Throughout the 80-year history of the National Basketball Association, more than 85 Kansas basketball alumni have gone on to play in the highest league of North American basketball, and many more have played professionally in other leagues. 

Take a look at where some Jayhawks have landed ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The Familiar Faces:

Johnny Furphy (2023-24) – Indianapolis Pacers

Draft: 2024 Second Round, 35th Overall (Pacers)

Gradey Dick (2022-23) – Los Angeles Clippers

Draft: 2023 First Round, 13th Overall (Toronto Raptors)

Kevin McCullar Jr. (2022-24) – New York Knicks

Draft: 2024 Second Round, 56th Overall (Phoenix Suns)

Darryn Peterson (2025-26) – Utah Jazz

Draft: 2026 First Round, 2nd Overall (Jazz)

All four of these players donned the crimson and blue in the past four seasons, so they’re recognizable names for Kansas fans. Furphy was a one-and-done Jayhawk, playing his lone season in 2023-24. The 21-year-old guard earned some starts for defending Eastern Conference champion Pacers last season, but suffered an ACL tear in February that ended his 2025-26 season and means he will miss games to start the 2026 season. 

Dick, a Kansas native, is well-known for his Wizard of Oz-like red sequined suit that he wore to the 2023 NBA Draft, but he has made some noise on the court as well. He started all 54 games that he played in 2024-25 for the Raptors, but struggled with consistency last year and was a part of the blockbuster Kawhi Leonard trade this summer. Dick looks to improve in a new environment, with the guard expected to get key minutes due to injuries on the Clippers. 

McCullar became the most recent Jayhawk to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy when the Knicks won the championship last year and he looks to repeat again this season alongside fellow Kansas alumnus Agbaji. The 2023-24 third-team All-American has played in 25 games across his first two seasons with New York, splitting time between the Knicks and their G League affiliate. 

Finally, we get to the man who needs no introduction. Peterson’s time at Kansas was short and headline-filled, but he was selected second overall in the draft over the summer by the Jazz. He became the highest-drafted Jayhawk since Andrew Wiggins went first overall to the Cavaliers in 2014. Peterson averaged 23 points and 5.2 assists across five summer league games and will be a key part of the Jazz offense this season. 

The 2022 National Champions:

Jalen Wilson (2019-23) – Atlanta Hawks

Drafted: 2023 Second Round, 51st Overall (Brooklyn Nets)

Christian Braun (2019-22) – Denver Nuggets

Drafted: 2022 First Round, 21st Overall (Nuggets) 

Ochai Agbaji (2018-22) – Free agent

Drafted: 2022 First Round, 14th Overall (Cleveland Cavaliers) 

All three of these players started for the Jayhawks’ 2022 national championship-winning team, and all three have found a solid footing in the NBA. Braun has found the most success, signing a five-year, $125 million contract extension last fall after breaking into the Nuggets starting lineup in 2024. Braun missed nearly half the season last year with ligament damage to his ankle, but enters 2026 with no limitations and projects to reenter the Nuggets starting five this season.

Wilson started his career as a Net before signing a two-way contract with the Hawks this summer. Wilson played in 54 games, starting two, for Brooklyn last season and averaged 6.4 points. His two-way contract with Atlanta means he will likely split time between the NBA and the G League. 

Agbaji is now a free agent after he was waived by the defending world champion New York Knicks last week. Agbaji spent time with the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets last season. The 2022 Final Four Most Outstanding Player has averaged 7.2 points over his first four seasons with three teams. 

The Veterans:

Svi Mykhailiuk (2014-18) – Utah Jazz

Drafted: 2018 Second Round, 47th Overall (Lakers)

Kelly Oubre Jr. (2014-15) – Indianapolis Pacers

Drafted: 2015 First Round, 15th Overall (Hawks)

Andrew Wiggins (2013-14) – Miami Heat

Drafted: 2014 First Round, 1st Overall (Cavaliers) 

Joel Embiid (2013-14) – Philadelphia 76ers

Drafted: 2014 First Round, 3rd Overall (76ers)

All four of these players have built solid professional careers, with Embiid and Wiggins finding massive success in the NBA. Embiid is heading into his 12th season with the Sixers and has collected two scoring titles and is a seven-time All-Star, while Wiggins has averaged 18.2 points across his 12 seasons for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors and Heat. 

Mykhailiuk has been a journeyman in his time in the NBA, appearing in 381 games for eight different franchises. This season will be his third in Utah, where he set a new career high with 28 points in a game last November. Oubre is entering his first year in Indiana, where he will join Furphy on the Pacers, and has averaged at least 15 points per game in his last eight seasons. 

The Transfers:

Quentin Grimes (2018-19) – Los Angeles Lakers 

Drafted: 2021 First Round, 25th Overall (Clippers)

Tristan Enaruna (2019-21) – Cleveland Cavaliers 

Drafted: 2024 undrafted (Boston Celtics)

Grimes played just one year at Kansas as a freshman in 2018 before transferring to Houston and earning All-American third-team honors his junior year. The guard started his career with the Knicks before breaking out in 2024 with the Dallas Mavericks. Grimes inked a four-year, $60 million deal with the Lakers this offseason. Enaruna spent two seasons as a Jayhawk, playing in 55 games his freshman and sophomore years before transferring to Iowa State and ending his career at Cleveland State.

International ‘Hawks:

The Jayhawk footprint does not just end in the NBA. There are multiple Jayhawks playing internationally as well. 

2022 National Champion David McCormack (2018-22) and Malik Newman (2017-18) are playing in the VTB United League in Russia, while Joseph Yesufu (2021-23) has found a spot in the Slovakian Extraliga. 

David “Diggy” Coit (2024-25) signed in the French LNB Pro B league this summer after playing his senior year at Maryland, while Charlie Moore (2018-19) and Silvio De Sousa (2017-18, 2019-20) head into their first seasons in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A and Greek HEBA A1, respectively. 

Two players from last year’s Kansas women’s basketball team headed to Europe this summer, with Elle Evans (2024-26) signing in Serie A1 in Italy, and Lilly Meister (2025-26) joining the Damen Basketball Bundesliga in Germany.

Finally, two veteran Jayhawks have landed in Turkey. Devon Dotson (2018-20)and Jamari Traylor (2012-16) have both found success in the Basketbol Super Ligi, with Dotson entering year two in the league and Traylor entering his third.

This article was edited by Sports Editor Jacob Webb. If the information in this article needs to be corrected, please contact jwebb7583@ku.edu.