Twenty-four Blue Devils represented on NBA Opening Day rosters – DukeBlog

Per Duke communications:

The Blue Devils have players from a total of 14 different franchises, including trios in Charlotte (Zion James, Could Knueppel And Mason Plumlee), Dallas (Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving And Dereck Vivid II), Orlando (Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr. And Tyus Jones) and Phoenix (Grayson Allen, Khaman Maluach And Mark Williams) together 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 the roster from their respective franchises. Three Jones (Chicago) will play against his brother Tyus four times during the regular season. Jayson Tatumrecently announced as Duke’s Chief Basketball Officer, continues to recover from his injury suffered during the 2025 NBA Playoffs. In New Orleans, Zion Williamson enters its seventh season in the league, while Gary Trent Jr. (Milwaukee) and Marvin Bagley III (Washington) are each entering their eighth season. Former teammates and 2024 NBA Draft picks, Kyle Filipowski (Utah) and Jared McCain (Philadelphia) are each preparing for their second year in the NBA.

Duke’s 20 NBA players also join a long list of former Duke players, coaches, managers and graduates who serve on the NBA coaching staff or in front office roles for 17 of the league’s 30 teams, as well as in the league office. That includes the former Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewskiwho joined the NBA as a special advisor in the summer of 2024, a 1984 graduate of Duke Adam Silver (NBA Commissioner), Grant Hill (co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks), Elton brand (General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers), Trajan Landon (Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations), 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).