With the NBA draft less than one month away, BYU basketball has the potential for not only AJ Dybantsa to go No. 1 overall, but also Richie Saunders to be drafted in the second round.
Historically, BYU has not produced many draft picks. The Cougars have only had four players drafted since 2000, but coach Kevin Young looks to reverse that trend by backing up his claim to “make [BYU] the best place in college basketball to prepare young men to play in the NBA.”
Here's a brief history of five notable BYU players who were drafted and went on to have great careers in the NBA and the ABA.
Of the 44 players drafted into the NBA from BYU, only 19 of them have logged minutes in the league. Stats and information for each of the following players are attributed to basketball-reference.com.
Mel Hutchins
Mel Hutchins was drafted in the 1951 draft by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. Hutchins was named Rookie of the Year in 1952 and went on to be a five-time all-star in his seven-year career.
Hutchins averaged nearly a double-double in his NBA career at 11.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Jim Eakins
Jim Eakins was drafted in the 1968 ABA draft by the Oakland Oaks. Eakins played from 1969-1978, including two years in the NBA after the ABA-NBA merger.
Eakins averaged 10.8 points and 7.3 rebounds a game, while also having the highest field goal percentage of any player from BYU in the league at 50.4 percent.
Danny Ainge
Danny Ainge is the most accomplished player in the NBA to come out of BYU. Ainge was known as a scorer, averaging 11.5 points per game. This is the most points by any BYU player in the NBA.
Ainge was a part of many successful teams during his NBA career. He played in six NBA finals for three different teams, winning two NBA Championships with the Boston Celtics in 1984 and 1986.
Ainge is currently 12th in career playoff games played at 193. He went on to have a remarkable career in the NBA front office space with the Boston Celtics as their President of Basketball Operations, and is currently the CEO of the Utah Jazz.
Shawn Bradley
Shawn Bradley put his name in the NBA draft while serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Australia. Bradley was picked No. 2 overall in the 1993 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Bradley played 12 seasons in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, and the Dallas Mavericks.
The big man averaged 8.1 points and 6.3 rebounds a game throughout his career. He led the NBA in total blocks in 2000-01 and in blocks per game in 1996-97.
Jimmer Fredette
After having a remarkable college career, Jimmer Fredette was drafted No. 10 overall by the Sacramento Kings.
Jimmer averaged 6 points a game in his seven-year NBA career, with his most productive season coming his rookie year when he averaged 7.6 points per game.
Egor Dëmin
Egor Dëmin was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets. Dëmin averaged 10.3 points and 3.2 rebounds through 52 games before a foot injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Projected 2026 NBA picks and beyond
Young and BYU will look to produce more NBA draft picks just like Egor Dëmin.
AJ Dybantsa is projected to go No. 1 or No. 2 in the draft, while Richie Saunders has a high to mid-second round grade in most mock drafts.
If Dybantsa and Saunders are selected in the draft as expected, it would mark the first time since 1951 that two players from BYU were selected in the first two rounds of the NBA Draft.
Looking ahead, Bruce Branch III looks to pave a similar path to Dybantsa, reclassifying and playing under Young to improve his game and boost his NBA Draft stock.
The latest mock draft from nbadraft.net projects Bruce Branch III to go number three overall to the Brooklyn Nets in next year’s NBA Draft, as well as Collin Chandler going No. 51 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Only time will tell if Young and BYU will buck the historical trend and get more players drafted into the NBA.