KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team went No. 42 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, chosen in the second round Wednesday night by the San Antonio Spurs at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The 12th selection of the second round, on the second day of the draft, Gillespie was the ninth player picked from an SEC school.

Gillespie is the 59th player drafted out of Tennessee. He is the fourth choice by the San Antonio Spurs, following Kennedy Chandler (No. 38 in 2022), Jordan McRae (No. 58 in 2014) and Reggie Johnson (No. 15 in 1980).

A native of nearby Greeneville, Tenn., Gillespie is the fifth in-state player selected from Tennessee in the last eight years, following Jordan Bone (No. 57 in 2019), Keon Johnson (No. 21 in 2021), Kennedy Chandler (No. 38 in 2022) and Chaz Lanier (No. 37 in 2025).

Gillespie is the second Volunteer tabbed in the 2026 NBA Draft. Nate Ament went No. 13 overall Tuesday night to the Miami Heat, with his rights traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Head coach Rick Barnes, meanwhile, has now had 37 players drafted into the NBA. That includes 12 Volunteers, all in the last eight years (2019-26). This is the ninth time multiple Barnes pupils went in the same NBA Draft.

Following two campaigns at Belmont and one at Maryland, Gillespie spent his final year at Tennessee and turned in a historic year. He became the fifth Division I player, including the first from the SEC, to compile 200 assists, 100 made 3-pointers and 75 steals in a single season.

Gillespie averaged 18.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game, leading the team in each of those categories, while adding 2.8 rebounds per outing. He shot 81.0 percent at the freethrow line, too.

The 6-foot-1, 188-pounder racked up 79 steals to break the program’s single-season record that stood for 32 years. Gillespie logged eight takeaways in a game on two occasions, to set and then tie the school’s singlegame record. He also had six steals in the Elite Eight matchup with Michigan to set a Tennessee best in NCAA Tournament play.

Gillespie also finished third in minutes (1,286), fifth in made 3-pointers (103), sixth in assists (201) and No. 11 in points (681) on Tennessee’s single-season leaderboard. He became the first Volunteer with 650 points and 200 assists in a campaign, as well as the second to average at least 18.0 points and 5.0 assists per outing.

Okpara selected No. 46

Senior forward Felix Okpara of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team was picked No. 46 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft. He was selected in the second round Wednesday night by the Orlando Magic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his draft rights set to be traded to the Washington Wizards.

The No. 16 pick of the second round, on the second day of the draft, Okpara was the 10th player chosen from an SEC school.

Okpara is the 60th player selected out of Tennessee and is the first of that group chosen by the Orlando Magic. The Washington Wizards, meanwhile, took Doug Roth at No. 41 in 1989.

The Lagos, Nigeria, native is the third Volunteer to hear his name called in the 2026 NBA Draft, following Nate Ament, who went No. 13 overall Tuesday night to the Miami Heat, with his draft rights then traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, and Ja’Kobi Gillespie who went No. 42 overall Tuesday night to the San Antonio Spurs.

The only prior international player drafted from Tennessee is Bobby Croft, who hails from Canada and went No. 123 overall in 1970.

Okpara is Barnes’ 38th player drafted into the NBA. He is the 13th Volunteer selected in Barnes’ tenure, all since 2019. This is the fifth time he has had three players tabbed in the same draft, joining 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2019.