NBA
NBA Draft: How Many No. 1 Overall Picks Have Come out of Duke?
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
All posts by Joe KozlowskiUpdated14 Jun 2023
While things tend to be cyclical — no program can dominate the NCAA ranks forever — some schools have established themselves as men's basketball bluebloods. The Duke Blue Devils are undeniably one of them. Under Mike Krzyzewski, the Brotherhood, as the program likes to brand itself, came to dominate the ACC and win five national championships.
And, as you might expect, that success has brought plenty of talented players through Durham. Those Blue Devils haven't always found success in the Association, but several have shown enough to become the first overall pick in the NBA draft.
Just how many have claimed the top spot? Let's break it down.
Paolo Banchero became the fifth No. 1 overall NBA draft pick to come out of Duke
While it may seem like ancient history now, Paolo Banchero rode a late surge to become the first overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft. He wasn't the first Duke Blue Devils to claim the top spot, but he did join some elite company.
Including Banchero, Duke has had five players go No. 1 overall in the NBA draft: Art Heyman (1963), Elton Brand (1999), Kyrie Irving (2011), Zion Williamson (2019), and Paolo Banchero (2022). According to the program’s site, Williamson’s selection broke a tie with the University of Kentucky for the most first overall picks in NBA history; Banchero pushed the Blue Devils further into the lead.
But how did those five guys fare in the pros?
Heyman may not be a household name today, but he put together a strong college career earning two-time Consensus All-American honors and the 1962-63 AP Player of the Year title. After leaving Durham, though, the success largely evaporated. He joined the New York Knicks with the first pick in 1963, but he played for six teams in just six years, including three ABA teams. The New York native played 310 career games across both leagues, averaging 13.0 points on 42.7% shooting.
Jumping ahead to the late 1990s, Brand had a much more impressive pro career. The big man joined the Chicago Bulls as the first overall pick, then won the 2000 Rookie of the Year Award, sharing the title with Steve Francis. Brand then played in two All-Star games with the Los Angeles Clippers and earned a 2005-06 All-NBA selection. While he was never quite as dominant as scouts hoped, the former Blue Devil averaged 15.9 points and 8.5 rebounds across 1,058 career games.
Then we come to Kyrie Irving, who spent a single, injury-blighted season at Duke before joining the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first pick of the 2011 NBA draft. On one hand, it's impossible to argue with the guard's talent; he claimed the 2011-12 Rookie of the Year title, helped the Cavs win their first NBA title, and can score with the Association's best. On the other, though, Irving has had a history of leaving teams in the lurch, creating public relations nightmares, and using his platform to spread less-than-ideal messages.
After Kyrie, Zion Williamson became the next Duke product to claim the top spot on draft night. The big man took the NCAA by storm, claiming the 2018-19 AP Player of the Year despite some injury issues, and then joined the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2019 draft. His potential was plain to see — Zion's blend of size, strength, and skill made him an exciting prospect given the positionless nature of the modern game — but we've only seen that in fits and stats. He makes an impact whenever he takes the court, as evidenced by his two All-Star nods and 25.8 point-per-game scoring average, but he simply hasn't been healthy enough to consistently help his club.
And while Paolo Banchero is the newest member of this club, he's certainly proven that he belongs. While he wasn't initially expected to be the first overall pick, the forward stepped into the NBA without missing a beat. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists across 73 contests during his first campaign with the Magic, cruising to the Rookie of the Year title.
Who will be the next Duke Blue Devils to join this exclusive fraternity? Only time will tell.
Stats courtesy of Sports Reference and Basketball Reference
