Some greatest UCLA basketball players were in the UCLA at once. Some of the greatest UCLA players who delivered the best outcomes in matches are David Meyers, Kiki Vandeweghe, Arron Afflalo, Lucius Allen, Tracy Murray, etc. In this article, let us discuss such wonderful UCLA players in detail.
Greatest UCLA Basketball Players:
1. Kareem Abdul Jabbar: (1966-69)
He was born on April 16, 1947. He is a retired basketball player from America. This basketball player is famous for getting two honors such as
- Oscar Robertson Trophy (1967, 1968)
- Naismith Award (1969)
Almost, the player played in 90 games over his three years of service. In all those games, he just lost only two games. The player never missed an NCAA Tournament game. While playing this game, he got 30 points almost 27 times. He is popular for making a record in school history with his top score. In 1967, he made the record 61 points against Washington State.
2. Bill Walton: (1971-1974)
Bill was born in La Mesa, California, the USA. At present, he is 69 years old. This player won the Oscar Robertson Trophy consecutively three times. It was in the years, 1972, 1973, and 1974. It was during his period that UCLA won the record 88 consecutive games.
In tournament history, one of the championship games against Memphis is considered as the greatest individual performance. Thus, Walton is one among three bruins to get better than 20 points for his career.
3. Sidney Wicks: (1968-1971)
The player is popular for winning the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1971. UCLA can win around 29 of 30 games. Wicks cleared out the match with 18.6 points per game and thus, come as first-team All-America honors. Additionally, Wicks got the most outstanding player award at the Final Tour game of 1970.
4. Reggie Miller: (1983-1987)
He was born on August 24, 1965, in Riverside, California. He is an American retired basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers throughout his 18-year NBA career. This player was popular for three-point shooting with great precision. He is much clever to handle pressure situations. For instance, consider his match against the New York Knicks where he got the nickname as ‘Knick Killer.’
After his retirement, he made the record for his 3-point field goals. At present, he stays at the second behind Ray Allen. During the five-time All-Star selection, Miller led the team. With its great leadership, they won the gold medal in the Summer Olympics 1996. Thus, the retired professional is always the greatest player of all time on the Indiana Pacers team.
At present, the player works as an NBA commentator for the team TNT. He was formally introduced in the special ceremony which is Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 7, 2012.
5. Russell Westbrook: (2006-2008)
Russell was born on November 12, 1988, in Long Beach, California. He is a great American basketball player who was in the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. He became the NBA All-Star nine times and got the Most Valuable Award from NBA in the 2016-17 seasons.
Furthermore, the player worked as a team member for All-NBA eight times. The player led the league perfectly and won the matches in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons. Thus, he won the consecutive awards, ‘NBA All-Star Most Valuable Player’ in 2015 and 2016.
Then, in 2017, the player won the league MVP award and thus he became one of the two players to get a triple-double in a season. Then, the next season, he went on average triple-double scores and led the league perfectly. Thus, the player is the first to lead the league in terms of points. Furthermore, he is the first to assist the team in multiple seasons. Finally, the player got the second position for triple-doubles in NBA history.
Also read: World’s 10 Richest Soccer Players and Their Net Worth
6. Kiki VanDeWeghe: (1976-1980)
His full name is Ernest Maurice Kiki VanDeWeghe III. He was born on August 1, 1958, in Wiesbaden, West Germany. He works as a basketball executive in America. He also holds the position of Executive Vice President of the Basketball Operations of the NBA. He is a retired basketball professional and formerly known as the General Manager of the
- Denver Nuggets
- New Jersey Nets
In addition to his above works, he is also a head coach of the New Jersey Nets. The interesting fact is that he is the son of the former NBA player, Ernie VanDeWeghe and Colleen Kay Hutchins. His mother was the winner of Miss American Pageant in 1952. The player, Coco VanDeWeghe has a niece who is a professional tennis player.
Kiki married Peggy with whom he has one son, Ernest Maurice Kiki VanDeWeghe IV. He was born in 2002.
Coming to his profession, he is an excellent UCLA basket player who scored an average of 20 points for 7 consecutive seasons. He was popular for playing in such a way with a step-back move known as ‘Kiki Move.’ During his career, his team was qualified for 12 NBA playoffs seasons out of his 13 seasons. But none of the teams didn’t win the NBA championship.
7. Baron Davis: (1997-1999)
The player’s full name is Baron Walter Louis Davis who was born on April 13, 1979. He is a former basketball player and worked as a studio analyst for the NBA. Baron is a two-time star of the NBA. The player played in the NBA for various teams such as
- New Orleans Hornets
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Golden State Warriors
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- New York Knicks
Davis is popular for playing college basketball at UCLA. The player was popular during his school days as a star high school player.
8. Darren Collison: (2005-2009)
Darren Collison is a professional basketball player from America. He was born on August 23, 1987. Darren played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 10 seasons but five different teams. During his first season in the NBA, he got the NBA All-Rookie Team honors for his wonderful playing skills. At that time, he was playing for the team, New Orleans Hornets.
Darren worked four seasons for the UCLA Bruins of college basketball. Then, he is honored with All-Pac-10 conference honors thrice. He also won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award. Other teams with whom Darren played include
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Indiana Pacer
- Sacramento Kings
- Dallas Mavericks
9. Dave Meyers
David William Meyers is a former American basketball player who was born in San Diego, California. At present, his age is 68 years old. He is popular for playing for the Milwaukee Bucks Team of the NBA. For the UCLA Bruins, he played as a forward college basketball player. Furthermore, the man won the second national championship while playing with UCLA. Almost he played four years with the Bucks professionally.
10. Jrue Holiday: (2008-2009)
Jrue Randall Holiday was born on June 12, 1990, in Chatsworth, LA. He is a professional basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Bucks team of the NBA. In one of his seasons, he played with the UCLA Bruins.
Holiday is a great player who played four seasons for Philadelphia. During his fourth season with Philadelphia, he was honored with an NBA All-Star title. Then, in 2013, he moved to play for the New Orleans Pelicans. Jrue is an NBA All-Defensive team player two times.
11. Rod Foster
Roderick Allen Foster was born on October 10, 1960. He is a retired professional basketball player from America. He is popular for playing with the Phoenix Suns of the NBA. He was the main reason to lead his team to get the State Championship at St Thomas Aquinas in New Britain. In 2016, he was the coach for the basketball team at the Boys Varsity High School in Los Angeles.
Conclusion
Thus, this article gives you some idea about the greatest UCLA basketball players of all time. Still, there are many more players whom will come under this list. To know the details of such players, you can simply browse the net.
