While UConn isn't considered a blue blood, at least not yet, the program has had great success in the 21st century.
The Huskies have won four national championships in the 21st century, which is the most among all men's college basketball teams. UConn has five titles dating back to 1999 and could add a sixth soon.
Throughout its history, UConn hasn't just been a formidable college team; it has also produced a multitude of NBA talent from Hall-of-Famers to role players.
The 2024 NBA Draft will likely feature the next wave of UConn players to enter the league. Until then, let's take a look at the best NBA players to come out of UConn.
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Top 10 all-time NBA players from UConn
1. Ray Allen
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 1993-1996 | 101 | 19.0 | 6.0 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 48.7% | 44.8% |
| NBA | 1996-2014 | 1300 | 18.9 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 45.2% | 40% |
Ray Allen is the only Hall of Famer to come out of UConn so far, and he's also one of the top players on this list who didn't win a national championship with the Huskies.
Nonetheless, the sharpshooter averaged 19 points on 48.7 percent field-goal shooting and 44.8 percent 3-point shooting in his three seasons with UConn. The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him with the No. 5 pick in the 1996 draft but immediately traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks in a deal involving Stephon Marbury.
He finished his career as a two-time NBA champion, 10-time All-Star, and made the most 3-pointers in NBA history before Stephen Curry broke his record. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
2. Richard Hamilton
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 1996-1999 | 103 | 19.8 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 42.6% | 37.8% |
| NBA | 1999-2013 | 921 | 17.1 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 44.9% | 34.6% |
Hamilton is one of few NBA players who's won both an NCAA championship and NBA title.
Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Davis are a couple of recent names to have accomplished this, as well. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell headline the all-time list of players.
Hamilton led the UConn Huskies to a 34-2 record and NCAA championships in the 1998-99 season as a junior.
He was later drafted by the Washington Wizards with the No. 7 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and was traded to the Detroit Pistons ahead of the 2002-03 season. He helped lead the Pistons to an NBA championship in 2004.
He finished his NBA career with three All-Star appearances.
3. Kemba Walker
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 2008-2011 | 111 | 16.1 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 42.8% | 32.6% |
| NBA | 2011-2023 | 750 | 19.3 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 41.8% | 36% |
Perhaps the most well-known UConn alum, Kemba Walker was the lead guy on a memorable 2011 Huskies team.
Walker dominated in his junior season, averaging 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game en route to a 32-9 record. The Huskies earned a No. 3 seed in the Big Dance after winning five games in five days to capture the Big East title.
Maybe the most memorable moment of the entire 2011 season was Walker's step-back game-winner in the Big East quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden.
The Huskies entered the NCAA Tournament with a 21-9 record and finished on an 11-game win streak to capture the championship.
Walker made four All-Star games in the NBA, spending most of his time with the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets. The Bobcats drafted him No. 9 overall in the 2011 draft. He also spent time with the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Dallas Mavericks.
4. Caron Butler
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 2000-2002 | 63 | 18.0 | 7.6 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 46.5% | 36.4% |
| NBA | 2002-2016 | 881 | 14.1 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 43.4% | 34.8% |
Caron Butler only spent two seasons at UConn before the Miami Heat drafted him with the No. 10 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft.
Butler played his best days with the Washington Wizards alongside Gilbert Arenas and Antwan Jamison. In his two All-Star seasons, he averaged 19.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game on 46.4 percent field-goal shooting.
The 6-7 wing carved himself a 14-year career through gritty defense, but he switched teams often in the latter half of his career.
He was on the 2011 Dallas Mavericks championship team, but he never played during the playoffs. He was ruled out with injury after playing 29 regular season games.
5. Andre Drummond
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 2011-2012 | 34 | 10.0 | 7.6 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 53.8% | 0% (0/2) |
| NBA | 2012-2024 | 861 | 12.7 | 12.4 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 54.2% | 12.5% (15 of 120) |
Andre Drummond was a one-and-done at UConn, which was enough to land him in the lottery of the 2012 NBA Draft. After earning a spot on the Big East All-Freshman team, the Detroit Pistons drafted him with the No. 9 pick in the NBA Draft.
Since entering the NBA, Drummond has been one of the league's best rebounders. He led the league in this category four times, which came in a five-year span. His highest per-game average was 16.0 in 2017-18.
