Recent NBA Draft history for Virginia basketball

The NBA Draft officially begins Tuesday at 8 p.m., with the second round taking place Wednesday at 8 p.m. — both on ESPN.

One Cavalier, Ugonna Onyenso, is projected to be selected somewhere in the second round. But before he joins the expanding brotherhood of Virginia basketball alumni in the pros, how about a look at the other recent-ish additions?

This decade

Trey Murphy New Orleans Pelican — Apr 3, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (25) during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

So far in the 2020s, only two Cavaliers have been drafted. Both are Tony Bennett products. Those are Ryan Dunn, selected at No. 28 overall by the Phoenix Suns in 2024, and Trey Murphy III, selected at No. 17 by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2021.

Dunn has played in 144 career games in his first two seasons. However, only 60 of those have been starts. The defensive stalwart is still growing as an offensive force, as his career scoring average is 6.4 points per game.

In his second season last year, Dunn improved in field goal and three point percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds per game, assists per game (nearly doubled), steals per game — and his minutes per game actually increased by 0.3 even though his total starts decreased by over 60%.

Murphy also took a few seasons to get going. He averaged 5.4 points per game as a rookie, then 14.5 in year two, then over 21 in year four. Murphy has emerged as one of the NBA’s most potent and underrated three-and-D wings. He is already the Pelicans’ all-time leader in three-point makes, with 814 — 122 more than runner-up CJ McCollum.

Murphy is much more than a three-point specialist, though. He contributes defensively and was even selected for the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, where he reached the final. Murphy has emerged as a genuine — and underrated — star in professional basketball.

Others

Dunn and Murphy are not the only Virginia stars to see playing time in the Association — Sam Hauser and Jay Huff are consistent NBA players even though they went undrafted. Others, including Reece Beekman, have also had a cup of tea in the NBA.

There are also several players who went undrafted and have carved out professional careers, mainly overseas.

Then there is a third group, a small but notable collection highlighted by Igor Miličić Jr. — players who transferred out of Charlottesville and performed well at other programs. That group also includes some former Cavaliers who went on to play internationally.

Previously

Before this decade, eight Virginia basketball alumni were selected in the 2010s — or nine, if Marial Shayok is included for his three years in Charlottesville, although he was with Iowa State when he was drafted.

In 2019, the national champion trio of Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter were all selected. They have switched teams several times, including on draft night. By evening’s end, Guy was on the Sacramento Kings, Jerome on the Suns and Hunter on the Atlanta Hawks.

Before that trio, Devon Hall was a second round pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2018 and Malcolm Brogdon was also a second round selection by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2016. The year prior, Justin Anderson went No. 21 overall to the Dallas Mavericks.

The first two 2010s Virginia picks were Joe Harris in 2014 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Mike Scott to the Atlanta Hawks in 2012. Harris, Scott and Brogdon each played at least nine seasons in the NBA.

Overall, there have been 47 Virginia basketball alumni selected in the history of the NBA Draft. Most likely, Onyenso becomes No. 48 on that list Wednesday — the first Cavalier selected in the Coach Ryan Odom era. The Cavaliers will hope to send many more to the Association, and start a streak of NBA Draft picks.

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