From Lennie Rosenbluth to Cole Anthony: All 53 UNC First Round NBA Draft Picks

On Wednesday, Cole Anthony became the 53rd Tar Heel selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. Who are the other 52? Let's find out.

With Cole Anthony’s selection in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft, he joins a rich history of Tar Heel players whom have gone before him. With that in mind, it’s an appropriate moment to pause and remember the scores of other Carolina players also selected in the NBA Draft’s First Round.

According to the UNC men’s basketball Fact and Records Book, before Wednesday night’s draft, Carolina led the nation in most all-time NBA First Round Draft Picks with 52. Kentucky (51) and Duke (48) each trailed closely, with UCLA (39) a distant fourth, and Kansas (32) the only other team in the 30s.

Following the 2020 draft, UNC and Kentucky are now tied at 53 apiece after Tar Heel Cole Anthony was drafted 15th overall by the Orlando Magic and Wildcats Tyrese Maxey (21st to Philadelphia 76ers) and Immanuel Quickley (25th to the Oklahoma City Thunder) were also chosen in the first round.

Neither Duke or UCLA made up any ground, but Kansas added to their first round total when Udoka Azubuike went 27th to the Utah Jazz.

Here’s an opportunity to look back at all 53 Carolina first round draft picks, from Lennie Rosenbluth in 1957 to Cole Anthony this week. We’ll display the list in three different ways: first will be chronological order, then alphabetical order by surname, and finally by draft pick order.

Chronological Order

Year	Player	Draft Spot	NBA Team
1957	Lennie Rosenbluth	6	Philadelphia Warriors
1958	Pete Brennan	4	New York Knicks
1960	Lee Shaffer	5	Syracuse Nationals
1965	Billy Cunningham	4	Philadelphia 76ers
1972	Robert McAdoo	2	Buffalo Braves
1974	Bobby Jones	5	Houston Rockets
1976	Mitch Kupchak	13	Washington Bullets
1977	Walter Davis	5	Phoenix Suns
1977	Tommy LaGarde	9	Denver Nuggets
1978	Phil Ford	2	Kansas City Kings
1979	Dudley Bradley	13	Indiana Pacers
1980	Mike O'Koren	6	New Jersey Nets
1981	Al Wood	4	Atlanta Hawks
1982	James Worthy	1	Los Angeles Lakers
1984	Michael Jordan	3	Chicago Bulls
1984	Sam Perkins	4	Dallas Mavericks
1986	Brad Daugherty	1	Cleveland Cavaliers
1987	Kenny Smith	6	Sacramento Kings
1987	Joe Wolf	13	Los Angeles Clippers
1989	J.R. Reid	5	Charlotte Hornets
1991	Rick Fox	24	Boston Celtics
1991	Pete Chilcutt	27	Sacramento Kings
1992	Hubert Davis	20	New York Knicks
1993	George Lynch	12	Los Angeles Lakers
1994	Eric Montross	9	Boston Celtics
1995	Jerry Stackhouse	3	Philadelphia 76ers
1995	Rasheed Wallace	4	Washington Bullets
1998	Antawn Jamison	4	Toronto Raptors
1998	Vince Carter	5	Golden State Warriors
2001	Brendan Haywood	20	Cleveland Cavaliers
2001	Joseph Forte	21	Boston Celtics
2005	Marvin Williams	2	Atlanta Hawks
2005	Raymond Felton	5	Charlotte Bobcats
2005	Sean May	13	Charlotte Bobcats
2005	Rashad McCants	14	Minnesota Timberwolves
2007	Brandan Wright	8	Charlotte Bobcats
2009	Tyler Hansbrough	13	Indiana Pacers
2009	Ty Lawson	18	Minnesota Timberwolves
2009	Wayne Ellington	28	Minnesota Timberwolves
2010	Ed Davis	13	Toronto Raptors
2012	Harrison Barnes	7	Golden State Warriors
2012	Kendall Marshall	13	Phoenix Suns
2012	John Henson	14	Milwaukee Bucks
2012	Tyler Zeller	17	Dallas Mavericks
2013	Reggie Bullock	25	Los Angeles Clippers
2014	P.J. Hairston	26	Miami Heat
2016	Brice Johnson	25	Los Angeles Clippers
2017	Justin Jackson	15	Portland Trail Blazers
2017	Tony Bradley	28	Los Angeles Lakers
2019	Coby White	7	Chicago Bulls
2019	Cameron Johnson	11	Minnesota Timberwolves
2019	Nassir Little	25	Portland Trail Blazers
2020	Cole Anthony	15	Orlando Magic

