Each year in November a lucky group of basketball talent makes their way from a University court to that of the big league. NBA’s coaches and management sits eagerly, selecting the fresh faces they hope will be the future, skilled generation of the sport. This night is the NBA draft and those players come from all over the United States and the world. However, a few colleges in particular have consistently drafted more members for their programs than others. Below we’ll take a look at the few universities which have pulled in the most talent throughout the years.
University of Kentucky
When it comes to selecting mega gifted players for the NBA, Kentucky is the expert. They’ve drafted a 107 players into the national league, the most in the organization’s history. Not to mention they’re not a bad basketball program themselves, having won a grand total of eight NCAA championships and two Southern Conference championships. In fact, they’re already predicted to win another as Kentucky is listed in top NCAAB betting odds as a Southern Conference Future Winner for this season. One things for certain: from Patrick Patterson to Julius Randle, Rajon Rondo and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wildcats have sure produced seriously gifted stars over the years.
UCLA
The prestigious UCLA comes in second for introducing 99 players to the NBA. Their college team, the Bruins, are famous throughout the sport for being the team with 11 championship victories. Some notable names in the NBA that attended the coastal college include Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, and Lonzo Ball. Currently, there are 14 active alumni, some of which include Kyle Anderson and Trevor Ariza.
University of North Carolina
Two words: Michael Jordan. The University of North Carolina is the proud former college of the legendary basketball player. Having been drafted to the NBA as a first-round pick in 1984, Jordan’s influence still reigns throughout the University basketball court and entire campus. Throughout the years the Tar Heels have been responsible for sending 90 players to the professional league and have seen their own share of success, coming in third place for the most national championship wins right after UCLA and Kentucky.
Other programs like that of Penn State, Michigan, and Notre Dame have managed to also produce some successful players. In fact, Penn’s rising star Kevin Major is already looking to be a standout member of the NBA someday. The bottom line: gift in sports often originates in university athletics, so the schools with the most alumni in the NBA often have well-led programs themselves.
