The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team, representing the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, has had 68 players drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) since the league began holding the yearly event in 1947. Each NBA franchise seeks to add new players through an annual draft. The NBA uses a draft lottery to determine the first three picks of the NBA draft; the 14 teams that did not make the playoffs the previous year are eligible to participate. After the first three picks are decided, the rest of the teams pick in reverse order of their win–loss record. To be eligible for the NBA draft, a player in the United States must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft and must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class.
The drafts held between 1947 and 1949 were held by the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The BAA became the National Basketball Association after absorbing teams from the National Basketball League in the fall of 1949. Official NBA publications include the BAA Drafts as part of the NBA's draft history. From 1967 until the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, the American Basketball Association (ABA) held its own draft.
Through the 2024 NBA draft, a Fighting Illini has been chosen first round of the draft 16 times in the history of the event with Terrence Shannon Jr. being the latest in 2024.
Key
edit| G | Guard | F | Forward | C | Center |
| * | Selected to an NBA/ABA All-Star Game | ||||
| † | Won an NBA/ABA championship | ||||
| ‡ | Selected to an All-Star Game and won an NBA/ABA championship | ||||
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Players selected in the BAA and NBA drafts
edit| Year | League | Round | Pick | Overall | Name | Position | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | BAA | — | — | — | Andy Phillip‡ | G, F | Chicago Stags | Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee (1961) NBA Champion (1957) NBA All-Star (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955) |
| — | — | — | Gene Vance | G, F | Chicago Stags | — | ||
| 1948 | BAA | — | — | — | Jack Burmaster | G | St. Louis Bombers | — |
| 1950 | NBA | — | — | — | Bill Erickson | G | Tri-Cities Blackhawks | — |
| 2 | 18 | — | Wally Osterkorn† | F, C | Chicago Stags | NBA Champion (1955) | ||
| 1951 | NBA | 1 | 9 | — | Don Sunderlage* | G | Philadelphia Warriors | NBA All-Star (1954) |
| 7 | 73 | — | Ted Beach | F | Indianapolis Olympians | — | ||
| 1952 | NBA | — | — | — | Rod Fletcher | G | Minneapolis Lakers | — |
| 1953 | NBA | — | — | — | Irv Bemoras | G, F | Milwaukee Hawks | — |
| — | — | — | Jim Bredar | G | Ft. Wayne Pistons | — | ||
| — | — | — | Bob Peterson | F | Baltimore Bullets | — | ||
| 1954 | NBA | 1 | 9 | — | Johnny Kerr‡ | C, F | Syracuse Nationals | NBA Champion (1955) NBA All-Star (1956, 1959, 1963) NBA Coach of the Year (1967) |
| 1956 | NBA | — | — | — | Paul Judson | G | Syracuse Nationals | — |
| 1957 | NBA | 1 | 7 | — | George Bon Salle | F | Syracuse Nationals | |
| 2 | - | 11 | Harv Schmidt | F | Minneapolis Lakers | |||
| 1958 | NBA | 5 | - | 36 | Don Ohl* | G | Philadelphia Warriors | NBA All-Star (1963, 1964, 1965), 1966), 1967) |
| 1959 | NBA | 5 | 5 | - | Roger Taylor | G | Syracuse Nationals | — |
| 1961 | NBA | 8 | 8 | - | John Wessels | C | Chicago Packers | - |
| 1963 | NBA | 3 | - | 24 | Bill Burwell | G | St. Louis Hawks | — |
| 4 | - | 30 | Dave Downey | F | San Francisco Warriors | - | ||
| 5 | - | 40 | Bill Small | G | Detroit Pistons | — | ||
| 1965 | NBA | 2 | 4 | 12 | Tal Brody | G | Baltimore Bullets | |
| 5 | - | - | Skip Thoren | C | Baltimore Bullets | — | ||
| 6 | 7 | 50 | Bogie Redmon | F | Baltimore Bullets | — | ||
