KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – 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.
After beginning his career with two years at Ohio State, Okpara spent two seasons at Tennessee, appearing in 73 of 75 games and making 72 starts. He averaged 7.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game as a Volunteer, while posting a 59.3 field-goal percentage.
The 6-foot-11, 243-pounder finished second at Tennessee in blocks average, fourth in offensive rebounding average (2.51). The fourth Volunteer with two 50-block seasons, he finished with the most blocks (116) and offensive rebounds (183) by a two-year player in program history.
Okpara owns the most blocks (13) ever by Tennessee player in NCAA Tournament play, as well as the second-most such rebounds (62). He aided the program to an Elite Eight berth in each of the last two years, as well as to a 55-20 (.733) overall record.
A dominant interior presence, Okpara finished his college career with 243 blocks, the second-most among active Division I players in 2025-26, as well as 217 dunks. He totaled 817 rebounds, including 309 on the offensive end, and shot 59.0 percent from the floor across his four-year career.
Okpara earned SEC All-Defensive Team accolades as a senior and finished sixth in the league in total blocks (52). He excelled down the stretch of his final season, averaging 11.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 67.1 percent shooting across his last 12 outings, scoring double-digit points in half of them and reaching 15-plus thrice.
This is the 13th time in program history multiple Volunteers have been selected in the same NBA Draft, including the seventh in the two-round era (since 1989) and the fourth in the last eight years. It is also the first time Tennessee has had multiple draftees in back-to-back years, as Chaz Lanier and Jahmai Mashack both went off the board in 2025.
Tennessee’s three selections in the 2026 NBA Draft tie the most in its history, matching 1950, 1977 and 2019. The only two such occurrences in the two-round era (since 1989) are under Barnes’ direction.
The Volunteers’ five draft picks the last two years are a program record, eclipsing the four from 1949-50. Tennessee also has multiple draftees in back-to-back years for the first time, as Chaz Lanier and Jahmai Mashack were both chosen in 2025.
At least one Volunteer has been selected in seven of the last eight drafts, making Tennessee one of just four schools to hit that mark, alongside Arkansas, Duke and Kentucky. It is also one of just five schools with a player chosen six years in a row, joining Baylor, Connecticut, Duke and Kentucky.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
