A list of 20 of the best NBA players from California: Who tops the ranking?

Basketball is one of the biggest sports played in the United States of America. While the country produces the sport's most skilled basketballers, the distribution of players differs between states. Dig into this article to learn more about the best NBA players from California.

Which US state has the most NBA players? Various surveys credit the wealth of NBA talent to California compared to other states in the United States of America. While 52 basketballers from the state were featured on 2022 NBA rosters, this article dives into the best NBA players from California of all time.

Which area produces the most NBA players?

There are more NBA pros born in California compared to any other state. How many NBA players are from Los Angeles? According to Sports Analytics, the city of Los Angeles produces some of the best basketballers, with 114 of them calling the city home.

How many NBA players are from California?

A recent survey by Hoops Hype revealed that while the state does not have the most basketballers per capita, it takes the cake with the most current NBA and WNBA hotshots born in California. With over 400 basketballers on the NBA roster, 52 of them hail from the state. The state also tops the list for the most female ballers hailing from the area (18).

Top 20 all-time NBA players who come from California

According to Basketball Reference, the list of all NBA players from California between 1947 and 2023 stood at 434. Of the 434 National and American Basketball Association players, 16 have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Scroll down for a look at the best NBA players from California.

20. Jamaal Wilkes

Born Jackson Keith Wilkes, Jamaal Abdul-Lateef is a bonafide legend who led the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers to four NBA Championships between 1975 and 1985. The Berkeley native, who played Cornbread in the 1975 movie, Cornbread, Earl and Me, ended his career in 1986 after 828 games with 17.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, a 75.9 free throw, and a 49.9 field goal percentage.

19. Evan Mobley

At the height of his career, Cavaliers' power forward Evan Mobley was regarded as one of the best defenders in the NBA of all time. He is the second youngest player in NBA history, after Kobe Bryant, to play on an All-Defensive First Team. Born in San Diego, his defence rating of 108.1 and 119 blocks remain fourth-best and sixth-best in the NBA.

18. Jarrett Allen

Cavaliers' number 31 centre, Jarret Allen, was born in San Diego on the 21st of April, 1998. The 2015-16 McDonald's All-American player ended four seasons with the Nets after 234 games with 3.9 field goals, 2.3 free throws, 8.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. His Cavalier's stats stand at 175 games at the time of writing, with 5.9 field goals, 2.8 free throws, 10.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

17. Jrue Holiday

One of the best defensive players in the NBA is Milwaukee Bucks point guard and shooting guard Jrue Holiday. Jrue and his brothers, Justin and Aaron Holiday, have dominated the League as some of the best current NBA players from California.

16. Brook Lopez

Lopez was born on the 1st of April 1988 in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. With over fifteen seasons in the NBA, the two-time All-Defensive player has played over 900 matches with the Bucks, Lakers, NewJersey Nets and the Brooklyn Nets with an average of 16.4 points per game with 1.8 blocks, 3.0 free throws, 6.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

15. Jalen Green

The 2019/20 McDonald's All-American was drafted by the Houston Rockets as the second pick in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft. The Merced native Jalen Green won a 2022 NBA Rookie of the Month award and a spot on the All-Rookie Team during his first season in the League. In the two seasons he has played in the League, he has garnered an average of 22.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.

14. Paul Pierce

Popularly known as The Truth, Pierce was one of the best NBA players from Inglewood, California. Between 2002 and 2012, he effortlessly served quick and smooth wins for his teams, earning ten All-NBA team selections for the Celtics, among other awards.

Although the 2008 Finals Most Valuable Player played for the LA Clippers, Washington Wizards, and the Brooklyn Nets, he only led the Boston Celtics to the 2008 NBA championship. Pierce, who also dominated college basketball, ended his NBA career with over 26,000 points, 7,527 rebounds, and 4,700 assists.

13. Reggie Miller

A Riverside County local, Miller is one of the best NBA players from California, leading the League with the third-best 3-pointers of all time (2,560). He is also among the few elite NBA players who have a 50-40-90 season. During the 1993/94 regular season, the 2002 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year made 50.3 FG%, 42.1 FG3% and 90.8 FT% club with 524 Field Goals Made, 123 3-Point Field Goals Made and 403 Free Throws Made.

12. Kevin Love

Miami Heat's power forward and centre, Kevin Love, was born on the 7th of September 1988 in Santa Monica, CA. With over 15 years in the League, he has played 874 matches averaging 16.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. In 2020, the Kevin Love Fund teamed up with the University of California, Los Angeles psychology department to provide mental health care and destigmatize anxiety and depression.

11. Jeremy Lin

Undrafted Torrance native Jeremy Lin was a force to reckon with in his active career, drawing an extensive media frenzy. What made Jeremy Lin famous was his role in representing athletes of Chinese-Taiwanese descent and the level of success he achieved as an undrafted player. In nine seasons, the global Linsanity sensation played for eight NBA teams, winning one NBA Championship with the Raptors in 2019.

