A school like the University will always be acknowledged as a football school, perhaps rightfully so. Not only is the current Steve Sarkisian-led program renowned as a perennial blue blood on the field, but the first edition of the College Football Playoff Poll shows the wide respect others have for the Longhorns by their No. 5 ranking.
What gets lost is what Texas has done on the court, specifically in producing talent for the next level. The Longhorns are tied for seventh among college basketball programs with nine players on active NBA rosters. To put the statistic in perspective, there are 37 Texas alumni in the NFL, ranking Texas ninth across the sport.
Now two weeks into the 2024 season, let’s catch up on the former Longhorns who represent the Forty Acres in the NBA.
Kevin Durant, drafted 2007
The most notable Longhorn is Kevin Durant, who, in his one season in Austin, was the Big 12 Player of the Year, consensus first-team All-American and the National College Player of the Year. The future basketball Hall of Famer still averages 27.1 points per game for the Phoenix Suns, his fourth NBA team.
Coming off his fourth Olympic Gold Medal over the summer, Durant has carried momentum into his 17th season in the league. The Suns are 6-1 through two weeks of the season which is the second-best record in the Western Conference.
Cory Joseph, Tristan Thompson, drafted 2011
Cory Joseph played for Texas for one season before being selected 29th overall by the San Antonio Spurs. Four years in the Silver and Black organization was the longest tenure the guard had with one team. Joseph is now on his sixth team, the Orlando Magic, where he averages 1.8 points per game in five minutes per contest.
Drafted fourth overall the same year, Tristan Thompson was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers and stayed with the team for nine years. The 6-foot-9 center was a part of the Cavaliers’ 2016 championship and has since bounced around six different teams since leaving Cleveland in 2020, including rejoining the organization in 2023.
Myles Turner, drafted 2015
Myles Turner turned enough heads in his one year at Texas to be selected 11th overall in 2015 by the Indiana Pacers, where he still plays. The center and power forward led the NBA in blocks in 2019 and 2021 and currently averages 17 points and 1.7 blocks per outing.
Jarrett Allen, drafted 2017
Jarrett Allen, like the other Longhorns in the NBA, was impressive enough his freshman year at Texas to be drafted in the first round. He was selected 22nd overall by the Brooklyn Nets where he spent his first four seasons before being traded to Cleveland in 2021. Allen was named an All-Star in 2022 and is currently averaging a career-best 11.6 rebounds a night.
Jaxson Hayes, drafted 2019
In his time at Texas, Jaxson Hayes was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and was tabbed to the conference’s All-Defensive Team in 2019, enough to get him drafted eighth overall by the New Orleans Pelicans. The 7-foot center was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023 where he was a part of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Championship. Hayes currently averages 5.0 points per game this season.
Other recent draftees
Mohamed Bamba was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2018 and currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. Kai Jones and Jericho Sims were both drafted in 2021. Jones was the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year before going to the Charlotte Hornets. Jones now plays for the Clippers alongside Bamba, while Sims plays for the New York Knicks.
Despite Texas having made NCAA Tournament appearances in each of the last three seasons, it has been unable to produce any NBA talent. The Longhorns have had no players drafted since 2021 after having seven players drafted between 2015 and 2021.
*Reader note: the website counts Texas as having 10 active NBA players, but PJ Tucker has been sidelined by the Los Angeles Clippers before the NBA season.
