Few men’s college basketball programs have churned out topline NBA talent the way that the Kentucky Wildcats have since head coach John Calipari arrived in Lexington in 2009.
Over the last 14 years, Calipari and company have churned out 47 draft picks, with Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston being the 46th and 47th Wildcats to hear their names called earlier this month at the 2023 NBA Draft.
Between future Hall of Famers, like Lakers center Anthony Davis, and veteran players that have excelled on the sport’s biggest stage (like Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Suns guard Devin Booker, Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Townes and retired forward DeMarcus Cousins) there’s no shortage of Kentucky talent in the sport’s main attraction. With Kentucky sports betting coming to the Bluegrass State, local bettors will keep a close eye on the up-and-coming Kentucky players.
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Kentucky NBA Draft Picks Under John Calipari
BetKentucky.com stacked up where each of the 45 Kentucky draft picks during the Calipari era that have suited up at least once for their respective NBA teams stand to see what fans can expect from Wallace in Dallas and Livingston in Milwaukee.
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2023: (NO GAMES PLAYED)
Cason Wallace (10th pick, Dallas Mavericks)
Chris Livingston (58th pick, Milwaukee Bucks)
2022: (1.1 WS)
Shaedon Sharpe (7th pick, Portland Trail Blazers)
Stats: 9.9 PPG/3.0 RPG/1.2 APG/1.2 win shares
TyTy Washington Jr. (29th pick, Memphis Grizzlies/Minnesota Timberwolves/Houston Rockets)
Stats: 4.7 PPG/1.4 RPG/1.2 APG/-0.1 win shares
2021: (4.7 WS)
Isaiah Jackson (22nd pick, Los Angeles Lakers/Indiana Pacers)
Stats: 7.6 PPG/4.4 RPG/0.6 APG/4.1 win shares
B.J. Boston Jr. (51st pick, Memphis Grizzlies/New Orleans Pelicans/Los Angeles Clippers)
Stats: 6.7 PPG/1.9 RPG/1.0 APG/0.6 win shares
2020: (33.9 WS)
Tyrese Maxey (21st pick, Philadelphia 76ers)
Stats: 15.4 PPG/2.7 RPG/3.3 APG/14.6 win shares
Immanuel Quickley (25th pick, Oklahoma City Thunder/New York Knicks)
Stats: 12.7 PPG/3.2 RPG/3.1 APG/14.1 win shares
Nick Richards (42nd pick, New Orleans Pelicans/Charlotte Hornets)
Stats: 5.2 PPG/3.9 RPG/0.4 APG/5.2 win shares
2019: (31.6 WS)
P.J. Washington (12th pick, Charlotte Hornets)
Stats: 12.9 PPG/5.5 RPG/2.3 APG/10.6 win shares
Tyler Herro (13th pick, Miami Heat)
Stats: 17.7 PPG/4.9 RPG/3.5 APG/10.5 win shares
Keldon Johnson (29th pick, San Antonio Spurs)
Stats: 16.5 PPG/5.6 RPG/2.1 APG/10.5 win shares
2018: (49.8 WS)
Kevin Knox (9th pick, New York Knicks)
Stats: 7.5 PPG/2.9 RPG/0.7 APG/0.3 win shares
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11th pick, Charlotte Hornets/Los Angeles Clippers)
Stats: 21.1 PPG/4.6 RPG/4.5 APG/29.0 win shares
Jarred Vanderbilt (41st pick, Orlando Magic/Denver Nuggets)
Stats: 6.2 PPG/6.6 RPG/1.5 APG/14.3 win shares
Hamidou Diallo (45th pick, Brooklyn Nets/Charlotte Hornets/Oklahoma City Thunder)
Stats: 8.6 PPG/3.8 RPG/1.1 APG/6.2 win shares
2017: (74.8 WS)
De’Aaron Fox (5th pick, Sacramento Kings)
Stats: 20.2 PPG/3.7 RPG/6.2 APG/23.1 win shares
Malik Monk (11th pick, Charlotte Hornets)
Stats: 10.9 PPG/2.4 RPG/2.4 APG/8.9 win shares
Bam Adebayo (14th pick, Miami Heat)
Stats: 14.7 PPG/8.4 RPG/3.4 APG/42.8 win shares
2016: (30.9 WS)
Jamal Murray (7th pick, Denver Nuggets)
Stats: 16.9 PPG/3.7 RPG/4.2 APG/26.0 win shares
Skal Labissiere (28th pick, Phoenix Suns/Sacramento Kings)
Stats: 7.2 PPG/4.5 RPG/1.0 APG/4.4 win shares
Tyler Ulis (34th pick, Phoenix Suns)
Stats: 7.5 PPG/1.7 RPG/4.0 APG/0.5 win shares
2015: (148.7 WS)
Karl-Anthony Towns (1st pick, Minnesota Timberwolves)
Stats: 23.0 PPG/11.2 RPG/3.2 APG/68.7 win shares
Willie Cauley-Stein (6th pick, Sacramento Kings)
Stats: 8.7 PPG/5.9 RPG/1.4 APG/23.3 win shares
Trey Lyles (12th pick, Utah Jazz)
