Kentucky Basketball: The 5 Most Talented Teams in Wildcat History

The University of Kentucky has a long, storied tradition of fielding successful college basketball teams. While each season is memorable for certain reasons, five stick out as the ones with the most talent. 

Starting with the first Kentucky team to ever win a national championship to the most recent group of freakishly athletic Wildcats, we narrowed down the five best Kentucky squads based on talent. 

Using the exploits of the specific college season and the eventual success at the next level, we selected one team coached by Adolph Rupp, one by Rick Pitino and three from the John Calipari era. 

Continue reading to see which five teams were selected as the most talented in program history.

1947-48

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Long before giants like Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns headlined the Kentucky roster, the 1947-48 squad helped establish Kentucky as one of the nation's top programs in the nation. 

Under the direction of the legendary Adolph Rupp, the 1947-48 team won the first NCAA tournament in school history. That feat would be repeated the next year with most of the same players. 

What makes the 1947-48 campaign so special is it allowed the team's stars to earn spots on the 1948 Summer Olympic basketball team, which won the gold medal with an 8-0 record in London. 

Alex Groza was the roster's top star, but he received plenty of help from Ralph Beard, Bob "Foothills" Kurland and Wallace Jones. 

Starting with Joe Holland, Jack Parkinson and Ken Rollins after the 1947-48 season, eight members of the title-winning squad were eventually selected in the NBA draft.

1995-96

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Rick Pitino's most talented Kentucky squad featured nine future NBA players, including Antoine Walker and Tony Delk. 

While none of those players were superstars like the Lexington players they preceded have become, each athlete still brought plenty of talent to the court during one of many special seasons at Kentucky. 

After falling to UMass in the season's second game, the 1995-96 edition of the Wildcats reeled off a 27-game win streak before dropping the SEC tournament final to Mississippi State. The SEC tournament championship game loss helped the Wildcats focus during their run through the NCAA men's basketball tournament. 

After avenging their nonconference loss to UMass in the Final Four, the Wildcats went on to beat Syracuse 76-67 at Continental Airlines Arena to win the national championship. 

The Boston Celtics drafted Walker with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, while Delk, Walter McCarty and Mark Pope were also selected that year.

2009-10

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The 2009-10 Kentucky team may not have made a trip to the Final Four, but it produced quite a few quality NBA players. 

Led by No. 1 overall pick John Wall, the Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight, with a record of 35-3, before falling to West Virginia at the Carrier Dome. The team with five first-round picks in the 2010 NBA draft was stopped by the duo of Joe Mazzulla and Da'Sean Butler, who were two of four West Virginia starters in double digits. 

Wall made all the headlines himself in June 2010, when the Washington Wizards picked him first. DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton were all selected on the same night within the first 29 picks. 

Wall, Cousins and Bledsoe are by far the most successful of the five, while Patterson has landed in Toronto after being drafted by Houston. Orton last played for the Idaho Stampede in the D-League.

2011-12

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Two years after Wall and Cousins thrived in their lone year at the collegiate level, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist headlined the incoming freshman class for the 2011-12 season. 

Just like the 1995-96 team, the squad led by Davis lost once in nonconference play and in the SEC tournament final. Thanks to Christian Watford's buzzer-beater at Assembly Hall, the Wildcats were denied a run at a perfect season on December 10. 

After sweeping through SEC regular-season play and compiling a 24-game win streak, John Calipari's Wildcats fell to Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament before winning six straight contests in the NCAA tournament. 

Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist were picked first and second, respectively, in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Bobcats, while Terrence Jones was picked up at No. 18 by Houston. Marquis Teague, Doron Lamb and Darius Miller were also selected in that draft. 

Also on the 2011-12 team was Kyle Wiltjer, who is entering his final season as a star player at Gonzaga.

2014-15

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One of the most talented college basketball squads ever assembled took the court during the 2014-15 season for Kentucky. 

The side that was two deep at every position went undefeated throughout the regular season and made it all the way to the Final Four before falling to Wisconsin and ending the year at 38-1. 

Every star from the 2014-15 roster, except for Tyler Ulis, declared for the 2015 NBA draft. Six players ended up being drafted, including four in the top 13. 

Karl-Anthony Towns went first to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Willie Cauley-Stein went to the Sacramento Kings at No. 6, Trey Lyles joined up with the Utah Jazz at No. 12 and Devin Booker was selected by the Phoenix Suns at No. 13. 

While it will take a few years to judge how successful each of the players will be at the NBA level, we can already declare this was one of the best college teams you will ever see.