NBA draft tracker 2023: What to know about where former Kentucky basketball stars landed

Cason Wallace became the first Kentucky player off the board in the 2023 NBA Draft. The Dallas Mavericks selected him in the first round with the 10th overall pick Thursday night then sent Wallace to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a draft-night trade.

It marked the 14th consecutive draft UK coach John Calipari has had a one-and-done freshman selected in the first round. Since Calipari took over in Lexington prior to the 2009-10 season, every NBA draft has featured at least one Wildcat going in the first round. Kentucky now has 35 first-round picks during Calipari's tenure; 23 of those selections have been lottery picks.

Wallace was not the only Wildcat who entered the draft this summer, with Chris Livingston going in the second round and Jacob Toppin signing an undrafted free agent deal shortly after the draft concluded. On Friday, Oscar Tshiebwe also signed a two-way contract after going undrafted.

Here's what to know about where Kentucky players landed:

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Guard Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder

Round/overall pick: First, 10th overall

Wallace didn't disappoint in his lone season as a Wildcat, earning All-SEC freshman team honors in 2022-23. He started with a bang, posting a stat line in his first game — 15 points, eight rebounds and nine assists — never seen by a UK player in his college debut. Wallace showcased versatility, averaging 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a team-best 2.0 steals while starting 32 games last season.

He joins an Oklahoma City club that has nine guards on its roster, highlighted by another former Wildcat: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a first-team All-NBA selection in 2022-23 after finishing the regular season as the league's fourth-leading scorer (31.4 points per game) to go along with 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds per contest. Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder won a play-in tournament game over the New Orleans Pelicans, but they fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a fight for the Western Conference's eighth seed.

Wallace, who already has high-end tools defensively, will fall back on them as he works on becoming more dangerous offensively and tries to help the Thunder ascend in the rugged Western Conference.

And he's embracing the expectations that come with being the latest lottery pick from UK under Calipari's watch.

"Pressure, it just builds diamonds, in my opinion," Wallace said in an ESPN interview after his selection. "Kentucky guards — Kentucky players in general — they get to the league, they stick for a while and Kentucky set me up very nicely. ... I got to display many different talents."

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Forward Chris Livingston, Milwaukee Bucks

Round/overall pick: Second, 58th overall

Livingston, who was a five-star signee for the Wildcats in 2022, was not projected to be selected this year in any mock draft. But he kept his name in the draft, anyway, electing to forgo his college eligibility to bet on himself. The gamble paid off: The Milwaukee Bucks picked him in the second round with the 58th, and final, pick of this year's draft.

With his selection, Calipari now has had 47 players drafted since becoming Kentucky's coach.

Livingston was one of only two UK players to appear in all 34 games last season, earning 25 starts. Livingston averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He showed improvement down the stretch, averaging 8.5 points and 6.9 rebounds in the Wildcats' final 11 games. Like Wallace, he was a member of the All-SEC freshman team.

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Forward Jacob Toppin, New York Knicks

Signed by: New York Knicks, undrafted free agent

Toppin, who spent one season at Rhode Island before transferring to UK prior to the 2021-22 campaign, was not expected to be drafted. After the draft concluded, he signed a two-way deal with the New York Knicks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN's senior NBA insider. The signing reunites Toppin with his older brother, Obi Toppin, who the Knicks selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft.

The younger Toppin progressed throughout his time in Lexington. Prior to last season, he'd never posted a double-double as a collegian; Toppin accomplished that feat eight times in 2022-23. And after shooting just 21 of 76 from 3 in his first three college seasons, he made 50% (13 for 26) of his 3-point shots during SEC games last season. Toppin averaged 12.4 points per outing in 2022-23, which ranked third on the team behind Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves (14.4), respectively. Toppin scored at least 10 points in 17 of UK's final 21 games. His 6.8 rebounds-per-game average was the Wildcats' second best (trailing Tshiebwe) last season.

Forward Oscar Tshiebwe, Indiana Pacers

Signed by: Indiana Pacers, undrafted free agent

Despite not being drafted, Tshiebwe hopes to stick in the pros after a spectacular two-year career with the Wildcats. He landed a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers on Friday, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Tshiebwe transferred from West Virginia to Kentucky before the 2021-22 season. He went on to become the unanimous national player of the year that season, leading the nation in rebounds per game (15.1) and the Wildcats in points per game (17.4). Tshiebwe also led Division I in rebounds per game per game (13.7) last season while once again leading UK in scoring (16.5 ppg). He finished with 48 double-doubles at UK, tied with Cotton Nash for second most in program history, trailing Dan Issel's 64.

Tshiebwe had his share of memorable performances last season.

He connected on 92% (12 for 13) of his field goal attempts against Florida, the best single-game field goal percentage in program history. He had 37 points and 24 rebounds in a come-from-behind home win over Georgia. And he set a school record for rebounds in an NCAA tournament game, pulling down 25 in a first-round victory over Providence.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: NBA draft tracker 2023: Where former Kentucky basketball stars landed