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There are only so many basketball players who get to reach the mountaintop.
While there are over 350 Division I college basketball programs, only one of those teams gets to cut down the nets at the end of the NCAA Tournament. Once you get to the NBA, the odds of winning it all get even shorter, as only one of the 32 NBA teams gets to win the NBA Finals.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been players who have had the opportunity to scale both the collegiate and NBA mountaintop.
With that in mind, here’s a look at all the players who have won both a college and NBA championship in their basketball careers.
Have a hunch on which players will win the NBA Finals and/or NCAA Tournament this year? All of our favorite NBA betting sites and college basketball betting sites offer odds for who will win the NBA Finals and March Madness. These sportsbooks also have sign-up offers for new users in states where sports betting is legal.
How Many Players Have Won NCAA & NBA Championships?
There have been 34 NBA players who won an NCAA Championship in college and also won the NBA Finals:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Lucius Allen
- Shane Battier
- Henry Bibby
- Christian Braun
- Corey Brewer
- Quinn Buckner
- Mario Chalmers
- Quinn Cook
- Bob Cousey
- Anthony Davis
- Keith Erickson
- Arnie Ferrin
- Gail Goodrich
- Danny Green
- Richard Hamilton
- John Havlicek
- Magic Johnson
- Michael Jordan
- K.C. Jones
- Clyde Lovellette
- Jerry Lucas
- Frank Ramsey
- Glen Rice
- Bill Russell
- Marreese Speights
- Jason Terry
- Tom Thacker
- Isiah Thomas
- Billy Thompson
- Antoine Walker
- Bill Walton
- Jamaal Wilkes
- James Worthy
Players With NCAA & NBA Championships in Back-to-Back Years
That list gets even shorter when you narrow it down to players who won NCAA and NBA titles in back-to-back years. Only five players won an NCAA championship during their final year in college, then won an NBA championship the following year as an NBA rookie.
- Bill Russell (San Francisco Dons 1956, Boston Celtics 1957)
- Henry Bibby (UCLA Bruins 1972, New York Knicks 1973)
- Magic Johnson (Michigan State Spartans 1979, Los Angeles Lakers 1980)
- Billy Thompson (Louisville Cardinals 1986, Los Angeles Lakers 1987)
- Christian Braun (2022 Kansas Jayhawks, 2023 Denver Nuggets)
Bill Russell
One of the best NCAA basketball players of all time, Russell was a force in college for the Dons. He was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 1955 before being named the College Basketball Player of the Year in 1956.
Russell was originally drafted by the St. Louis Hawks, who promptly traded him to the Boston Celtics.
That transaction set off one of the best runs in NBA history. Russell averaged 14.7 points and an NBA-leading 19.6 rebounds per game as a rookie, helping the Celtics defeat the Hawks in seven games to win the Finals.
Russell went on to win 10 more NBA Championships with the Celtics before retiring in 1969, finishing with an NBA-record 11 titles as a player.
Henry Bibby
Another player who entered the NBA on the back of a college dynasty, Bibby won three consecutive titles with UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden prior to entering the NBA.
The Bruins won the last 45 games he played in as part of their 88-game win streak, and he averaged 15.7 points per game in his senior season.
Bibby was then selected by the Knicks with the 58th pick in the 1972 NBA Draft, serving as a reserve on their 1973 championship team. He went on to have a nine-year NBA career, including a three-year run as a starter for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Magic Johnson
Arguably the greatest point guard in NBA history, Johnson starred at Michigan State, where he was one of the best players in college basketball history and had an incredible rivalry with Indiana State’s Larry Bird. Johnson bested Bird and the Sycamores in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game with 24 points, winning Final Four Most Outstanding Player for his efforts.
Johnson was then drafted No. 1 overall by the Lakers in the 1979 NBA Draft. Teaming up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson was an All-Star as a rookie and helped Los Angeles defeat the 76ers in six games in the Finals.
Johnson went on to win four more NBA Finals in his Hall of Fame career, including two against his old nemesis, Bird.
Billy Thompson
Like Johnson, Thompson was also drafted by the Lakers, albeit after they had already become a powerhouse. Thompson averaged 14 points per game for Louisville during his senior year and was a key offensive cog for a Cardinals team that defeated Duke by three points in the 1986 NCAA Championship.
He was drafted No. 19 by the Hawks in the 1986 Draft but was traded to the Lakers on Draft Day. Thompson came off the bench as Los Angeles won back-to-back championships (1986-87 and 1987-88).
He spent one more year with the Lakers before joining the Miami Heat when they entered the NBA as an expansion team.
Christian Braun
The newest player on this list, Braun won three straight high school championships at Blue Valley Northwest HS in Overland Park, Kansas, before spending three years at the University of Kansas.
Braun was a starter on the Jayhawks’ championship team in 2022. He averaged 14.1 points per game his senior year and scored 12 points against North Carolina in the NCAA Championship.
He then joined NBA MVP Nikola Jokic in Denver, where he averaged 4.7 points per game in 76 games as a rookie. He stepped up in the Finals, scoring 15 points in Game 3 to help the Nuggets win their first NBA championship in franchise history.
Where to Bet on the NBA
Betting on the NBA is no different from betting on any other sport.
If you’re of legal sports betting age and are in a state with legalized sports betting, you can bet on basketball in person or at one of our favorite NBA betting sites.
NBA Futures Betting
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