Former Kentucky coach John Calipari poses with several NBA All-Star Kentucky alums during the 2024 All-Star Game.
For the 13th straight year, Kentucky entered the 2024-25 season as the school with the most current NBA players. Duke trailed by a handful of players, while UCLA ranked No. 3.
Below is a list of the top universities that have produced current NBA players, along with the most notable from each school.
1. Kentucky: 29 players
Key players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Davis
Gilgeous-Alexander is probably the favorite in the Kia MVP race, closing in on his first scoring title (33 ppg) and leading the Thunder to a second straight No. 1 seed in the West.
Davis is the most decorated of the active Wildcats with 10 All-Star selections, five All-Defensive berths and status as one of the Top 75 honorees. The Dallas big man hasn’t played in six weeks since his Mavs debut.
2. Duke: 24 players
Key players: Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum
Irving’s season ended March 3 with a torn ACL, but he already was the top Blue Devil in NBA terms, leading Duke alumni in points (18,433), assists (4,364) and All-Star appearances (nine).
Tatum arrived in the NBA six years after Irving but has played only about 200 fewer games. Having just turned 27, he has another decade or so to pass Irving and most other Dukies in career achievements.
3. UCLA: 14 players
Key players: Russell Westbrook and Jrue Holiday
Fellow Bruin Kevin Love called Westbrook “the best athlete in the NBA” soon after they were drafted in 2008 and it has proven true. He won the MVP in 2017 as the only player to average a triple-double since Oscar Robertson 55 years earlier — then posted those numbers in three more seasons.
Defensive ace Holiday spent the first 11 seasons of his NBA career somewhat underappreciated. Then he helped the Bucks win a ring in his first season in Milwaukee (2020-21) and did the same thing with Boston last season.
4. Arizona: 12 players
Key player: Lauri Markkanen
Only one 7-footer in NBA history has made more 3-pointers than Markkanen, and Dirk Nowitzki (1,982) played 21 seasons. Markkanen (1,142 career 3-pointers through March 17) is wrapping up his eighth.
5. Arkansas: 11 players
Key player: Bobby Portis
Coming off the bench for most of his 10-year career, the former No. 22 pick has averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds per 36 minutes and became a folk hero in the Bucks’ title run in 2021.
6. Gonzaga: 11 players
Key player: Domantas Sabonis
The son of Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis has had 384 double-doubles in his career, fifth-most in the league since he arrived in 2016.
7. Kansas: 11 players
Key player: Joel Embiid
One of the NBA’s great what-if stories, the Sixers center has been beset with injuries, averaging just 50 appearances over the past nine seasons while missing his first two entirely.
8. USC: 11 players
Key player: DeMar DeRozan
Rapidly closing in on 25,000 career points, a milestone only 26 others have reached in league history, DeRozan as a pro has scored more than 50% more than the No. 2 USC alum (Nikola Vučević).
9. Michigan: 10 players
Key player: Franz Wagner
Drafted eighth in 2021, Wagner has scored 20-plus points in 121 games and has had 13 performances so far this season with at least 25+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists.
10. Texas: 10 players
Key player: Kevin Durant
One of the NBA’s smoothest and most prolific scorers, Durant has made 15 All-Star appearances while becoming one of only eight NBA players to reach 30,000 points.
11. Baylor: 10 players
Key player: Taurean Prince
Of the school’s 31 NBA players, 17 have emerged in the past 10 years. That includes Milwaukee’s Prince, who has hit 38% of his 3-pointers while playing for six franchises in his nine seasons.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.
