It should not surprise anyone that North Carolina will have multiple players drafted in the NBA Draft. Those two players are All-ACC big men Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson. When they were on the court together, they may have been the best frontcourt duo in the nation, let alone the ACC.
Wilson, who earned All-America and first-team All-ACC honors despite missing the last nine games of UNC’s season, averaged team highs of 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds. He broke the Tar Heels’ freshman record for most 20-point games, previously held by Tyler Hansbrough.
Veesaar, who earned second-team All-ACC honors, averaged 16.3 points on 61.4% shooting from the field and 41.5% from 3-point range. He also averaged 8.4 rebounds. Both players are projected to be drafted in the first round, with Wilson a top-five pick and Veesaar going late in the round, according to many draft experts, including USA TODAY Sports’ Bryan Kalbrosky.
Here’s where he projects them to go:
Caleb Wilson, No. 3 (Memphis Grizzlies)
Wilson is projected to be the No. 3 overall pick after AJ Dybantsa (No. 1 to the Washington Wizards) and Cameron Boozer (No. 2 to the Utah Jazz). Wilson will be expected to take on a large role from the start for the Grizzlies, who finished 25-57 last season and in last place in the Southwest Division.
Here is what Kalbrosky said:
The Memphis Grizzlies are unafraid to draft away from consensus and tend to like analytically friendly prospects. One general manager also told Jake Fischer that “every team” is going to have North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson over either one of Dybantsa, Boozer or Darryn Peterson. Memphis is potentially one of those teams. His injury, which caused him to miss the NCAA Tournament with a broken thumb, did not hurt his draft stock at all. Wilson, who also suffered a hand fracture earlier in the season, did more than enough to earn this placement. According to Bart Torvik, before the injury, the All-ACC big man led the nation with 67 dunks recorded. He was also the only player under 20 years old to reach specific thresholds for both block, steal and defensive rebound percentage.
Henri Veesaar, No. 27 (Boston Celtics)
This projects as a strong fit. The 7-foot Estonian could provide immediate depth off the Celtics’ bench with his versatility, and with Nikola Vucevic set to be 36 at the start of the 2026-27 season, Veesaar should have a clear path to early, meaningful minutes.
Here is what Kalbrosky said:
We have seen a remarkable improvement from Henri Veesaar after transferring from Arizona to North Carolina. The 7-foot big man from Estonia has an excellent shot diet on offense. The All-ACC big man is scoring efficiently at the rim (especially when cutting or rolling) and on 3-pointers, while also holding his own as a rebounder and passer. Any team looking for a big man who can provide NBA minutes on an expedited timeline, like the Celtics, will have him high on their priority list. He presumably feels comfortable with his draft range, considering he was reportedly offered “at least $6 million” in the transfer portal, per CBS Sports.
