John Calipari's 17-Year NBA First-Round Draft Streak Ends

John Calipari's remarkable 17-year streak of having at least one player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft ended in 2025 when Arkansas forward Adou Thiero was not picked in the first round. Thiero, who played under Calipari at both Kentucky and Arkansas, is expected to be selected early in the second round, marking a new chapter for the coach's NBA draft legacy. Calipari’s streak began in 2008 with Derrick Rose at Memphis and continued with 37 first-round picks at Kentucky, including multiple No. 1 overall picks like John Wall, Anthony Davis, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Thiero led Arkansas in scoring and rebounding during his junior season and has drawn praise from Calipari for his physical style and athleticism. Other former Arkansas players who had potential first-round prospects, such as Boogie Fland and Zvonimir Ivisic, transferred to other schools to improve their draft prospects. Despite the end of the streak, Calipari remains proud of the collective NBA success of his players, whose cumulative earnings have reached nearly $6 billion.