Since the NBA draft began in 1947, Memphis has produced 14 first-round picks, including 8 top-ten picks and one number-one pick (Derrick Rose ). Three former Tigers have been named NBA All-Stars : Larry Kenon (twice), Penny Hardaway (4 times), and Derrick Rose (3 times). Four have gone on to win the NBA Championship: Win Wilfong with the St. Louis Hawks in 1958 , William Bedford with the Detroit Pistons in 1990 , Earl Barron with the Miami Heat in 2006 , and James Wiseman with the Golden State Warriors in 2022 .
In 2010, Memphis became the second college to produce two consecutive NBA Rookie of the Year winners: Derrick Rose in 2009 and Tyreke Evans in 2010 (the first being North Carolina with winners Walter Davis in 1978 and Phil Ford in 1979 ). In 2011, Rose became the first former Tiger to be named the NBA Most Valuable Player .
Many Memphis players since the 1960s that have gone undrafted or had unsuccessful NBA careers have also played in professional leagues in Europe, Asia and/or Latin America.
Penny Hardaway playing for the New York Knicks (2004–2006) Lorenzen Wright playing for the Memphis Grizzlies (2001–2006) Derrick Rose playing for the Chicago Bulls (2008–2016) Tyreke Evans playing for the New Orleans Pelicans (2013–2017)
NBA players who attended Memphis
Player
Year
Round
Pick
Team
Seasons
Years active
(NBA & ABA)
Achievements
Win Wilfong 1957 1
4th
St. Louis Hawks 4
1957–1961
1958 NBA Champion
Jim Hackaday[e] 1959 3 17th Philadelphia Warriors
Orby Arnold[e] 1959 7 53rd St. Louis Hawks
George Price[e] 1960 8 58th New York Knicks
Wayne Yates 1961 1
5th
Los Angeles Lakers 1
1961–1962
Lowery Kirk[e] 1961 4 34th Cincinnati Royals
Hunter Beckman[e] 1963 7 58th Cincinnati Royals
George Kirk[e] 1964 5 42nd Cincinnati Royals
Bob Neumann[e] 1964 10 83rd Cincinnati Royals
Mike Butler [a] 1968 10
121st
San Diego Rockets 4
1968–1972
Rich Jones [a] [b] 1969 5
58th
Phoenix Suns 7
1970–1977
James Douglas[e] 1971 16 226th Buffalo Braves
Doug Holcomb[e] 1972 6 94th Boston Celtics
Ronnie Robinson [a] 1973 4
60th
Phoenix Suns 2
1973–1975
Larry Kenon [a] [c] 1973 3
50th
Detroit Pistons 10
1973–1983
2x NBA All-Star
Larry Finch [a] 1973 4
68th
Los Angeles Lakers 2
1973–1975
Bill Cook[e] 1976 3 49th Washington Bullets
Marion Hillard[e] 1976 4 65th Washington Bullets
James Bradley[e] 1979 2 35th Atlanta Hawks
Rodney Lee[e] 1979 8 150th Detroit Pistons
Dennis Isbell[e] 1981 5 100th San Diego Clippers
Hank McDowell 1981 5
102nd
Golden State Warriors 5
1981–1986
Otis Jackson[e] 1982 8 174th New Jersey Nets
Chris Faggi[e] 1982 8 179th San Antonio Spurs
Bobby Parks[e] 1984 3 58th Atlanta Hawks
Phillip Haynes[e] 1984 6 121st Los Angeles Clippers
Keith Lee 1985 1
11th
Chicago Bulls 4
1985–1989
Baskerville Holmes[e] 1986 3 68th Milwaukee Bucks
Andre Turner 1986 3
69th
Los Angeles Lakers 6
1986–1992
William Bedford 1986 1
6th
Phoenix Suns 7
1986–1993
1990 NBA Champion
Vincent Askew 1987 2
39th
Philadelphia 76ers 9
1987–1988,
1990–1998
Sylvester Gray 1988 2
35th
Miami Heat 1
1988–1989
Dwight Boyd [e] 1988 3 66th Denver Nuggets
Elliot Perry 1991 2
37th
Los Angeles Clippers 9
1991–1992,
1994–2002
Penny Hardaway 1993 1
3rd
Golden State Warriors 14
1993–2007
4x NBA All-Star, 2x All-NBA First Team, All-NBA Third Team
Todd Mundt 1995 undrafted n/a Boston Celtics 1
1995–1996
David Vaughn III 1995 1
25th
Orlando Magic 4
1995–1999
