The last time the Pac-12 produced two top-5 NBA draft picks, Lonzo Ball was involved
The USC Trojans and Colorado Buffaloes could create a special Pac-12 draft night next year. We’re not talking about the NFL. We’re referring to the NBA.
We noted on Saturday that USC’s Isaiah Collier and Colorado’s Cody Williams are both projected top-five picks in the 2024 NBA draft. It invites the question, “When was the last time the Pac-12 placed two players in the top five of the NBA draft?”
The answer: 2017.
Washington’s Markelle Fultz went at No. 1 to the Philadelphia 76ers. UCLA’s Lonzo Ball went at No. 2 to the Los Angeles Lakers. So, this wasn’t just a top-five pair; these were the top two picks in the NBA draft. That’s the only time the Pac-12 has ever produced the top two picks in the NBA draft.
It might take some heavy lifting for Collier and Williams to become the top two picks in the 2024 draft, but they’re in very good position to give the Pac-12 the same place of prominence it had in 2017 with Lonzo and Fultz.
As an added note about the 2017 Pac-12 NBA draft class, Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen went at No. 7 to the Chicago Bulls via the Minnesota Timberwolves, so the Pac-12 had three of the top seven picks that year. The last time that happened was 2008, when USC’s O.J. Mayo went at No. 3.