| 1966 | NBA | 3 | - | 29 | Donnie Freeman‡ | G | Philadelphia 76ers | ABA Champion (1973) ABA All-Star (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972) All-ABA First Team (1972) |
| 1967 | NBA | 16 | - | - | Jim Dawson | G | Chicago Bulls | — |
| 1968 | NBA | 2 | 5 | 19 | Ron Dunlap | C | Chicago Bulls | - |
| 1969 | NBA | 4 | - | 52 | Steve Kuberski | F/C | Boston Celtics | NBA Champion (1974, 1976) |
| 4 | - | 56 | Dave Scholz | F | Philadelphia 76ers | |||
| 15 | 6 | - | Jodie Harrison | G | Baltimore Bullets | — | ||
| 1970 | NBA | 1 | 17 | - | Mike Price | G | New York Knicks | — |
| 1971 | NBA | 9 | 16 | - | Rick Howat | G | Milwaukee Bucks | — |
| 1973 | NBA | 1 | 13 | - | Nick Weatherspoon | F | Capital Bullets | NBA All-Rookie First Team (1974) |
| 8 | 11 | - | Jeff Dawson | G | Golden State Warriors | — | ||
| 10 | 2 | - | Nick Connor | F, C | Buffalo Braves | - | ||
| 1975 | NBA | 6 | - | 91 | Rick Schmidt | F | New Orleans Jazz | — |
| 1976 | NBA | 5 | - | 69 | Nate Williams | G | Chicago Bulls | |
| 10 | - | 169 | Otho Tucker | G | Boston Celtics | — | ||
| 1978 | NBA | 4 | – | 86 | Rich Adams | F | San Antonio Spurs | - |
| 6 | - | 117 | Audie Matthews | F | Detroit Pistons | — | ||
| 1978 | NBA | 6 | - | 117 | Neil Bresnahan | F | Golden State Warriors | — |
| 1981 | NBA | 2 | 7 | 29 | Eddie Johnson | F | Kansas City Kings | NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1989) |
| 3 | 4 | 50 | Derek Holcomb | C | Portland Trail Blazers | — | ||
| 3 | 18 | 64 | Mark Smith | F | Milwaukee Bucks | — | ||
| 1982 | NBA | 3 | – | 57 | Craig Tucker | G | New York Knicks | - |
| 4 | - | 80 | James Griffin | C | New Jersey Nets | — | ||
| 7 | - | 143 | Perry Range | G | Kansas City Kings | — | ||
| 8 | - | 181 | Brian Leonard | F | Milwaukee Bucks | — | ||
| 1983 | NBA | 1 | 11 | - | Derek Harper | G | Dallas Mavericks | NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1987, 1990) |
| 1985 | NBA | 2 | 15 | 39 | George Montgomery | C | Portland Trail Blazers | - |
| 1986 | NBA | 3 | - | 57 | Bruce Douglas | G | Sacramento Kings | - |
| 3 | - | 62 | Anthony Welch | F | Dallas Mavericks | - | ||
| 4 | - | 74 | Scott Meents | F | Chicago Bulls | — | ||
| 4 | - | 88 | Efrem Winters | F | Atlanta Hawks | — | ||
| 1987 | NBA | 1 | 19 | - | Ken Norman | F | Los Angeles Clippers | - |
| 6 | - | 125 | Doug Altenberger | G, F | Chicago Bulls | — | ||
| 1989 | NBA | 1 | 11 | - | Nick Anderson | G, F | Orlando Magic | NBA Eastern Conference Champion (1995) |
| 1 | 27 | - | Kenny Battle | F | Detroit Pistons | — | ||
| 1990 | NBA | 1 | 5 | - | Kendall Gill | G, F | Charlotte Hornets | NBA All-Rookie First Team (1991) |
| 2 | - | 41 | Stephen Bardo | G | Atlanta Hawks | — | ||
| 2 | - | 42 | Marcus Liberty | F | Denver Nuggets | — | ||
| 1994 | NBA | 2 | - | 28 | Deon Thomas | F | Dallas Mavericks | — |
| 2002 | NBA | 1 | 25 | - | Frank Williams | G | Denver Nuggets | — |
| 2 | 3 | 32 | Robert Archibald | C, F | Memphis Grizzlies | — | ||
| 2003 | NBA | 1 | 24 | - | Brian Cook | F, C | Los Angeles Lakers | — |
| 2005 | NBA | 1 | 3 | - | Deron Williams* | G | Utah Jazz | United States Olympic Gold Medalist (2008, 2012) NBA All-Star (2010, 2011, 2012) NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge (2008) All-NBA Second Team (2008, 2010) All-NBA Rookie First Team (2006) |
| 1 | 24 | - | Luther Head | F | Houston Rockets | All-NBA Rookie Second Team (2006) | ||
| 2006 | NBA | 2 | 11 | 41 | James Augustine | F, C | Orlando Magic | — |
| 2 | 16 | 46 | Dee Brown | G | Utah Jazz | — | ||
| 2012 | NBA | 1 | 11 | - | Meyers Leonard | C | Portland Trail Blazers | — |
| 2021 | NBA | 2 | 8 | 38 | Ayo Dosunmu | G | Chicago Bulls | All-NBA Rookie Second Team (2022) |
| 2024 | NBA | 1 | 27 | - | Terrence Shannon Jr. | SG | Minnesota Timberwolves | — |