CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina’s pipeline to the pros is running strong again, with 11 former Tar Heels holding spots on NBA rosters as the 2026-27 season tips off.
Three franchises each carry two Carolina alumni. Brooklyn has Drake Powell and Day’Ron Sharpe, Milwaukee has Pete Nance and Cormac Ryan, and Utah has Tony Bradley and Harrison Ingram.
The rest are spread around the league: veteran Harrison Barnes in San Antonio, Leaky Black in Sacramento, Cameron Johnson in Denver and Caleb Wilson in Chicago. North Carolina fans have one familiar face close to home, as Coby White is with the Charlotte Hornets.
The count would likely have been 12. UNC said Henri Veesaar probably would have opened the season with the Atlanta Hawks if not for a season-ending knee injury suffered during the preseason.
League rosters were finalized ahead of opening night, which features a Tuesday tripleheader: Boston at Detroit, Philadelphia at the defending champion New York Knicks and Oklahoma City at San Antonio. That nightcap, set for 9:30 p.m. Eastern at Frost Bank Center, gives Barnes and the Spurs a national stage on the very first night, with the Knicks and 76ers meeting earlier at Madison Square Garden at 7 p.m.
The Carolina program celebrated the group on social media, sending good wishes to its pros as the season began. All told, the 11 alumni are spread across eight of the league’s 30 franchises.
Back in Chapel Hill, the current Tar Heels are still working through the preseason. They dropped a 76-58 exhibition to Indiana in Indianapolis on Sunday.
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