He's earned two All-Star spots and an All-NBA honor but has shifted into a backup role over the past few seasons.
6. Cliff Robinson
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 1985-1989 | 109 | 15.3 | 6.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 45.2% | 33.3% (4/12) |
| NBA | 1989-2007 | 1380 | 14.2 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 43.8% | 35.6% |
Cliff Robinson is the first player on this list to be drafted in the second round. He was drafted with the 36th-overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft.
Robinson played four seasons at UConn during the mid-to-late 1980s and went on to have an 18-year NBA career.
He averaged double-digit scoring figures for 14 NBA straight seasons and averaged 15.5 points per game through his first 15 NBA seasons. Robinson won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 1992-93 and earned an All-Star nod the following season.
7. Rudy Gay
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 2004-2006 | 64 | 13.6 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 46.1% | 37.8% |
| NBA | 2006-2023 | 1120 | 15.8 | 5.6 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 45.2% | 34.6% |
Rudy Gay could do a lot of things well on the court, and he proved that during his rookie season. The Houston Rockets drafted him No. 8 overall in the 2006 NBA Draft but traded him a few weeks later to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The 6-8 forward blossomed into a 20-point scorer through his prime. He reached at least 17 points per game in 10 seasons and double figures in 15 of 17 seasons.
Despite his scoring ability, he never made an All-Star or an All-NBA team. He was second in Most Improved Player voting in his sophomore NBA season.
While at UConn, he was a consensus All-American and earned Big East Rookie of the Year.
8. Ben Gordon
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 2001-2004 | 106 | 16.9 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 44% | 42.3% |
| NBA | 2004-2015 | 744 | 14.9 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 43.2% | 40.1% |
Ben Gordon was a member of a stacked 2003-04 UConn team that won the national championship. He was the leading scorer on a team that featured five other future NBA players, most notably Emeka Okafor.
Gordon brought that scoring ability to the NBA immediately. He averaged 15.1 points per game as a rookie, earning him the Sixth Man of the Year award and second place in the Rookie of the Year voting, behind Okafor.
The 6-3 guard averaged double-figure scoring for nine of his 11 NBA seasons, peaking at 21.4 points per game with the Chicago Bulls in 2006-07.
The Bulls selected him No. 3 overall in the 2004 NBA Draft, making him the second-highest drafted player on this list.
9. Emeka Okafor
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 2001-2004 | 103 | 13.8 | 10.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 4.3 | 59% | N/A |
| NBA | 2004-2018 | 616 | 12.0 | 9.7 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 51.2% | 0% (0/2) |
Emeka Okafor was Ben Gordon's running mate at UConn. The two entered college together as freshmen and left for the NBA Draft together. They even went back-to-back at No. 2 and No. 3 in the NBA Draft.
Okafor was a shot-blocking machine while at UConn, averaging 4.3 across three seasons. He helped the Huskies win a national championship in 2004, their second in program history.
He wasn't as dominant in the NBA, but he established himself as a solid starting center as a rookie, winning Rookie of the Year over former teammate Gordon.
The 6-10 center consistently averaged a double-double with points and rebounds until he suffered a neck injury that sidelined him for four seasons. He came back for one season in 2017-18 before ending his NBA career.
Okafor is the highest-drafted player on this list, going No. 2 to the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 NBA Draft.
10. Donyell Marshall
| Seasons | Games | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | |
| UConn | 1991-1994 | 91 | 18.1 | 7.6 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 48.7% | 30.6% |
| NBA | 1994-2009 | 957 | 11.2 | 6.7 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 43.5% | 35% |
Donyell Marshall had a dominant junior season at UConn, averaging 25.1, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game. It led him to be an All-American, Big East Player of the Year, and Big East Defensive Player of the Year.
The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him No. 4 overall in the 1994 NBA Draft. The Golden State Warriors traded for him midway through his rookie season, and he remained there for another five years.
Afterward, the forward bounced around the league for the remainder of his 15-year career. He was a solid scorer despite not sticking with one team for too long. He averaged double-figure points for nine seasons.
UConn players in NBA
There are currently four UConn players active in the NBA.
- Andre Drummond (Bulls)
- Jordan Hawkins (Pelicans)
- Andre Jackson Jr. (Bucks)
- Adama Sanogo (Bulls)
