Following productive careers in Chapel Hill, several former North Carolina men's basketball players have made their mark in the professional ranks.
Close to a dozen former Tar Heels are currently on an NBA roster, many of whom are making solid contributions to their teams following the All-Star Break last month.
No players were selected directly out of UNC in the 2022 NBA Draft, but Utah Jazz rookie Walker Kessler – who played his first year in Chapel Hill – was drafted out of Auburn. The first-year player is averaging 8.2 points and an impressive 2.2 blocks per game.
The latest NBA Draft pick directly from UNC is Day’Ron Sharpe, who is in his second year with the Brooklyn Nets. The big man is the youngest Tar Heel in the NBA and is even younger than many players on UNC's current roster.
Fourth-year pros Nassir Little of the Portland Trail Blazers and Coby White of the Chicago Bulls have carved out solid rotational roles, averaging 6.6 and 8.9 points per game, respectively.
Former NCAA champions Theo Pinson of the Dallas Mavericks and NBA veteran Danny Green, who recently signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, have also turned into valuable reserve players for their respective teams. Joining Pinson on the Mavericks is veteran wing Reggie Bullock, who is averaging about seven points per game in 60 appearances this season.
Rounding out the Tar Heels in the NBA are three standouts scoring in double figures:
Cameron Johnson
During a career year in which he was averaging over 13 points per game for the Phoenix Suns, Johnson was one of several players recently traded to the Brooklyn Nets for superstar Kevin Durant. Since being sent to Brooklyn, Johnson has scored in double figures in each of his first six games, including a 27-point performance at Atlanta on Feb. 26.