Stats: 7.8 PPG/4.3 RPG/1.0 APG/17.0 win shares
Devin Booker (13th pick, Phoenix Suns)
Stats: 23.9 PPG/4.0 RPG/4.8 APG/35.9 win shares
Andrew Harrison (44th pick, Phoenix Suns/Memphis Grizzlies)
Stats: 7.0 PPG/2.0 RPG/2.8 APG/3.2 win shares
Dakari Johnson (48th pick, Oklahoma City Thunder)
Stats: 1.8 PPG/1.1 RPG/0.3 APG/0.6 win shares
2014: (40.3 WS)
Julius Randle (7th pick, New York Knicks)
Stats: 18.7 PPG/9.4 RPG/3.6 APG/39.5 win shares
James Young (17th pick, Boston Celtics)
Stats: 2.3 PPG/1.0 RPG/0.3 APG/0.8 win shares
2013: (29.4 WS)
Nerlens Noel (6th pick, New Orleans Pelicans/Philadelphia 76ers)
Stats: 7.1 PPG/6.1 RPG/1.1 APG/28.3 win shares
Archie Goodwin (29th pick, Oklahoma City Thunder/Golden State Warriors/Phoenix Suns)
Stats: 6.3 PPG/2.0 RPG/1.2 APG/1.1 win shares
2012: (141.7 WS)
Anthony Davis (1st pick, New Orleans Pelicans)
Stats: 24.0 PPG/10.4 RPG/2.4 APG/100.3 win shares
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2nd pick, Charlotte Hornets)
Stats: 8.4 PPG/5.4 RPG/1.2 APG/21.0 win shares
Terrence Jones (18th pick, Houston Rockets)
Stats: 10.4 PPG/5.7 RPG/1.0 APG/14.7 win shares
Marquis Teague (29th pick, Chicago Bulls)
Stats: 2.4 PPG/1.0 RPG/1.5 APG/-0.9 win shares
Doron Lamb (42nd pick, Milwaukee Bucks)
Stats: 3.5 PPG/1.0 RPG/0.8 APG/0.1 win shares
Darius Miller (46th pick, New Orleans Pelicans)
Stats: 5.9 PPG/1.6 RPG/1.4 APG/6.5 win shares
2011: (68.1 WS)
Enes Freedom (3rd pick, Utah Jazz)
Stats: 11.2 PPG/7.8 RPG/0.9 APG/52.8 win shares
Brandon Knight (8th pick, Detroit Pistons)
Stats: 14.0 PPG/3.1 RPG/3.9 APG/11.6 win shares
Josh Harrellson (45th pick, New Orleans Pelicans/New York Knicks)
Stats: 3.5 PPG/3.0 RPG/0.3 APG/2.1 win shares
DeAndre Liggins (53rd pick, Orlando Magic)
Stats: 2.0 PPG/1.4 RPG/0.7 APG/1.6 win shares
2010: (170.3 WS)
John Wall (1st pick, Washington Wizards)
Stats: 18.7 PPG/4.2 RPG/8.9 APG/44.5 win shares
DeMarcus Cousins (5th pick, Sacramento Kings)
Stats: 19.6 PPG/10.2 RPG/3.0 APG/46.8 win shares
Patrick Patterson (14th pick, Houston Rockets)
Stats: 6.7 PPG/3.9 RPG/1.0 APG/31.9 win shares
Eric Bledsoe (18th pick, Oklahoma City Thunder/Los Angeles Clippers)
Stats: 13.7 PPG/3.9 RPG/3.7 APG/46.1 win shares
Daniel Orton (29th pick, Orlando Magic)
Stats: 2.8 PPG/2.5 RPG/0.5 APG/1.0 win shares
Totals: 825.3 win shares/47 draft picks (45 that have played 1+ NBA games)/18.34 WS per player
Kentucky Looking To Add To Stacked NBA Legacy Under Calipari
Between Kentucky’s Calipari-era leader in win shares (Davis, at 100.3 win shares) and a host of other, well known NBA talent, there’s a long list of basketball royalty that cut their teeth at Rupp Arena.
The 45 NBA draft picks between 2010 and 2022 have a combined 825.3 win shares, averaging out to around 18.3 win shares per pick — thanks in large part to Davis, Towns (68.7 win shares), Cousins (46.8 win shares), Wall (44.5 win shares), Enes Freedom (52.1 win shares) and Eric Bledsoe (46.1 win shares).
That quintet managed to knock off a host of NBA royalty, such as Bam Adebayo (42.8 win shares), Julius Randle (39.5 win shares), Booker (35.9 win shares) and Patrick Patterson (31.9 win shares), when it comes to win shares collected on the court.
If Wallace and Livingston can match their 2023 win shares at Kentucky (which were 3.9 and 1.9, respectively), the duo would more than quadruple the NBA production of the Wildcats’ 2022 NBA draft class, which combined to produce 1.1 win shares this season.
As for Kentucky’s most productive draft classes under Calipari’s leadership, the 2010 class (170.3 win shares combined), 2015 (148.7 win shares) 2012 (141.7 win shares) 2017 (74.8 win shares) and 2011 class (68.1 win shares) led the way — giving the two-man 2023 draft class something to shoot for in the years ahead.
Kentucky sportsbook apps are expected to have plenty of betting options surrounding players from the Bluegrass State as soon as they launch.
