Does winning an NCAA Tournament make you more likely to get a ring in the NBA?
Hundreds of players have cut the nets at the end of March Madness, cementing their legacies forever in the eyes of their peers. Many have gone on to make the NBA, and even fewer have gone on to also hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Only 57 players, to be exact. Here’s the full list.

NCAA Champions Who Went on To Win NBA Titles
Player | NCAA national championships | NBA championships |
Howie Dallmar | Stanford (1942) | Philadelphia Warriors (1947) |
Arnie Ferrin | Utah (1944) | Minneapolis Lakers (1949, ’50) |
Jim Pollard | Stanford (1942) | Lakers (1949, ’50, ’52 to ’54) |
Herm Schaefer | Indiana (1940) | Lakers (1949, ’50) |
Clyde Lovellette | Kansas (1952) | Lakers (1954); Boston Celtics (1963, ’64) |
Dick Farley | Indiana (1953) | Syracuse Nationals (1955) |
Tom Gola | La Salle (1954) | Warriors (1956) |
Bob Cousy | Holy Cross (1947) | Celtics (1957, ’59 to ’63) |
Frank Ramsey | Kentucky (1951) | Celtics (1957, ’59 to ’64) |
Bill Russell | San Francisco (1955, ’56) | Celtics (1957, ’59 to ’66, ’68, ’69) |
Lou Tsioropoulos | Kentucky (1951) | Celtics (1957, ’59) |
Cliff Hagan | Kentucky (1951) | St. Louis Hawks (1958) |
K.C. Jones | San Francisco (1955, ’56) | Celtics (1959 to ’66) |
John Havlicek | Ohio State (1960) | Celtics (1963 to ’66, ’68, ’69, ’74, ’76) |
Larry Siegfried | Ohio State (1960) | Celtics (1964 to ’66, ’68, ’69) |
Ron Bonham | Cincinnati (1962) | Celtics (1965, ’66) |
Tom Thacker | Cincinnati (1961, ’62) | Celtics (1968) |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | UCLA (1967 to ’69) | Milwaukee Bucks (1971); Los Angeles Lakers (1980, ’82, ’85, ’87, ’88) |
Lucius Allen | UCLA (1967, ’68) | Bucks (1971) |
Keith Erickson | UCLA (1964, ’65) | Lakers (1972) |
Gail Goodrich | UCLA (1964, ’65) | Lakers (1972) |
Henry Bibby | UCLA (1970 to ’72) | New York Knicks (1973) |
Jerry Lucas | Ohio State (1960) | Knicks (1973) |
Jamaal Wilkes | UCLA (1972, ’73) | Golden State Warriors (1975); Lakers (1980, ’82, ’85) |
Bill Walton | UCLA (1972, ’73) | Portland Trail Blazers (1977); Celtics (1986) |
Magic Johnson | Michigan State (1979) | Lakers (1980, ’82, ’85, ’87, ’88) |
Butch Lee | Marquette (1977) | Lakers (1980) |
Rick Robey | Kentucky (1978) | Celtics (1981) |
Quinn Buckner | Indiana (1976) | Celtics (1984) |
James Worthy | North Carolina (1982) | Lakers (1985, ’87, ’88) |
Billy Thompson | Louisville (1986) | Lakers (1987, ’88) |
Milt Wagner | Louisville (1986) | Lakers (1988) |
Isiah Thomas | Indiana (1981) | Detroit Pistons (1989, ’90) |
Michael Jordan | North Carolina (1982) | Chicago Bulls (1991–93, ’96–98) |
Rodney McCray | Louisville (1980) | Bulls (1993) |
Glen Rice | Michigan (1989) | Lakers (2000) |
Richard Hamilton | UConn (1999) | Pistons (2004) |
Corliss Williamson | Arkansas (1994) | Pistons (2004) |
Nazr Mohammad | Kentucky (1996, ’98) | San Antonio Spurs (2005) |
Derek Anderson | Kentucky (1996) | Miami Heat (2006) |
Antoine Walker | Kentucky (1996) | Heat (2006) |
Corey Brewer | Florida (2006, ’07) | Dallas Mavericks (2011) |
Jason Terry | Arizona (1997) | Mavericks (2011) |
Shane Battier | Duke (2001) | Heat (2012, ’13) |
Mario Chalmers | Kansas (2008) | Heat (2012, ’13) |
Danny Green | North Carolina (2009) | Spurs (2014); Toronto Raptors (2019); Lakers (2020) |
Brandon Rush | Kansas (2008) | Warriors (2015) |
Marreese Speights | Florida (2007) | Warriors (2015) |
Sasha Kaun | Kansas (2008) | Cleveland Cavaliers (2016) |
Quinn Cook | Duke (2015) | Warriors (2018); Lakers (2020) |
Anthony Davis | Kentucky (2012) | Lakers (2020) |
Mamadi Diakite | Virginia (2019) | Bucks (2021) |
Donte DiVincenzo | Villanova (2016, ’18) | Bucks (2021) |
Justin Jackson | North Carolina (2017) | Bucks (2021) |
Christian Braun | Kansas (2022) | Denver Nuggets (2023) |
Collin Gillespie | Villanova (2018) | Nuggets (2023) |
Al Horford | Florida (2006, ’07) | Celtics (2024) |
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