We conducted a thorough analysis of NBA players who have reached the NBA Finals throughout history and their alma maters to find out which schools produce the most NBA champions.
The excitement college basketball powerhouses provide doesn’t stop at the collegiate court. College basketball programs are often a breeding ground for future NBA stars. These programs continually produce players who not only make it to the NBA but also win championships.
At Fadeaway World, we were curious to know the relationship between college basketball programs and the impact their alumni make in the NBA. To find out, we analyzed the rosters from all NBA teams that have ever made it to the Finals and the schools that NBA players on those teams attended. Read on to find out the colleges that produce the most NBA champions, have won the most rings, and more.
Key Findings
- UCLA, Kentucky, and UNC have produced the most individual players who won an NBA championship.
- Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, and UCLA alumni lead their NCAA conferences for the highest win share in the NBA playoffs.
- UCLA, UNC, and Kentucky’s alumni have won the most NBA championship rings.
- The Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Indiana Pacers are predicted to win future championships based on where players went to college.
Colleges That Produce The Most Individual NBA Champs
Playing basketball at the college level alone requires talent, dedication, and hard work. These players spend hours in the gym working on perfecting their footwork, sharpening their shooting, learning different plays, and more, all while trying to maintain their grades. We figured winning NCAA championships might point us in the right direction toward schools that produce NBA champions.
In the world of college ball, three schools hold the most winning NCAA titles. UCLA leads, followed by Kentucky and then UNC.
For the select few whose talent stands out from thousands of others across the world, the hours of practice don’t end with their college experience. These players go on to join the ranks of basketball’s most elite professionals in the NBA. While UCLA, UK, and UNC frequently come out on top during March Madness, their players also tend to excel past the NCAA stage.
Just as in college, there’s no greater glory in the NBA than winning a championship, and we were curious to know which school’s alumni have won the most NBA championships. The answer points back to the top three schools that dominate the NCAA: UCLA, UNC, Kentucky, and Kansas. Although Kansas lands at number five for most NCAA championships.
UCLA, UNC, and Kentucky’s alumni have produced the most individual champs in the NBA. UCLA leads with 23 alumni winning a championship, followed by UNC with 19 and Kentucky with 18. Although some of these alumni have won multiple championships, in this number, we’re only counting one win for each alumni.
Colleges That Produce The Most NBA Champs
Although some colleges don’t have the bragging rights of multiple NCAA championships, their alumni still produce some champions in the NBA. Schools like Arizona, Ohio State, Oregon State, and Texas made the top 10 list for most NBA champs.
Colleges With The Most NBA Championship Rings
With each NBA championship win comes an iconic symbol of success for each player: the championship ring. While producing an NBA champion is an honor in itself, we were curious to know which school’s alumni have won the most championships and, therefore, hold the most rings.
Tied for the alumni with the most NBA rings are UCLA and UNC, both with 37 rings. Kentucky trails behind for third place with 26 rings.
With impressive ring counts, it’s important to point out that, in many cases, individual players contributed multiple times to the ring count. For example, UNC alumni Michael Jordan won six NBA rings, and James Worthy won three NBA rings. UCLA’s historic basketball rosters are also filled with impressive champs, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who leads with six NBA rings and is trailed by Jamaal Wilkes, who has four. Kentucky’s Frank Ramsey — the original “sixth man,” has won seven NBA rings, the most out of any UK alumni.
Colleges With The Most NBA Championship Rings
Despite winning only six NBA championships, San Francisco made it in the top four for most NBA rings. Tied with Ohio State, the Bay Area school earned 25 rings, with alumni players winning championships multiple times. Basketball legend, Bill Russell, won 11 championships during his NBA career and still holds the title for most rings. Russell’s college roommate K.C. Jones also made a splash in the NBA, winning eight championships with Russell as a player for the Celtics.
Colleges With The Most NBA Finals Appearances
Securing a spot in the NBA Finals, even if your team doesn’t end up winning, is a huge accomplishment worthy of celebration. The journey to the biggest basketball stage is a testament to each player’s extraordinary skill set that allows them to go toe-to-toe with the league’s finest. Although only one team wins it all, reaching the NBA finals is an unforgettable milestone in a player’s career.
