Kentucky's 26 NBA players is the most among college basketball programs

John Calipari once again leads all college programs with 26 total Wildcats on NBA rosters to start the 2023-24 season.

Andy Patton | Oct 25, 2023

Kentucky's 26 NBA players is the most among college basketball programs /

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Kentucky Wildcats

John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats can once again hang their hat on being college basketball's best NBA factory, with 26 former student-athletes appearing on NBA rosters based on the league's opening-day roster list.

Duke (24) is the only other school with 20 or more former players, while UCLA (15), Kansas (12), Michigan and Gonzaga (11), and Arkansas, Arizona, Texas, and Villanova (10) round out the top ten.

The Kentucky alumni list is not just quantity over quality either, as many former Wildcats are among the best in the league, including Devin Booker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Davis, De'Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo, and Jamal Murray.

15 NBA franchises roster at least one former Wildcat, while the Knicks, Kings, and Thunder each have three, and the Heat, Lakers, Pacers, Bucks, and Hornets each have two.

Here is a look at each Wildcat on an NBA roster, listed alphabetically:

Bam Adebayo – Miami Heat

Devin Booker – Phoenix Suns

Brandon Boston Jr. – Los Angeles Clippers

Anthony Davis – Los Angeles Lakers

De'Aaron Fox – Sacramento Kings

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder

Tyler Herro – Miami Heat

Isaiah Jackson – Indiana Pacers

Keldon Johnson – San Antonio Spurs

Chris Livingston – Milwaukee Bucks

Trey Lyles – Sacramento Kings

Tyrese Maxey – Philadelphia 76ers

Malik Monk – Sacramento Kings

Jamal Murray – Denver Nuggets

Immanuel Quickley – New York Knicks

Julius Randle – New York Knicks

Nick Richards – Charlotte Hornets

Olivier Sarr – Oklahoma City Thunder

Shaedon Sharpe – Portland Trail Blazers

Jacob Toppin – New York Knicks

Karl-Anthony Towns – Minnesota Timberwolves

Oscar Tshiebwe – Indiana Pacers

Jarred Vanderbilt – Los Angeles Lakers

Cason Wallace – Oklahoma City Thunder

PJ Washington – Charlotte Hornets

TyTy Washington Jr. – Milwaukee Bucks

The 2024-25 NBA season is over a year away, but it seems very likely a few more will be added to this list - with mock drafts projecting Justin Edwards, DJ Wagner, and potentially a couple of other current Kentucky stars to play in the NBA next year.

Twenty-six Wildcats are on #NBA opening-day rosters, the most of any program in #collegebasketball

📰🔗 https://t.co/zJiJOGQkQJ pic.twitter.com/flNZLEq9ru
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 24, 2023