The History Of Duke’s No. 1 Overall Draft Picks

Some college sports programs are almost synonymous with professional success. The Alabama Crimson Tide is a favorite pipeline for NFL talent evaluators, while LSU has quietly become the same for Major League Baseball evaluators.

In basketball, there is no doubt that the Duke Blue Devils take the crown as the most pro-friendly program in the nation. The six Blue Devils listed below were selected first overall over a span of 63 years, three more than any other school, illustrating how consistently excellent Duke has been over the better half of a century.

Kicking off the tradition of first overall picks was forward Art Heyman, who also became the New York Knicks' first-ever first overall pick. Despite not playing as a freshman at Duke, Heyman came onto the court as a sophomore and dominated, averaging 25.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Even with those incredible per-game numbers (especially considering the era), national recognition for his play was nonexistent.

That changed in Heyman's junior year, when he improved ever so slightly in both categories to average 25.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per contest, numbers that earned him Second-Team All-American honors. Even more accolades awaited him as a senior, when Heyman was named the Associated Press (AP) Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American. Even after a blowout loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Heyman had done enough to lock himself in as the clear-cut first overall pick.

After a 30-plus-year wait, Elton Brand finally provided the Blue Devils with another first overall pick. After an unspectacular freshman year cut short by injury, the center exploded onto the national scene as a sophomore, putting up 17.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. Brand was named the AP Player of the Year and an All-American, while capturing the John Wooden Award and the Naismith Award en route to helping Duke cruise to an appearance in the national title game, with the Blue Devils winning four tournament games in a row by more than 15 points. 

Brand put forth a solid effort in the title game against UConn, but his 15 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks were not enough to lead to a win. Even with the heartbreaking four-point defeat, Brand had secured his draft status, joining a Chicago Bulls team that had recently put on what many still consider the best decade of basketball in NBA history.

Kyrie Irving only played a total of 11 games in a Duke uniform, thanks to injury, of which he only started eight. Irving's numbers, especially compared to some other names on this list, were rather pedestrian, as he averaged only 17.5 points and 4.3 assists per contest.

Even without major accolades or a proven track record of college success, Irving's pure talent, combined with a 28-point explosion in Duke's Sweet 16 game against Arizona, was enough to convince NBA evaluators of his worth. The Cleveland Cavaliers brought him aboard to help fill the void left by LeBron James' departure, eventually pairing the duo to bring Cleveland its one and only NBA Championship.

Like Irving, Zion Williamson was a one-and-done. Unlike Irving, Williamson swept the slate of possible awards in his one year as a Blue Devil, putting together one of the most dominant seasons in college basketball history. He was named to four All-American teams chosen by press outlets, as well as the general consensus squad. Like Brand, Williamson also captured the Naismith Award, Wooden Award, and the AP Player of the Year award. 

Even Williamson could not lead the Blue Devils to a national title, as they fell in the Elite 8 to a tenacious Michigan State team. That loss did not diminish the perception of him as the best player in the country by a long shot, a view that led the New Orleans Pelicans to make the most obvious pick in franchise history.

It only took a few years for another Duke forward to be selected first overall. Banchero's ball-handling, shooting, and decent creation skills offered a different skill set than Williamson's, but he never quite reached the mega-stardom that his predecessor did. While Banchero did receive a Second Team All-American selection, he did not capture the Player of the Year award or either of the other two pieces of hardware that Williamson and Brand did. 

Here's another similarity to Williamson: Banchero was able to lead the Blue Devils to the Elite 8 when March rolled around, but did not advance. Even so, his 17.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game were enough for the Orlando Magic to add him to their team history books.

Cooper Flagg is the only player on this list who can match the hype that amassed around Williamson. The forward had NBA teams salivating over his talent since his time in high school, and he did not disappoint in one year on Duke's campus. His regular-season numbers of 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest were solid. Flagg's natural talent and the fact that he was 18 and routinely embarrassing experienced college players made his draft status obvious.

Like the forwards before him, Flagg could not get Duke over the championship hump. He led the Blue Devils to the Final 4 but couldn't secure a spot in the title game, despite a 27-point performance. Flagg was allowed to join a much better team than his peers on this list did as a rookie after the Dallas Mavericks chose him to pair with Irving.

Even after 63 years of supplying first overall picks, the Blue Devils show no signs of slowing down. It is a virtual certainty that one will eventually break the curse by leading Duke to a title and being selected first in the span of a few months.