This is why we wanted to consider the schools who have sent their alumni to the NBA finals most, regardless of the outcome. Excluding multiple appearances from one player, we calculated how many individual players from each college made it to the finals.
Leading this category as well is UCLA, who has had 70 alumni in the NBA finals, followed by UNC with 63 players and Kentucky with 49 players.
Colleges With The Most NBA Finals Appearances
While each player comes with a unique ability, the university they attend helps to shape their skills. Along with UCLA and UNC, Kentucky has had a historically top-tier basketball program, and when we look at the NBA, Kentucky has had more players drafted into the association than any other school.
Colleges And Conferences With Alumni That Contribute The Most In NBA Playoffs
It’s no surprise that performing at the highest level comes with its fair share of pressure. Players have to have unwavering mental strength to complement their physical skills. While the whole team makes it to the finals, some players contribute more than others to the win.
To consider which school’s alumni perform the best under the pressure of the NBA playoffs and find out what contribution they make to their team’s wins, we considered each player’s win share score. Win share is a statistic that attempts to measure a player’s overall contribution to their team’s success. In other words, it tells us the portion of a team’s wins that a player is responsible for. The metric considers players’ minutes played and offensive and defensive contributions to each game and reports it as a single number.
For each school, we calculated win share by considering the sum of the win share of all of the school’s alumni in the playoffs. The highest total win share in the NBA finals is held by alumni from UNC, UCLA, and Kansas.
NBA Playoff Win Share By College
Then we looked at which schools had the top win share for each “Power Five” NCAA conference.
In the ACC, Duke leads with a win share of 63.4, followed by Clemson and Notre Dame. In the Big Ten, Michigan State leads with a win share of 117.30, followed by Minnesota and Indiana. In the Big 12, Kansas leads with a win share of 152.7, followed by Houston and Texas. In the Pac-12, UCLA leads with a win share of 210.2, followed by Arizona and Oregon State. In the SEC, Kentucky leads with a win share of 130.9, followed by LSU and Florida.
The NBA Teams Most Likely To Succeed — Or Not
As history gives us a glimpse into the type of NBA players colleges produce, we took that data to predict how well each NBA team is stacked with their current roster. By looking at which schools players attended, we are able to predict which teams are most likely to win future championships and the teams that are likely to perform worse.
NBA Future Champions
Each of the schools on our “Most Champions per College” list was assigned points based on how many individual NBA champions they produced. The schools with a higher number of champions received higher points on the scale. Using these points, we took each NBA team’s current roster and assigned points to each player based on who attended a school that produced champions. This way, we recognized schools that have a history of producing champions and used that information to assess the value of NBA players based on their college affiliations.
The most champion-stacked teams that we predict will win future championships are the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Indiana Pacers. Unlike the Lakers, who have won a fair amount of NBA championships, the Hornets and Pacers have both never won one. With a roster of well-performing alumni from powerhouse schools, it may just be what these teams need to finally clinch the title!
The teams we predict will regress in future seasons are the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, and the Washington Wizards.
Conclusion
As college basketball players work to win championships for their schools along with pursuing their degrees, they are also training to hopefully take their athletic skills to the next level on the NBA court. When they get there, history has shown us how they’re likely to perform.
Regardless of the school, many basketball programs have the potential to produce future NBA champions, even if they’re not known for having a top-ten basketball program. Many schools that haven’t won many or any NCAA championships have produced alumni who win championships on the NBA stage.
To stay updated on all things NBA and learn more about how college has made an impact on these professional players, check out Fadeaway World’s NBA section.
NBA Finals Analysis By College
Methodology
In July 2023, we conducted a thorough analysis of NBA players who have reached the NBA Finals throughout history. Using data from Basketball – Reference, we considered each player and the University they graduated from. In calculating champions and NBA Finals appearances, all players were only counted once despite winning multiple championships or appearing in the finals multiple times. In our count for most rings, we considered multiple rings a player had. To predict the future champions, each of the schools on our “Most Champions per College” list was assigned points based on a scale of how many NBA champions they produced. The schools with a higher number of champions received higher points on the scale, with the highest point value being 15.
