Per Duke Comms:
The NBA begins regular-season action on Tuesday, Oct. 21, with the Duke men’s basketball program represented by 24 members of The Brotherhood on opening-day rosters. The list was compiled from the NBA’s official opening-day rosters and includes any Blue Devil that played and finished their college basketball careers at Duke.
The Blue Devils have players at a total of 14 different franchises, including trios in Charlotte (Sion James, Kon Knueppel and Mason Plumlee), Dallas (Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II), Orlando (Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr. and Tyus Jones) and Phoenix (Grayson Allen, Khaman Maluach and Mark Williams) along with duos in Atlanta (Jalen Johnson and Luke Kennard) and Toronto (RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram).
Tyrese Proctor (Cleveland) rounds out Duke’s starting five from the 2024-25 Duke roster, with all five making their respective franchises’ roster. Tre Jones (Chicago) is scheduled to matchup against his brother, Tyus, four times during the regular season. Jayson Tatum, recently announced as Duke’s Chief Basketball Officer, continues to rehab from his injury suffered during the 2025 NBA Playoffs. In New Orleans, Zion Williamson enters his seventh season in the league, while Gary Trent Jr. (Milwaukee) and Marvin Bagley III (Washington) are each entering their eighth seasons. Former teammates and 2024 NBA Draft picks, Kyle Filipowski (Utah) and Jared McCain (Philadelphia) are each gearing up for their second year in the NBA.
Duke’s two dozen NBA players also join a long list of former players, coaches, managers and Duke graduates that serve on NBA coaching staffs or in front office roles for 17 of league’s 30 teams, and for the league office. That includes former Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who joined the NBA in the summer of 2024 as a special advisor, 1984 Duke graduate Adam Silver (NBA Commissioner), Grant Hill (part owner of the Atlanta Hawks), Elton Brand (General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers), Trajan Landon (President of Basketball Operations of the Detroit Pistons), Quin Snyder (Head Coach of the Atlanta Hawks), Mike Dunleavy (General Manager of the Golden State Warriors) and JJ Redick (Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers).
