NBA Opening Day Rosters Feature 11 Jayhawks

LAWRENCE, Kan. – A proud NBA tradition will continue this season as Kansas men's basketball has 11 players on NBA opening day rosters heading into the 2025-26 season. A Jayhawk has won an NBA title three of the last four seasons.

Three Jayhawks have won NBA titles in the last four seasons with Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors in 2022, Christian Braun of the Denver Nuggets in 2023 and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, who won the 2024 title with the Boston Celtics.

On Monday, Braun signed a five-year contract extension with the Nuggets after a strong three-year start to his professional career. Wiggins currently plays for the Miami Heat, while Mykhailiuk plays for the Utah Jazz. Wiggins, who played at KU in 2013-14 and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, is in his 12th season in the league and his second with the Heat. Besides his 2022 NBA title, Wiggins has played in 766 career games in the NBA and was the 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year and an All-NBA Team selection in 2022.

Two NBA teams have Jayhawk teammates entering the 2025-26 season with Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre Jr. of the Philadelphia 76ers and Ochai Agbaji and Gradey Dick on the Toronto Raptors. Additional Jayhawks on opening day rosters include: Hunter Dickinson (New Orleans Pelicans), Johnny Furphy (Indiana Pacers), Kevin McCullar Jr. (New York Knicks) and Jalen Wilson (Brooklyn Nets).

Embiid is entering his 12th season with the Philadelphia 76ers. He won the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player and won the gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Embiid is a seven-time NBA All-Star and a five-time member of the All-NBA Team. During the 2022 season, Embiid won the 2022 NBA scoring title, becoming the first center to do so since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000.

Oubre, the 15th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, begins his 11th season in the NBA and his third with the 76ers. He has played in 655 career games while in the NBA.

Mykhailiuk is entering his eighth season and his second with the Jazz. In 2024, Mykhailiuk became the 16^th Jayhawk to win an NBA title. Mykhailiuk was the 47^th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Agbaji was picked 14th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft and played his first two seasons with the Utah Jazz before going to Toronto during the 2023-24 season. Agbaji was a starter on Kansas' 2022 National Championship team and a Consensus All-America First Team selection where he led the Big 12 in scoring with an 18.8 ppg.

Also, a starter on Kansas' 2022 NCAA Championship team, Braun enters his fourth season with the Nuggets after being a key contributor to the 2023 NBA Finals Championship team. Braun, who became the fifth player in history to win both an NCAA Championship and an NBA Finals Championship in back-to-back seasons, was the 21^st overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Also a starter on Kansas' 2022 National Championship team, Wilson was drafted 51st overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the same draft class as Dick in 2023. The 2023 Consensus All-America selection and 2023 Julius Erving Award winner was named the MVP of the 2024 NBA 2K25 Summer League.

Dick is in his third season with the Raptors. He was drafted 13th overall by Toronto in the 2023 NBA Draft after a standout freshman season at Kansas where he was an all-conference selection who averaged 14.1 ppg.

Furphy was the 35^th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs and was immediately traded to Indiana. The Pacers advanced to the 2025 NBA Finals in Furphy's rookie season. Furphy averaged 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and led Kansas with 44 three-point field goals made in his lone season at KU in 2023-24.

A two-year starter at Kansas who led the Big 12 in scoring in 2024 with an 18.3 ppg, McCullar was the 56^th overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in the 2024 NBA Draft and was traded to the Knicks. McCullar is in his second two-way contract with the Knicks.

A two-time Consensus All-America Second Team selection, Dickinson enters his rookie season with New Orleans on a two-way contract. Dickinson, who averaged a double-double in both of his seasons at Kansas, concluded his college career with 2,800 points, which ranks 22^nd most in NCAA DI history, and 1,488 rebounds, which is 26^th most in NCAA annals.

University of Kansas Athletics

NBA Opening Day Rosters Feature 11 Jayhawks

Players Mentioned

Hunter Dickinson

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