What College Has Produced The Most NBA Players?

We all know that the NBA is full of talented players, but did you know that some colleges produce more NBA talent than others? In this blog post, we take a look at which colleges have produced the most NBA players.

Kentucky

Since the NBA’s inception in 1946, Kentucky has produced the most NBA players with 145. Kentucky is followed by UCLA (128), North Carolina (101), Duke (93), and Kansas (68).

Duke

As of the 2019-2020 NBA season, Duke has produced the most NBA players of any college with 83 total draft picks. Duke is followed by Kentucky (78), UCLA (69), and North Carolina (67). The annual NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, more commonly known as the NCAA tournament or March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States. The tournament features 68 college basketball teams from across the country, who each compete for a chance to be crowned national champions.

UCLA

UCLA has produced the most NBA players of any college, with a total of 307 as of the 2019-2020 season. This is significantly more than any other college, with the second-most being Kentucky with 149. UCLA has also had the most players selected in the NBA Draft, with a total of 97 as of 2019.

North Carolina

Since the NBA’s inception in 1946, North Carolina has produced more NBA players than any other college. As of 2019, there have been a total of 113 NBA players who have come from North Carolina schools, including such notable names as Michael Jordan, Jerry Stackhouse, and James Worthy.

Interestingly, while North Carolina may lead the way in total NBA players produced, it is not the leader when it comes to producing players who go on to have successful NBA careers. In terms of players who have been named to an All-Star team or have been selected to an All-NBA team, UCLA leads the way with 29 such players, followed by Kentucky with 28, and Duke with 27.

Kansas

Since the founding of the National Basketball Association in 1946, college basketball has been a significant part of the league’s history. Players who have competed in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball, whether they stayed for all four years of their eligibility or opted to enter the NBA draft early, have made up a large portion of the league’s player pool.

As of the 2019-20 NBA season, there have been 1,388 players who have played in at least one regular season game and spent at least one year at an NCAA Division I school. Of those 1,388 players, Kansas is the institution that has produced the mostNBA players with 33 total. This includes such notable Jayhawks as Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Pierce, and Andrew Wiggins.