The 2026 NBA Draft is less than a week away, and UNC basketball looks to send its next group of players to the NBA.
Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar look to be the next Tar Heels selected in the draft. UNC has seen a total of 117 players get drafted to the NBA, most recently Drake Powell who was selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft.
Wilson had a historic freshman season in Chapel Hill, becoming the first Tar Heel to lead a team in points (19.8), rebounds (9.4) and assists (2.7) per game. He got his jersey raised in the rafters of the Smith Center after being named an All-American, just the second UNC freshman to do so.
Wilson is projected to UNC’s first top five pick in the NBA draft since Marvin Williams in 2005, while the duo of Wilson and Veesaar could be the first pair of UNC players drafted since 2019.
The 2026 NBA Draft gets underway on Tuesday, June 23 at 8 p.m. ET at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and will continue through Wednesday, June 24 with second-round selections.
Here’s a look at where former Tar Heels are projected to land in this year’s draft.
UNC basketball players in 2026 mock drafts
Caleb Wilson 2026 NBA Draft projections
- USA Today: Round 1, No. 4 overall to Chicago Bulls
- ESPN: Round 1, No. 4 overall to Chicago Bulls
- The Athletic: Round 1, No. 4 overall to Chicago Bulls
Henri Veesaar 2026 NBA Draft projections
- USA Today: Round 1, No. 29 overall to Cleveland Cavaliers
- ESPN: Round 1, No. 24 overall to New York Knicks
- The Athletic: Round 2, No. 33 overall to Brooklyn Nets
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball players projections for 2026 NBA Draft
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