UConn’s NBA pipeline is still producing names, but the list for opening day is smaller than it first looked.
Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. are the newest Huskies headed to the league, but the total number of former UConn players on NBA rosters could max out at 10 when the 2026-27 season opens in October. That figure is still fluid because rosters won’t be finalized until closer to the start of the season.
It already dropped from 11 on Friday, when Tyrese Martin announced he is leaving the NBA for FC Barcelona of the Euro League. The club said he is signed through June 30, 2027.
Martin’s path to that point started at Rhode Island, where the Pennsylvania native spent his first two college seasons from 2018-20. He then moved on to UConn for his final two years, appearing in 51 games with 50 starts and averaging 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
The 6-foot-6 guard was a second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and went on to play 122 games for the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in the NBA, while also logging 59 G League games with 54 starts and posting 18.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.9 assist per game.
With Martin out of the picture, the other eight former Huskies who saw NBA action in the 2025-26 season were Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Andre Drummond, Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson Jr., Liam McNeeley, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, according to BasketballReference.com.
Castle is set to stay with the San Antonio Spurs after they picked up his $10.02 million option for 2026-27. Clingan is also back, with the Portland Trail Blazers exercising his $7.52 million team option.
Drummond, who has been in the league since 2012, signed a one-year, $3.88 million deal with the NBA champion New York Knicks on July 6. Spotrac lists his career earnings at $155 million.
Hawkins will return to the New Orleans Pelicans on a $7.02 million team option, while Jackson is now an unrestricted free agent after the Milwaukee Bucks declined their $2.4 million team option and declined to make a qualifying offer.
McNeeley signed a four-year, $14.19 million rookie-scale contract with the Charlotte Hornets after the 2015 NBA Draft, though he has spent time in the G League. After the upcoming season, the Hornets will have two option years.
Newton signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Houston Rockets on Jan. 3, 2026.
Reed’s contract comes in above Karaban’s because he was taken 26th and Karaban went 29th. NBA rookie deals are slotted by draft position, with the top pick getting the biggest contract and each spot down the board trimming the value a little more.
That same structure is why No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa will play under a four-year, $66.94 million contract with the Washington Wizards. First-round selections get their first two seasons fully guaranteed, while the final two years are team options. Even a first-rounder like McNeeley can still spend time in the G League.
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