986 | 1 | 5 | 5 | F | New York Knicks | — | |
| 5 | 13 | 105 | G | Los Angeles Lakers | — | ||
| 1987 | 5 | 2 | 94 | G | New Jersey Nets | — | |
| 1988 | 1 | 8 | 8 | G | Charlotte Hornets | — | |
| 3 | 1 | 51 | F | Los Angeles Clippers | — | ||
| 3 | 10 | 60 | G | Washington Bullets | — | ||
| 3 | 14 | 64 | F | Cleveland Cavaliers | — | ||
| 1989 | No selections | ||||||
| 1990 | No selections | ||||||
| 1991 | No selections | ||||||
| 1992 | No selections | ||||||
| 1993 | 1 | 4 | 4 | F | Dallas Mavericks | NBA All-Star (2003) | |
| 1994 | 2 | 2 | 4 | F | Orlando Magic | — | |
| 1995 | No selections | ||||||
| 1996 | 1 | 6 | 6 | F | Boston Celtics | NBA Champion (2006) NBA All-Star (1998, 2002, 2003) | |
| 1 | 16 | 16 | G | Charlotte Hornets | — | ||
| 1 | 19 | 19 | F | New York Knicks | — | ||
| 2 | 23 | 52 | F | Indiana Pacers | — | ||
| 1997 | 1 | 6 | 6 | F | Boston Celtics | – | |
| 1 | 13 | 13 | G | Cleveland Cavaliers | NBA Champion (2006) | ||
| 1998 | 1 | 29 | 29 | C | Utah Jazz | NBA Champion (2005) | |
| 1999 | 1 | 28 | 28 | F | Utah Jazz | — | |
| 2000 | 1 | 19 | 19 | F | Charlotte Hornets | NBA All-Star (2004) | |
| 2001 | No selections | ||||||
| 2002 | 1 | 23 | 23 | F | Detroit Pistons | NBA Champion (2004) | |
| 2003 | 2 | 13 | 43 | G | Milwaukee Bucks | — | |
| 2004 | No selections | ||||||
| 2005 | No selections | ||||||
| 2006 | 1 | 21 | 21 | G | Phoenix Suns | NBA Champion (2008, 2020) NBA All-Star (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) | |
| 2007 | No selections | ||||||
| 2008 | 2 | 28 | 58 | G | Los Angeles Lakers | — | |
| 2009 | 2 | 11 | 41 | G | Milwaukee Bucks | NBA Champion (2019) | |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 1 | G | Washington Wizards | NBA All-Star (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) | |
| 1 | 5 | 5 | F, C | Sacramento Kings | NBA All-Star (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) | ||
| 1 | 13 | 13 | F | Houston Rockets | — | ||
| 1 | 18 | 18 | G | Oklahoma City Thunder | — | ||
| 1 | 29 | 29 | C | Orlando Magic | — | ||
| 2011 | 1 | 3 | 3 | F | Utah Jazz | — | |
| 1 | 8 | 8 | G | Detroit Pistons | — | ||
| 2 | 15 | 45 | G | New Orleans Hornets | — | ||
| 2 | 23 | 53 | G | Orlando Magic | — | ||
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 1 | F, C | New Orleans Hornets | NBA Champion (2020) NBA All-Star (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) | |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | F | Charlotte Bobcats | — | ||
| 1 | 18 | 18 | F | Houston Rockets | — | ||
| 1 | 29 | 29 | G | Chicago Bulls | — | ||
| 2 | 12 | 42 | G | Milwaukee Bucks | — | ||
| 2 | 16 | 46 | F | New Orleans Hornets | – | ||
| 2013 | 1 | 6 | 6 | C | New Orleans Pelicans | — | |
| 1 | 29 | 29 | G | Oklahoma City Thunder | — | ||
| 2014 | 1 | 7 | 7 | F | Los Angeles Lakers | Most Improved Player (2021) NBA All-Star (2021, 2023, 2024) | |
| 1 | 17 | 17 | F | Boston Celtics | — | ||
| 2015 | 1 | 1 | 1 | F, C | Minnesota Timberwolves | Rookie of the Year (2016) NBA All-Star (2018, 2019, 2022, 2024) | |
| 1 | 6 | 6 | C | Sacramento Kings | — | ||
| 1 | 12 | 12 | F | Utah Jazz | — | ||
| 1 | 13 | 13 | G | Phoenix Suns | NBA All-Star (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024) | ||
| 2 | 14 | 44 | G | Phoenix Suns | — | ||
| 2 | 18 | 48 | C | Oklahoma City Thunder | — | ||
| 2016 | 1 | 7 | 7 | G | Denver Nuggets | NBA Champion (2023) | |
| 1 | 28 | 28 | C | Phoenix Suns | — | ||
| 2 | 4 | 34 | G | Phoenix Suns | — | ||
| 2017 | 1 | 5 | 5 | G | Sacramento Kings | NBA All-Star (2023) | |
| 1 | 11 | 11 | G | Charlotte Hornets | — | ||
| 1 | 14 | 14 | C | Miami Heat | NBA All-Star (2020, 2023, 2024) | ||
| 2018 | 1 | 9 | 9 | F | New York Knicks | — | |
| 1 | 11 | 11 | G | Charlotte Hornets | NBA All-Star (2023, 2024) | ||
| 2 | 11 | 41 | F | Orlando Magic | — | ||
| 2 | 15 | 45 | G | Brooklyn Nets | — | ||
| 2019 | 1 | 12 | 12 | F | Charlotte Hornets | — | |
| 1 | 13 | 13 | G | Miami Heat | NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2022) | ||
| 1 | 29 | 29 | F | San Antonio Spurs | — | ||
| 2020 | 1 | 21 | 21 | G | Philadelphia 76ers | NBA All-Star (2024) | |
| 1 | 25 | 25 | G | New York Knicks | — | ||
| 2 | 11 | 42 | C | Charlotte Hornets | — | ||
| 2021 | 1 | 22 | 22 | PF | Indiana Pacers | — | |
| 2 | 20 | 51 | PG | Los Angeles Clippers | — | ||
| PG | ceremonial pick | — | |||||
| 2022 | 1 | 7 | 7 | G | Portland Trail Blazers | — | |
| 1 | 29 | 29 | PG | Memphis Grizzlies | — | ||
| 2023 | 1 | 10 | 10 | G | Dallas Mavericks | — | |
| 2 | 28 | 58 | F | Milwaukee Bucks | — | ||