History of Arkansas lottery picks in NBA Draft
Arkansas basketball has a deep history of putting players in the NBA Draft with 41 Razorbacks hearing their names called in the draft since 1950.
Six of those 41 have been lottery picks — players drafted with one of the first 14 picks in the draft — and Arkansas will look for its second lottery pick in the last three years during Thursday's draft.
Since the lottery was introduced in 1985, there have been 518 lottery selections. Some have become all-time greats and others have not seen much success.
At least one of Arkansas' McDonald's All-American freshmen is set to be a lottery pick as point guard Anthony Black is projected to be a top-10 selection. Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. could sneak into the lottery, though he's commonly being projected outside of the lottery as of late.
Here's a look at Arkansas' six lottery picks ahead of Thursday's draft:
1985 - Joe Kleine, No. 6 overall to Sacramento Kings
Kleine played 15 seasons in the league after being drafted by the Kings. His best season came in his third year with Sacramento, when Kleine played in all 82 of the Kings’ games and was one of three players on the team to start 60 or more games that season. He averaged nearly 10 points per game that season.
During his career, Kleine played for seven teams — the Kings, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and the Chicago Bulls. In his one season with the Bulls, Kleine won an NBA title and he played in 46 games that season.
1992 - Todd Day, No. 8 overall to Milwaukee Bucks
Day also played 15 seasons of professional basketball but was in and out of the NBA throughout his career. He started his career with the Bucks but also played for the Celtics, Suns, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves.
When Day wasn’t in the NBA, he played in professional leagues in Italy, Cyprus, Argentina, and other American leagues, such as the American Basketball Association (ABA), NBA D-League and the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). In Day’s third season with Milwaukee, he played all 82 games and started 81 of them. He averaged 16 points per game, which was third on the team, and he played an average of 34 minutes per game. All of the stats were career-highs for Day.
1995 - Corliss Williamson, No. 13 overall to Sacramento Kings
Williamson was fresh off a second consecutive national championship appearance with Arkansas before being drafted by the Kings. Just like Arkansas' first two lottery picks, Williamson’s best season statistically was his third season in the league, when he played 79 games and averaged 17.7 points per game.
He played for four teams during his 12-year career — Kings (two stints), Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons and the Philadelphia 76ers. Williamson was awarded the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award in 2002 for being the best bench player in the league as a member of the Pistons that season. He also won a title with the Pistons in 2004 as a regular off the bench.
2001 - Joe Johnson, No. 10 overall to Boston Celtics
In the Boston Celtics’ storied history, Joe Johnson is the only Razorback to be drafted by the 17-time champions. Johnson played 18 seasons in the league and didn't miss a game in five of those seasons.
He played for eight teams and was most successful during his seven seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. In the 2006-2007 season, Johnson averaged 25 points per game, which led the team. In five of his seven seasons in Atlanta, Johnson averaged 20 or more points per game.
Johnson left the league in 2018 and played in the BIG3 league, in which he led two teams to titles. A couple of years later, Johnson made a return to the Celtics during the 2021-22 season. He appeared in one game and scored two points to become the second player to score a basket with the same team at the age of 20 and at the age of 40.
2006 - Ronnie Brewer, No. 14 overall to Utah Jazz
Just like his father Ron Brewer, Ronnie Brewer was a first-round pick. Brewer played eight seasons in the NBA and was another Razorback to have his third season be his best. He averaged 13.7 points and played 32.2 minutes per game that season with the Jazz to help propel them into the playoffs.
Brewer played 81 games in a season twice but injuries plagued his career and he bounced around the league because of it. His career came to a close in the NBA G-League after he played two seasons with the Santa Cruz Warriors.
2021 - Moses Moody, No. 14 overall to Golden State Warriors
Moody is Arkansas’ most recent lottery pick and the school’s most recent NBA champion, as he won with the Warriors in 2022. Moody had a career-high 30 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets in March of 2022.
Moody’s time in the league has been split between the Warriors and their G-League team in Santa Cruz. This past season, Moody played in 63 games and started just three. He averaged 4.8 points and 13.0 minutes per game.