Lorenzen Wright 1996 1
7th
Los Angeles Clippers 13
1996–2009
Cedric Henderson 1997 2
44th
Cleveland Cavaliers 5
1997–2002
Chris Garner 1997 undrafted n/a Toronto Raptors 2
1997–1998,
2001
Dajuan Wagner 2002 1
6th
Cleveland Cavaliers 4
2002–2006
Antonio Burks 2004 2
37th
Orlando Magic 2
2004–2006
Earl Barron 2005 undrafted n/a Miami Heat 3
2005–2006,
2010–2012
2006 NBA Champion
Shawne Williams 2006 1
17th
Indiana Pacers 9
2006–2015
Rodney Carney 2006 1
16th
Chicago Bulls 5
2006–2011
Darius Washington Jr. 2007 undrafted n/a San Antonio Spurs 1
2007
Chris Douglas-Roberts 2008 2
40th
New Jersey Nets 7
2008–2015
Joey Dorsey 2008 2
33rd
Portland Trail Blazers 3
2008–2011
Derrick Rose 2008 1
1st
Chicago Bulls 16
2008–2024
2011 NBA MVP, 3x NBA All-Star, All-NBA First Team, 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year
Tyreke Evans 2009 1
4th
Sacramento Kings 10
2009–2019
2010 NBA Rookie of the Year
Robert Dozier[e] 2009 2 60th Miami Heat
Antonio Anderson 2009 undrafted n/a Oklahoma City Thunder 1
2010
Elliot Williams 2010 1
22nd
Portland Trail Blazers 6
2010–2016
Will Barton 2012 2
40th
Portland Trail Blazers 11
2012–2023
D.J. Stephens 2013 undrafted n/a Milwaukee Bucks 2
2014, 2018
Adonis Thomas 2013 undrafted n/a Orlando Magic 1
2014
Tarik Black [d] 2014 undrafted n/a Houston Rockets 4
2014–2018
Jeremiah Martin 2019 undrafted n/a Brooklyn Nets 1
2020–2021
James Wiseman 2020 1
2nd
Golden State Warriors 5
2020–2025
2022 NBA Champion
Precious Achiuwa 2020 1
20th
Miami Heat 5
2020–present
Jalen Duren 2022 1
13th
Charlotte Hornets 3
2022–present
Josh Minott 2022 2
45th
Charlotte Hornets 3
2022–present
Lester Quiñones 2022 undrafted n/a Golden State Warriors 2
2022–2024
Damion Baugh [d] 2023 undrafted n/a Charlotte Hornets 1
2025
Emoni Bates [d] 2023 2
19th
Cleveland Cavaliers 2
2023–2025
Boogie Ellis [d] 2024 undrafted n/a Sacramento Kings 1
2024
Nae'Qwan Tomlin 2024 undrafted n/a Cleveland Cavaliers 2
2025–present
David Jones Garcia 2024 undrafted n/a San Antonio Spiurs 1
2025–present
Moussa Cisse 2025 undrafted n/a Dallas Mavericks
1
2025–present
currently active players are in bold
a Player chose to play professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA), which existed from 1967 to 1976.b Rich Jones was originally drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 1968 in the fourth round as the 49th pick, but opted not to play. In 1969, he was drafted again by the Suns but chose instead to play in the ABA for the Dallas Chaparrals. He would eventually play in the NBA in 1976 when the New Jersey Nets joined as part of the NBA-ABA merger.c Larry Kenon moved to the NBA after the San Antonio Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, as part of the NBA-ABA merger.d These players began their careers at the University of Memphis
Tarik Black played at Memphis from 2010 to 2013 and transferred to Kansas for his senior season.
Damion Baugh played at Memphis from 2019 to 2021 and transferred to TCU for his senior and 5th seasons.
Emoni Bates played at Memphis from 2021 to 2022 and transferred to Eastern Michigan for his sophomore season.
Boogie Ellis played at Memphis from 2019 to 2021 and transferred to USC for his redshirt sophomore, junior and senior seasons. e Player was drafted but never played an NBA game.Source:[ 1]
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