The North Carolina men’s basketball program features a tremendous history of NBA success.
Highlighted by all-time greats like Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Vince Carter, former Tar Heels have won 36 NBA championships — more than any other school — and 53 UNC players have been first-round draft picks, which is the second most in the country behind Kentucky. North Carolina also leads the ACC in the most total draft picks with 117.
As the NBA returns to a full season of capacity crowds, former Tar Heels will be relied upon to help their franchises compete for a championship. Here are three players who should make the biggest impact.
Wayne Ellington
Wayne Ellington, who won a national championship in Chapel Hill in 2009, is set to start at shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers alongside superstars LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis. The Lakers currently have the second-best odds to win the NBA Finals, so this team should be making a serious postseason run barring injury.
After shooting 42 percent from three last season for the Detroit Pistons, Ellington’s primary role with the Lakers will be to spread the floor and knock down perimeter shots.
He should see an abundance of those opportunities with the drive-and-dish abilities of James and Westbrook and the post presence Davis and Dwight Howard provide, and the team needs consistent shooting more than anything else. Ellington should also be able to stay on the floor late in games because of his career 84 percent mark from the free-throw line, so fans should expect to see the veteran play a lot on a very good team.
Cameron Johnson
Last season’s NBA Finals featured two former Tar Heels — Justin Jackson and Cameron Johnson — with Johnson being the sixth man on the Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns. The 11th overall pick in the 2019 draft shot 35 percent from deep last season in a similar stretch-the-floor role as Ellington, and Johnson averaged 9.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
