With the NBA season starting on October 19, it's time to take a look at which Division I schools are represented the most.
All 30 NBA teams have room for 17 players. Two of those players are on two-way deals, which means a maximum of 510 players are in the NBA at the beginning of a new season.
Surprise, surprise: For the fourth season in a row, Kentucky and Duke boast the most active players around the league.
The Wildcats have 27 total players on starting rosters this year. Headlining that group is Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers) and Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns).
Duke comes in right behind Kentucky, sporting 22 total players on starting rosters this season. The best players repping the Blue Devils this year in the NBA are Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics) and Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans). Duke is the only other school with more than 20 active players in the NBA.
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As for other schools in double digits for active players in the NBA, it's Kansas (13), Texas (13), North Carolina (12), UCLA (12) and USC (10). Last year, Arizona and Michigan were in that grouping. Arizona now sits at nine active players in the NBA, while Michigan has eight.
Here's how players break down by school.
Rosters were current as of 1 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 17, 2021, from official team pages on NBA.com.
Colleges with the most players on 2021-22 NBA rosters
| SCHOOL | NUMBER |
|---|---|
| Kentucky | 27 |
| Duke | 22 |
| Kansas | 13 |
| Texas | 13 |
| North Carolina | 12 |
| UCLA | 12 |
| USC | 10 |
| Gonzaga | 9 |
| Michigan | 9 |
| Michigan State | 9 |
| Villanova | 9 |
| Arizona | 8 |
| Oregon | 8 |
| Virginia | 8 |
| Washington | 8 |
| Florida | 7 |
| Florida State | 7 |
| Indiana | 7 |
| Iowa State | 6 |
| Louisville | 6 |
| LSU | 6 |
| Maryland | 6 |
| Tennessee | 6 |
| Alabama | 5 |
| Arkansas | 5 |
| Colorado | 5 |
| Ohio State | 5 |
| Stanford | 5 |
| Syracuse | 5 |
| Texas A&M | 5 |
| UConn | 5 |
| Wake Forest | 5 |
| Auburn | 4 |
| Baylor | 4 |
| Georgetown | 4 |
| Georgia Tech | 4 |
| Marquette | 4 |
| Memphis | 4 |
| Nevada | 4 |
| Oklahoma | 4 |
| Vanderbilt | 4 |
| Arizona State | 3 |
| Georgia | 3 |
| Houston | 3 |
| Iowa | 3 |
| Kansas State | 3 |
| Pitt | 3 |
| San Diego State | 3 |
| SMU | 3 |
| TCU | 3 |
| UNLV | 3 |
| Utah | 3 |
| Butler | 2 |
| DePaul | 2 |
| Fresno State | 2 |
| Miami (FL) | 2 |
| Missouri | 2 |
| Murray State | 2 |
| NC State | 2 |
| Nebraska | 2 |
| Oklahoma State | 2 |
| Oregon State | 2 |
| South Carolina | 2 |
| Texas Tech | 2 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 2 |
| Utah State | 2 |
| Virginia Tech | 2 |
| Washington State | 2 |
| Western Kentucky | 2 |
| West Virginia | 2 |
| Wichita State | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 2 |
| Belmont | 1 |
| Boise State | 1 |
| Boston College | 1 |
| Bowling Green | 1 |
| Bucknell | 1 |
| Cal | 1 |
| Cal Poly | 1 |
| Central Florida | 1 |
| College of Charleston | 1 |
| Creighton | 1 |
| Davidson | 1 |
| Dayton | 1 |
| Drexel | 1 |
| George Washington | 1 |
| Illinois | 1 |
| IUPUI | 1 |
| Lehigh | 1 |
| Lipscomb | 1 |
| Louisiana-Lafayette | 1 |
| Louisiana Tech | 1 |
| Loyola (MD) | 1 |
| Marshall | 1 |
| Minnesota | 1 |
| Mississippi | 1 |
| Mississippi State | 1 |
| Missouri State | 1 |
| New Mexico | 1 |
| New Mexico State | 1 |
| Notre Dame | 1 |
| Oakland | 1 |
| Old Dominion | 1 |
| Penn State | 1 |
| Pepperdine | 1 |
| Purdue | 1 |
| Purdue-Fort Wayne | 1 |
| Radford | 1 |
| Saint Joseph's | 1 |
| Saint Mary's | 1 |
| Seton Hall | 1 |
| St. John's | 1 |
| South Carolina-Upstate | 1 |
| Tennessee State | 1 |
| Texas-Arlington | 1 |
| VCU | 1 |
| Xavier | 1 |
| Weber State | 1 |
| William & Mary | 1 |
| Wyoming | 1 |
| Yale | 1 |
Now let's take a look at how those players break down by conference. For the second-straight year, ACC reigns supreme, with the SEC and Pac-12 following right behind.
College conferences with the most players on 2021-22 NBA rosters
| CONFERENCE | TOTAL |
|---|---|
| ACC | 80 |
| SEC | 78 |
| Pac-12 | 67 |
| Big 12 | 52 |
| Big Ten | 47 |
| Big East | 30 |
| Mountain West | 17 |
| American | 13 |
| West Coast | 11 |
| Atlantic 10 | 5 |
| Conference USA | 5 |
| Ohio Valley | 4 |
| Big West | 3 |
| Colonial | 3 |
| Horizon | 3 |
| Patriot | 3 |
| Big South | 2 |
| Sun Belt | 2 |
| ASUN | 1 |
| Big Sky | 1 |
| Ivy | 1 |
| Missouri Valley | 1 |
| WAC | 1 |