10. LaMelo Ball

As a member of one of the most famous sporting families, LaMelo has dominated the League playing for the Charlotte Hornets for the past three years. Since 2020, the Anaheim local has represented the Hornets in 162 games averaging 19.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. The third member of the basketball family is LiAngelo Ball, the number 3 guard for the Greensboro Swarm.

9. Lonzo Ball

In 2017, Lonzo Ball became the first of the best brothers in sports to join and dominate the NBA. The Chicago Bulls point guard averages 11.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game at the time of writing. Before taking on the professional basketball league, he dominated amateur leagues playing in the UCLA college basketball team, where he won the 2015/16 McDonald's All-American and the 2016/17 NCAA AP All-America awards.

8. Russell Westbrook

Long Beach native Westbrook holds the most triple-doubles in NBA history, with 198 triple-doubles in regular seasons. The 9-time All-Star and 9-time All-NBA payer played 1094 games in his career, averaging 22.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game between 2008 and 2023.

7. DeMar DeRozan

One of the best NBA players from Compton, California, is Chicago Bulls power forward DeMar DeRozan. The 2007/08 McDonald's All-American for USC began to feature in NBA leaderboards in 2014 with six All-Star Game appearances and three All-NBA teams.

6. Klay Thompson

Between 2011 and 2023, NBA legend led the League in various categories and stats, including four Championship rings between 2015 and 2022. The five-time All-Star player also led the USA basketball team to win two gold medals at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.

5. Paul George

Although the shooting guard has no Championship rings, he is an accomplished player who appeared in All-Star Games and won 11 All-League awards, including four All-Defensive Honours. At the time of writing, his 13-year career record stands at 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game, with a PIE of 13.5%.

4. Damian Lillard

One of the best point guards in the NBA is Portland Trail Blazers' number 0 guard, Damian Lillard. Although he is out for the remainder of the 2022/23 season, the multiple-time All-NBA player from Oakland, California, played a vital role in leading the Blazers, scooping multiple awards, including the 2012/13 Wilt Chamberlain Trophy, 2018/19 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship, the 2019/20 Player of the Seeding Games and the 2020/21 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year awards.

3. Bill Russel

NBA legend Bill Russel was born in Monroe, Louisiana. However, the 2019 NBA Lifetime Achievement awardee was raised in Oakland, CA. The eleven-time NBA Champion and five-time MVP ended his 13-year NBA career with 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game with a 44.0 field goal and 56.1 free throw percentage.

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NBA

2. Kawhi Leonard

At the time of writing, the seven-time All-Defensive Team member is out of the LA Clippers active roster, recovering from a torn ACL meniscus. Kawhi Leonard, the LA native, is one of the top NBA players of all time, winning two Finals MVP and one All-Star MVP award, among others.

1. James Harden

The three-time scoring champion and two-time assistant champion was born on the 26th of August 1989 in Los Angeles, California. The 2011/12 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, James Harden averages 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists and a 159 PIE.

Where are most WNBA players from?

An analysis by Hoop-Social revealed that most female professional basketballers come from California. At the same time, Washington DC, Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina and Arkansas produce the most male and female professional players per capita.

Additionally, a WNBA survey found that most of the California-born female pro-ballers came from the University of Connecticut and the University of Tennessee. These include Diana Taurasi and Sabrina Ionescu.

Since the 1900s, the best NBA players from California have led the League and spearheaded the development of the sport. Up-and-coming players in the league hope to play the same pivotal role in the league.

Sports Brief recently covered one of the biggest upcoming global tournaments in the sport, the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The 2023 schedule is expected to include a total of 32 teams and will run between August 25th and September 10th. Click on the link above to discover more about the tournaments' participating teams, dates, and locations.

WNBA player	Team(s)	Place of birth in California
Kim Mulkey	Louisiana Tech	Santa Ana
Tina Thompson	Houston Comets, LA Sparks, Seattle Storm	Los Angeles
Sabrina Ionescu	New York Liberty	Walnut Creek
Lisa Leslie	LA Sparks	Compton
Candace Parker	Chicago Sky	Lynwood
Devanei Hampton	California Golden Bears	Berkeley
Kelsey Plum	San Antonio Stars, Las Vegas Aces	Poway
Ashley Walker	Seattle Storm, Tulsa Shock, San Antonio Silver Stars, Washington Mystics	Stockton
Reshanda Gray	Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream	Los Angeles
Diana Taurasi	Phoenix Mercury	Glendale
Brittany Boyd	New York Liberty	Berkeley
Katie Lou Samuelson	Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings, Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks	Huntington Beach
Layshia Clarendon	Indiana Fever	San Bernardino
Alexis Gray-Lawson	Washington Mystics, Phoenix Mercury	Oakland
Adia Barnes	The University of Arizona Wildcats Women's basketball team	San Diego
Dijonai Carrington	Connecticut Sun	San Diego
Natalie Nakase	Las Vegas Aces, UCLA Women's basketball team	Anaheim
Trisha Stafford	Houston Comets, Miami Sol	Ladera Heights
Monique Billings	UCLA Women's basketball team, Atlanta Dream	Riverside
Cappie Pondexter	Phoenix Mercury, New York Liberty, Chicago Sky	Oceanside