Some handy NBA Draft history lessons
Delivered just in time with several assists from our trusted colleagues at Basketball Reference
The NBA Draft, for the second year in a row, is a two-night engagement.
So we wanted to do a little something extra to help preview proceedings … which meant dialing up our pals at Basketball Reference for only the sort of assists they can dish.
Cooper Flagg, of course, is certain to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks … and the sixth No. 1 selection from Duke.
Can you name the first five?
I'm pretty confident you could not nail all five if we didn't furnish you with this full Stathead list:
Also: Flagg tonight becomes just the third player from the state of Maine in league history … and just the second to be drafted.
His predecessors?
Miami's undrafted Duncan Robinson.
And Orlando Magic broadcaster Jeff Turner, who was drafted 17th overall by New Jersey in 1984.
Two more notes on the Blue Devils: They have sent 15 players to the NBA who have accumulated a Win Shares total of 50+ and have seen a total of 111 players from the program drafted into the world's best basketball league:
(For more on the concept of the Win Shares statistic — which Basketball Reference conceived "to divvy up credit for team success to the individuals on the team" — please check out the backstory embedded in this sentence.)
Also at the top of Wednesday night's lottery, Rutgers guard Dylan Harper is regarded as a lock to be selected with the No. 2 overall pick. Less clear is precisely how high his Rutgers teammate Ace Bailey will go in the top 10, but this much is certain: It will easily be the school's finest hour in terms of NBA Draft history.
The highest previous pair of Scarlet Knights selections in the same draft?
Mike Dabney and Phil Sellers were taken in the third round of the draft in 1976 — at 36th and 38th overall — in the days when the event stretched beyond a mere two rounds.
If Harper and Bailey are both selected in the top three, furthermore, it would be the sixth time that has happened for a single school.
The previous five instances:
Duke in 2019: No. 1 Zion Williamson and No. 3 RJ Barrett.
Kansas in 2014: No. 1 Andrew Wiggins and No. 3 Joel Embiid.
UConn in 2004: No. 2 Emeka Okafor and No. 3 Ben Gordon.
Duke in 2002: No. 2 Jay Williams and No. 3 Mike Dunleavy.
UCLA in 1969: No. 1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and No. 3 Lucius Allen.
The above history, of course, only comes into play if Philadelphia decides to draft Bailey at No. 3 overall despite his recent decision (covered in the enclosed story below by Jake Fischer) to cancel a scheduled pre-draft visit with the 76ers.
How far might Ace Bailey fall?
No question leaguewide has gripped those locked into the NBA Draft like this one:
If Bailey is selected no lower than No. 5 by Utah on Wednesday night, it will be the 10th time one school has witnessed two of its players being selected in the top five of the same draft. The previous nine:
Indiana in 2013: No. 2 Victor Oladipo and No. 4 Cody Zeller.
Kentucky in 2010: No. 1 John Wall and No. 5 DeMarcus Cousins.
UCLA in 2008: No. 4 Russell Westbrook and No. 5 Kevin Love.
Ohio State in 2007: No. 1 Greg Oden and No. 4 Mike Conley.
North Carolina in 2005: No. 2 Marvin Williams and No. 5 Raymond Felton.
North Carolina in 1998: No. 4 Antawn Jamison and No. 5 Vince Carter.
North Carolina in 1995: No. 3 Jerry Stackhouse and No. 4 Rasheed Wallace.
North Carolina in 1984: No. 3 Michael Jordan and No. 4 Sam Perkins.
Michigan State in 1979: No. 1 Magic Johnson and No. 4 Greg Kelser.
Only once, for the record, has a single school delivered the top two overall picks in the draft … which will not be happening again on Wednesday evening.
In 2012, remember, Kentucky's Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist went No. 1 and No. 2 to New Orleans and Charlotte.