BROOKLYN, Ny. — A pair of University of Kentucky freshmen are fulfilling their dreams to play professional basketball.

What You Need To Know

  • Cason Wallace was selected 10th by the Dallas Mavericks, but traded to OKC Thunder

  • The Milwaukee Bucks took Chris Livingston in the second round with the 58th pick

  • Kentucky has had a player taken in the first round in the last 14 drafts under John Calipari

  • Calipari has had 47 players taken in the NBA Draft

Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston were both selected during the NBA Draft on Thursday at the Barclays Center in New York.

In the first round, the Dallas Mavericks selected Wallace with the 10th pick, but his rights were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Livingston was the 58th pick in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks.

“There were a lot of emotions with my family, my parents,” Wallace said. “They were excited. My dad, my mom, my brother, my cousin. We all went through it from day one. Just finishing it off with them was great. I’m looking forward to bringing a lot of energy, a great spirit and a great work ethic to OKC.”

Wallace’s opening round selection means that UK has now had at least one player taken in the first round in each of the last 14 drafts under coach John Calipari. It’s the longest streak in the modern draft era (since 1966) according to a release from UK Athletics.

Calipari was quick to acknowledge the accomplishments of his two freshmen.

“I couldn’t be happier for Cason and Chris,” Calipari said. “I’m looking forward to seeing Cason make an impact alongside Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) in Oklahoma City and Chris to continue to showcase his growth in Milwaukee.”

During Calipari’s time at UK, the school has produced three No.1 selections, 35 first-rounders, 23 lottery picks and 47 total players in the NBA draft.

At UK, Wallace averaged 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 32 appearances. Wallace had 21 points, four assists, two steals and a career-high nine rebounds against Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament in his last game for the Wildcats. 

Livingston is the sixth Kentucky player to be taken by Milwaukee and the first since Doron Lamb was taken 42nd overall in 2012.

He played in all 34 games including 26 starts, for the Wildcats in his freshman season, averaging 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest.

According to UK, of the 34 players at the school during the Calipari era who have declared for the NBA Draft after their freshman seasons, 30 have been first-round draft picks.

Seniors Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe went undrafted. They are both expected to sign a free-agent deal. Calipari said, “I was disappointed Oscar (Tshiebwe) and Jacob (Toppin) didn’t get drafted but they will have a chance to prove themselves in this league because tarehey’re both guys who will impact winning.”

Related Stories