Alphabetical Order

Name	Year	Draft Spot	NBA Team
Anthony, Cole	2020	15	Orlando Magic
Barnes, Harrison	2012	7	Golden State Warriors
Bradley, Dudley	1979	13	Indiana Pacers
Bradley, Tony	2017	28	Los Angeles Lakers
Brennan, Pete	1958	4	New York Knicks
Bullock, Reggie	2013	25	Los Angeles Clippers
Carter, Vince	1998	5	Golden State Warriors
Chilcutt, Pete	1991	27	Sacramento Kings
Cunningham, Billy	1965	4	Philadelphia 76ers
Daugherty, Brad	1986	1	Cleveland Cavaliers
Davis, Ed	2010	13	Toronto Raptors
Davis, Hubert	1992	20	New York Knicks
Davis, Walter	1977	5	Phoenix Suns
Ellington, Wayne	2009	28	Minnesota Timberwolves
Felton, Raymond	2005	5	Charlotte Bobcats
Ford, Phil	1978	2	Kansas City Kings
Forte, Joseph	2001	21	Boston Celtics
Fox, Rick	1991	24	Boston Celtics
Hairston, P.J.	2014	26	Miami Heat
Hansbrough, Tyler	2009	13	Indiana Pacers
Haywood, Brendan	2001	20	Cleveland Cavaliers
Henson, John	2012	14	Milwaukee Bucks
Jackson, Justin	2017	15	Portland Trail Blazers
Jamison, Antawn	1998	4	Toronto Raptors
Johnson, Brice	2016	25	Los Angeles Clippers
Johnson, Cameron	2019	11	Minnesota Timberwolves
Jones, Bobby	1974	5	Houston Rockets
Jordan, Michael	1984	3	Chicago Bulls
Kupchak, Mitch	1976	13	Washington Bullets
LaGarde, Tommy	1977	9	Denver Nuggets
Lawson, Ty	2009	18	Minnesota Timberwolves
Little, Nassir	2019	25	Portland Trail Blazers
Lynch, George	1993	12	Los Angeles Lakers
Marshall, Kendall	2012	13	Phoenix Suns
May, Sean	2005	13	Charlotte Bobcats
McAdoo, Robert	1972	2	Buffalo Braves
McCants, Rashad	2005	14	Minnesota Timberwolves
Montross, Eric	1994	9	Boston Celtics
O'Koren, Mike	1980	6	New Jersey Nets
Perkins, Sam	1984	4	Dallas Mavericks
Reid, J.R.	1989		Charlotte Hornets
Rosenbluth, Lennie	1957	6	Philadelphia Warriors
Shaffer, Lee	1960	5	Syracuse Nationals
Smith, Kenny	1987	6	Sacramento Kings
Stackhouse, Jerry	1995	3	Philadelphia 76ers
Wallace, Rasheed	1995	4	Washington Bullets
White, Coby	2019	7	Chicago Bulls
Williams, Marvin	2005	2	Atlanta Hawks
Wolf, Joe	1987	13	Los Angeles Clippers
Wood, Al	1981	4	Atlanta Hawks
Worthy, James	1982	1	Los Angeles Lakers
Wright, Brandan	2007	8	Charlotte Bobcats
Zeller, Tyler	2012	17	Dallas Mavericks

Draft Order

Draft Spot	Player	Year	NBA Teams
1	James Worthy	1982	Los Angeles Lakers
1	Brad Daugherty	1986	Cleveland Cavaliers
2	Robert McAdoo	1972	Buffalo Braves
2	Phil Ford	1978	Kansas City Kings
2	Marvin Williams	2005	Atlanta Hawks
3	Michael Jordan	1984	Chicago Bulls
3	Jerry Stackhouse	1995	Philadelphia 76ers
4	Pete Brennan	1958	New York Knicks
4	Billy Cunningham	1965	Philadelphia 76ers
4	Al Wood	1981	Atlanta Hawks
4	Sam Perkins	1984	Dallas Mavericks
4	Rasheed Wallace	1995	Washington Bullets
4	Antawn Jamison	1998	Toronto Raptors
5	Lee Shaffer	1960	Syracuse Nationals
5	Bobby Jones	1974	Houston Rockets
5	Walter Davis	1977	Phoenix Suns
5	J.R. Reid	1989	Charlotte Hornets
5	Vince Carter	1998	Golden State Warriors
5	Raymond Felton	2005	Charlotte Bobcats
6	Lennie Rosenbluth	1957	Philadelphia Warriors
6	Mike O'Koren	1980	New Jersey Nets
6	Kenny Smith	1987	Sacramento Kings
7	Harrison Barnes	2012	Golden State Warriors
7	Coby White	2019	Chicago Bulls
8	Brandan Wright	2007	Charlotte Bobcats
9	Tommy LaGarde	1977	Denver Nuggets
9	Eric Montross	1994	Boston Celtics
11	Cameron Johnson	2019	Minnesota Timberwolves
12	George Lynch	1993	Los Angeles Lakers
13	Mitch Kupchak	1976	Washington Bullets
13	Dudley Bradley	1979	Indiana Pacers
13	Joe Wolf	1987	Los Angeles Clippers
13	Sean May	2005	Charlotte Bobcats
13	Tyler Hansbrough	2009	Indiana Pacers
13	Ed Davis	2010	Toronto Raptors
13	Kendall Marshall	2012	Phoenix Suns
14	Rashad McCants	2005	Minnesota Timberwolves
14	John Henson	2012	Milwaukee Bucks
15	Justin Jackson	2017	Portland Trail Blazers
15	Cole Anthony	2020	Orlando Magic
17	Tyler Zeller	2012	Dallas Mavericks
18	Ty Lawson	2009	Minnesota Timberwolves
20	Hubert Davis	1992	New York Knicks
20	Brendan Haywood	2001	Cleveland Cavaliers
21	Joseph Forte	2001	Boston Celtics
24	Rick Fox	1991	Boston Celtics
25	Reggie Bullock	2013	Los Angeles Clippers
25	Brice Johnson	2016	Los Angeles Clippers
25	Nassir Little	2019	Portland Trail Blazers
26	P.J. Hairston	2014	Miami Heat
27	Pete Chilcutt	1991	Sacramento Kings
28	Wayne Ellington	2009	Minnesota Timberwolves
28	Tony Bradley	2017	Los Angeles Lakers

Who will be the 54th Carolina first round draft pick? Garrison Brooks? Caleb Love? Day'Ron Sharpe? 

We will wait and find out as the 2020-21 season unfolds. 

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