Former Duncanville standout Ron Holland drafted #5 overall to the Detroit Pistons from the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex during the NBA’s first round Wednesday night, but he wasn’t the last. A total of three players earned the call, Holland, Jakobe Walter and Jaylon Tyson. It is a moment to be celebrated and cherished but it is not a new phenomenon to the most talented basketball metro area in America.
In the last decade, 22 players have been drafted to the highest league in professional basketball with 18 of them being first round picks. First round means guaranteed contracts and guaranteed money. Several more DFW based players have seen time in ‘The Association’, while several more draft picks and NBA stars have played in the prestigious Thanksgiving Hoopfest or with summer basketball teams based in DFW.
2016 and 2022 have been the only years that DFW has not had a draft pick between the two rounds. Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham was the highest drafted player at #1 overall in 2021. In the past three years three DFW players, Cade Cunningham, Marcus Sasser, and now Holland have been drafted to the Motor City. The Dallas Pistons seems appropriate.
Over the last two years a total of eight players have been drafted. I expect a couple more names from DFW to be called on Thursday night as the NBA concludes its draft.
Dallas may just be the new mecca of basketball, my opinion says so, but time will tell.
Dallas/Ft. Worth area draft picks from 2014-2024
| Year/Player | Pick | NBA Team | HS |
| 2014 Marcus Smart | 6 | Boston Celtics | Flower Mound Marcus |
| 2014 Julius Randle | 7 | Los Angeles Lakers | Prestonwood |
| 2015 Emmanuel Mudiay | 7 | Denver Nuggets | Grace Prep/Prime Prep |
| 2015 Myles Turner | 11 | Indiana Pacers | Euless Trinity |
| 2015 Jordan Mickey | 33 | Boston Celtics | Grace Prep/Prime Prep |
| 2017 Terrance Ferguson | 21 | OKC Thunder | Prime Prep/API |
| 2017 Juwan Evans | 39 | LA Clippers | Kimball |
| 2018 Zhaire Smith | 16 | Philadelphia 76ers | Lakeview Centennial |
| 2019 Jarrett Culver | 6 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Born in Dallas/ DJH5 AAU |
| 2019 PJ Washington | 12 | Charlotte Hornets | Frisco Lonestar/ Prime Prep |
| 2020 Tyrese Maxey | 21 | Philadelphia 76ers | South Garland |
| 2020 RJ Hampton | 24 | Denver Nuggets | Little Elm |
| 2020 Jahm’ius Ramsey | 43 | Sacramento Kings | Mansfield Summit/Duncanville |
| 2021 Cade Cunningham | 1 | Detroit Pistons | Arlington Bowie |
| 2023 Anthony Black | 6 | Orlando Magic | Coppell/Duncanville |
| 2023 Cason Wallace | 10 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Richardson |
| 2023 Keyonte George | 16 | Utah Jazz | Lewisville/Ischool |
| 2023 Marcus Sasser | 25 | Detroit Pistons | Red Oak |
| 2023 Jordan Walsh | 38 | Boston Celtics | Oak Cliff Faith Family |
| 2024 Ron Holland | 5 | Detroit Pistons | Duncanville |
| 2024 Jakobe Walter | 19 | Toronto Raptors | McKinney |
| 2024 Jaylon Tyson | 20 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Paul VI |
