A total of 351 HBCU men’s basketball players have been drafted in NBA history, with Norfolk State’s Kyle O’Quinn being the most recent selection during 2012’s second round.
Here is a complete history of HBCU players in the NBA draft (through 2022).
The first selection ever: West Virginia State’s Earl Lloyd was the first HBCU men’s basketball player drafted to the NBA and it was in the 1950 draft. Lloyd would become the first African-American player to play in an NBA game on Oct. 31, 1950. Since Lloyd’s selection, a total of 351 HBCU products have been drafted to the NBA, with 132 players selected after the 1976 NBA-ABA merger. Since the NBA draft shortened to two rounds in 1989, 18 HBCU players have been selected. Sixty-seven HBCU players have been selected in the first two rounds of the NBA draft.
The first-rounders: 21 HBCU men’s basketball players have been first-round selections. Winston-Salem State’s Earl Monroe is the highest HBCU NBA draft selection ever, going second overall to the Baltimore Bullets in 1967. Jackson State’s Purvis Short is the highest HBCU NBA draft selection post-merger, going fifth overall to the Golden State Warriors in 1978. Short is one of 10 HBCU first-round draft picks since 1976.
North Carolina Central’s Sam Jones was the first HBCU first round NBA draft pick, going eighth overall to the Boston Celtics in 1957. Tennessee State’s Carlos Rogers is the most recent HBCU first round NBA draft pick, going 11th overall to the Seattle SuperSonics in 1994. 1961, 1975 and 1978 remain the only years that two HBCU players were drafted in the first round.
HBCU first round NBA draft picks
| PICK | PLAYER | YEAR | COLLEGE | NBA TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Earl Monroe | 1967 | Winston-Salem State | Baltimore Bullets |
| 3 | Elmore Smith | 1971 | Kentucky State | Buffalo Braves |
| 3 | Marvin Webster | 1975 | Morgan State | Atlanta Hawks |
| 3 | Zelmo Beaty | 1962 | Prairie View A&M | St. Louis Hawks |
| 4 | Dick Barnett | 1959 | Tennessee State | Syracuse Nationals |
| 5 | Purvis Short | 1978 | Jackson State | Golden State Warriors |
| 6 | Ben Warley | 1961 | Tennessee State | Syracuse Nationals |
| 7 | Bennie Swain | 1958 | Texas Southern | Boston Celtics |
| 8 | Sam Jones | 1957 | North Carolina Central | Boston Celtics |
| 8 | Cleo Hill | 1961 | Winston-Salem State | St. Louis Hawks |
| 9 | Gene Short | 1975 | Jackson State | New York Knicks |
| 9 | Charles Oakley | 1985 | Virginia Union | Cleveland… |
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