Top 10 colleges with the most NBA players in the league currently

Top 10 colleges with the most NBA players in the league currently

Kenneth Mwenda
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:24 PM

The colleges with the most NBA players boast about their prominence in the league. These schools scout players who perform well in high school for their teams, continuing a tradition of the progression of American basketball. Some individuals, though, defy the odds and get drafted out of high school.

Top 10 colleges with the most NBA players in the league currently
Duke Blue Devils forward Wendell Moore Jr. (0) during the Champions Classic college basketball game against the Kentucky Wildcats on November 9, 2021. Photo: Rich Graessle
Source: Getty Images

Basketball fans frequently support college teams, whether it be because of where they attended school or for other reasons entirely. They frequently discuss the number of NBA All-Stars their programmes have produced to promote their schools.

Top 10 colleges with the most NBA players

On draught night each year, a fresh group of NBA hopefuls hears their names called, allowing them to begin their professional basketball careers. But where do the schools which produce these players rank? Read on to learn more about the colleges which have produced the most NBA players of all time.

10. The University of St. John | 59

Number of active players: 1

Colleges with the most NBA players
Eric Bowles, #5 of the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils dribbles against Marcus LoVett, #20 of the St. John's Red Storm at Carnesecca Arena on November 14, 2017. Photo: Porter Binks
Source: Getty Images

At number 10 on the NBA players' colleges list is St. John's University, a private Roman Catholic university in Queens, New York City. It was established in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (C.M., also known as the Vincentian Fathers), with the purpose of offering Catholic higher education to the youth of New York.

The flagship campus was moved from its original location in the Brooklyn borough of New York City to its current location in the Queens borough in the 1950s.

As of February 2023, the school's basketball team has twenty-eight (28) NCAA tournament appearances to its credit, two John R. Wooden Award winners, eleven consensus All-Americans, six College Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, and 59 players who have gone on to play in the NBA. The university has the ninth-highest winning percentage in all of college basketball.

9. The University of Notre Dame | 60

Number of active players: 3

Colleges with the most NBA players all time
Daxter Miles Jr. of West Virginia Mountaineers pressures Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Temple Gibbs (2) during a game on March 18, 2017, at the Key Bank Center in Buffalo, NY. Photo: Jerome Davis
Source: Getty Images

The University of Notre Dame is a private Roman Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. Edward Sorin, a French priest, founded the institution in 1842.

The basketball team at the school has over 1,910 victories and 36 NCAA tournament appearances. With 61 points, ex-player Austin Carr holds the tournament record for the most points scored in a single game. The team has never won the NCAA Tournament, but they have twice been recognized as national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation.

8. The University of Louisville | 61

Number of active players: 7

Schools with the most NBA players all time
Virginia forward (13) Anthony Gill during a game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Louisville Cardinals at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA, in 2016. Photo: Jeffrey Lack
Source: Getty Images

The University of Louisville is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, and is part of the Kentucky state university system. It was one of the first universities to be chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains when it was established in 1798 and the first city-owned public university in the United States.

The school's basketball team, the Cardinals, has officially made it to 8 Final Fours (with the 2012 and 2013 appearances being vacated), won 61 tournament games in 38 official NCAA tournament appearances, and won two NCAA championships in 1980 and 1986 (with the 2013 title being vacated).

7. Indiana University | 65

Number of active players: 5

College with the most NBA all stars
Race Thompson, #25 of the Indiana Hoosiers takes a shot in the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on January 28, 2023, in Bloomington, Indiana. Photo: Justin Casterline
Source: Getty Images

Indiana University is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. On January 20, 1820, Indiana's state legislature in Corydon established Indiana University as the "State Seminary." Construction started in 1822 at what is now known as Seminary Square Park, close to the intersection of Second Street and College Avenue.

Men's basketball champions Indiana has claimed five NCAA titles (1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987), the first two under Branch McCracken and the last three under Bob Knight. The Indiana team from 1976 has been the last unbeaten NCAA men's basketball champion for 47 years and counting.

