College basketball teams with the most NBA 1st-round draft picks

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 2025 NBA Draft took place on Wednesday, June 25. With the first overall pick, the Dallas Mavericks selected Duke’s Cooper Flagg. The San Antonio Spurs followed by taking Dylan Harper at No. 2, while the Philadelphia 76ers selected VJ Edgecombe at No. 3.

In 2024, the Atlanta Hawks selected French standout Zaccharie Risacher with the first-overall selection. Alex Sarr was the second overall pick by the Washington Wizards, while Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard became the first NCAA player selected at No. 3 overall by the Houston Rockets.

The San Antonio Spurs began the 2023 draft by selecting French star Victor Wembanyama with the first-overall pick. Alabama’s Brandon Miller was the first NCAA player chosen in that draft and second overall 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:

College basketball teams with the most NBA first-round draft picks

Rank
College
Conference
First-round picks

1
Kentucky
SEC
60

2
Duke
ACC
59

3
North Carolina
ACC
55

4
UCLA
Big Ten
43

5
Kansas
Big 12
36

6
Michigan
Big Ten
31

7
Indiana
Big Ten
28

8
Arizona
Big 12
27

9
Ohio State
Big Ten
25

10
Louisville
Atlantic Coast
24

10
Syracuse
Atlantic Coast
24

10
Connecticut
Big East
24

11
Michigan State
Big Ten
22

12
Notre Dame
ACC
21

12
Maryland
Big Ten
21

13
Texas
SEC
20

14
Georgia Tech
ACC
19

14
Alabama
SEC
19

15
LSU
SEC
17

16
North Carolina State
ACC
16

16
Minnesota
Big Ten
16

16
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 six.

Duke’s six are Art Heyman (1963, New York Knicks), Elton Brand (1999, Chicago Bulls), Kyrie Irving (2011, Cleveland Cavaliers), Zion Williamson (2019, New Orleans Pelicans), Paolo Banchero (2022, Orlando Magic) and Cooper Flagg (2025, Dallas Mavericks).

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
6

2
Kentucky
SEC
3

3
North Carolina
ACC
2

3
UCLA
Big Ten
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
Big 12
2

3
Houston
Big 12
2

3
Cincinnati
Big 12
2

3
Purdue
Big Ten
2

3
Kansas State
Big 12
2

3
West Virginia
Big 12
2

3
Duquesne
Atlantic 10
2

Having North Carolina third 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.