Freshman Chris Livingston is 5th Kentucky basketball player to declare for 2023 NBA Draft

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky freshman Chris Livingston is entering the 2023 NBA Draft.

"Basketball means everything to me, and it was a dream of mine to be a part of an incredible basketball program like the University of Kentucky," wrote Livingston in a message posted on his personal Instagram account Wednesday. "Thank you to Big Blue Nation, my teammates and all the coaches and staff for your support."

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound freshman forward is the fifth Wildcat to declare for the draft, along with Antonio Reeves, Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin and fellow freshman Cason Wallace. Livingston did not mention the possibility of returning to college for another season, but UK in a news release said the freshman will maintain his eligibility.

ESPN ranks him No. 84 among eligible prospects in the 2023 draft. USA Today, NBAdraft.net and NBAdraftroom.com do not project Livingston to be selected in their latest mock drafts.

This year's draft will be held June 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

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“I’m excited for Chris and his family to go through this part of the process on his journey," Kentucky coach John Calipari said in a statement. "Coming in as a physical wing, Chris showed substantial growth as this season went on and proved to be a capable scorer, reliable defender and a relentless rebounder."

A native of Akron, Ohio, Livingston was a consensus five-star signee in the Wildcats' 2022 class, ranked among the top-30 prospects nationally by every major recruiting service: No. 11 by Rivals, No. 12 by ESPN, No. 16 by 247Sports and No. 26 by On3.

He was one of just two Wildcats (along with Reeves) to play in all 34 games during the 2022-23 season, making 25 starts. Livingston averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

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His numbers improved as the season went on.

In UK's final 11 games, Livingston averaged 8.5. points and 6.9 rebounds. During that span, he notched the first two double-doubles of his career (12 points and 10 rebounds in a home win over then-No. 10 Tennessee; 10 points and a personal-best 15 rebounds in a victory at Florida) and earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors Feb. 20 after averaging 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and two assists per game in victories against Mississippi State and Tennessee.

Livingston earned All-SEC Freshman Team honors.

With Toppin, Livingston and Tshiebwe all potentially leaving, the Wildcats could be forced to replace their top three rebounders from the 2022-23 season. Tshiebwe's 13.7 rebounds per outing led the country. Toppin averaged 6.8 rebounds.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.