WHICH COLLEGES PRODUCE THE BEST NBA PLAYERS

Arguably the best players in the league come from the best teams before joining the NBA, well on paper at least. Numerous stars have made it to the NBA through smaller colleges or even small European clubs, others took the fast way in training with the biggest colleges and European clubs.
 

Kentucky

Kentucky has been the home of many NBA players throughout history, in fact 107 of them come from this university. Of course it’s not by luck, Kentucky has been a top national program all throughout the country. Competing in the NCAA, they currently rank 2nd all time, and have been on a 305-71 record which translates to an 81% winning rate.

Kentucky has produced much talent, including:

Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, John Wall, Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, PJ Washington, Julius Randle, Demarcus Cousins, Shaedon Sharpe, Dan Issel and many more.

North Carolina

North Carolina is one of the most dominant college teams in the NCAA, reaching the final four a record 20 times over the years. In total, North Carolina gave birth to many NBA players, lots of them becoming all stars, with 90 of them who ended up in the league.

These players are not limited to:

Bob McAdoo, James Worthy, Rasheed Wallace, Antawn Jamison, Cam Johnson, Cole Anthony, Kenny “the jet” Smith, Dany Green, Vince Carter, and of course Michael Jordan.

UCLA

UCLA is the number one college association in the western hemisphere of the US. They currently hold the most NCAA titles with 11. With one of the best programs in the country, they are a top contender every year. With 100 players having joined the NBA from UCLA, they are the second biggest NBA producers.

It's no surprise they won so much when they had players like:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lou Alcindor), Bill Walton, Trevor Ariza, Reggie Miller, Kevon Looney, Kyle Anderson, Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, Russell Westbrook, Lonzo Ball, among other players.

Duke

Duke is arguably one, if not the best college basketball team in the NCAA. Compared to these other teams, they only produced 83 NBA players, but many players on the Duke team play without thinking of a future in basketball. Coached by one of the greatest coaches of all time, Mike Krzyzewski, aka Coach K, has led the blue devils to multiple victories throughout the years, becoming the bad guys in the competition, which they still are to this day. Having attended the final four 16 times, they are the biggest rivals of UNC, North Carolina, as they share the same state as two of the most dominant teams in the NCAA.

The players consist of:
Grant Hill, RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Seth Curry, JJ Redick, Luol Deng, Mason Plumlee, Shane Battier, Gary Trent Jr., Justise Winslow, Carlos Boozer, Paolo Banchero, Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson, and last but not least, Kyrie Irving. Many more players have played for Duke, but these are the most memorable ones who have had a long/impressive NBA career.

University of Texas

Finally we got Texas, a college that often gets looked over since its history in the NBA is quite new compared to these previous schools. Most of these players made a name for themselves or had a significant impact on the game of basketball. But not only, Texas University has alumni in celebrities like Owen Wilson, Mathew McConaughey, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Texas has won three championships in 1988, 2012 and 2022, and made runner ups between 1995 and 2020. Keep in mind most of the players who went on to play in the NBA are younger than other big colleges.

These players consist of:

LaMarcus Aldridge, PJ Tucker, DJ Augustin, Myles Turner, Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes, Tristan Thompson, and none other than Kevin Durant.

Conclusion

From an objective point of view, Texas has produced the best talent in a shorter period of time, as they weren't as dominant in the early 80's or even the 90's.

Duke and UNC have the best record for college players, as they are the most dominant teams in the NCAA. Having produced much talent for years now, Duke and UNC can be seen as the best teams to produce NBA players, but many of their players do not pursue a future in the NBA.

UCLA has the best draft rank per player, including a high win share average for their players who went on to play in the NBA, which is why UCLA produces the best NBA players to date.

Of course an argument could be made against UCLA depending on where you stand, but numbers don’t lie.