Kentucky players run the National Basketball Association — this much we know. The Wildcats currently have 26 one-time players, according to Spotrac, on an NBA roster ahead of the upcoming 2023-24 season. Duke is the next highest with 25 players, but without the same level of star power spread across the 30 franchises that Kentucky has.
The next-closest team to Kentucky and Duke is UCLA with just 14 former players.
But in spite of the program’s domination since John Calipari’s arrival at UK in 2009, no Wildcat has ever been named Most Valuable Player in the league’s nearly 80-year history.