6. The University of Arizona | 65

Number of active players: 11

Colleges with the most active NBA players
Arizona Wildcats guard Kylan Boswell (4) dribbles the ball during a game against the Washington Huskies on January 28, 2023, at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, WA. Photo: Jacob Snow
Source: Getty Images

The University of Arizona is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. It was the first university in the Arizona Territory, established in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature.

Since Lute Olson was appointed head coach in 1983, their team has been among the most prosperous programmes in the country and is still regarded as a national powerhouse in Division I men's basketball. The team made the NCAA Tournament 25 times straight from 1985 to 2009, which is the third-longest streak in NCAA history.

5. The University of Kansas | 81

Number of active players: 12

Which colleges have produced the most NBA players all-time?
Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) of the Kansas Jayhawks dribbles during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on January 28, 2023, in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo: Michael Hickey
Source: Getty Images

The University of Kansas is a public research school with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas. A charter issued by the Kansas State Legislature in 1864 allowed the university, which was established on March 21, 1865, to be inaugurated in 1866.

Six national championships have been won by the group, including four NCAA tournament victories in 1952, 1988, 2008, and 2022. Up until their appearance in the Final Four in the 2021–22 season, the basketball programme had an overall record of 2,355-877, making it the winningest programme in college basketball history. Wilt Chamberlain, who competed in the 1950s and later rose to fame in the NBA and as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, is perhaps its most well-known player.

4. The University of North Carolina | 92

Number of active players: 12

NBA players colleges list
Syracuse Orange Guard Joseph Girard III (11) plays against North Carolina Tar Heels' Leaky Black during a College game on January 24, 2023, at the JMA Wireless Dome., NY. Photo: Gregory Fisher
Source: Getty Images

It is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. One of the country's oldest public universities, the university was chartered in 1789 and only started accepting students in 1795.

The college's basketball team is known as the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels have competed in a record twenty-one Final Fours and have won six National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships (1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, and 2017), in addition to a retroactive Helms Athletic Foundation championship (1924). It is the only university to have made it to at least one Final Four for nine decades in a row.

3. DUKE University | 94

Number of active players: 25

College with the most NBA all stars
Dereck Lively II (#1) of the Duke Blue Devils dunks the ball during their game against the Miami Hurricanes at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 21, 2023, in Durham, North Carolina. Photo: Lance King
Source: Getty Images

Duke is the top private college with the most NBA players of all time. The university was established in 1838 by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity; it moved to Durham in 1892. The university is now located in Durham, North Carolina.

Duke's men's team is one of the top basketball programmes in the country. Over the past 30 years, the team has achieved particularly outstanding success under coach Mike Krzyzewski. Since the NCAA Tournament field was increased to 64 teams in 1985, this team is the only one to have won five national championships.

2. The University of California, Los Angeles | 99

Number of active players: 11

Which colleges have produced the most NBA players all-time?
California Golden Bears guard DeJuan Clayton (33) during the college basketball game against the Stanford Cardinal on January 28, 2023, at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, CA. Photo: Bob Kupbens
Source: Getty Images

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. The academic foundations of UCLA date back to 1881, when it was founded as a teachers' college under the name of the southern branch of the California State Normal School (currently San José State University).

As a member of the Pac-12 Conference, the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team competes on behalf of the University of California, Los Angeles in the sport of men's basketball. The programme was founded in 1919 and has an impressive 11 NCAA championships. This university also boasts the most number of NBA all-stars.

1. The University of Kentucky | 127

Number of active players: 26

Colleges with the most NBA players all time
Jacob Toppin, #0 of the Kentucky Wildcats dribbles against Jalen Wilson, #10 of the Kansas Jayhawks at Rupp Arena on January 28, 2023, in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo: Michael Hickey
Source: Getty Images

The University of Kentucky is the school with the most NBA players of all time. It is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. John Bryan Bowman established it as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky in 1865.

In terms of overall winning percentage, Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball programme in history. It is also the college with the most active NBA players, 26.

The youngsters go through a proper regimen playing for their college. Thus, the amount of exposure given to college basketball really sets players up for what they would most face in the NBA.

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Authors
Kenneth Mwenda photo
Kenneth Mwenda
Kenneth Mwenda is a business and sports writer with over five years of experience. At Sportsbrief, he contributes to writing biographies and listicles.