All Time Top 5 Arizona Basketball players in the NBA

Eric Brown

TUCSON, AZ - JANUARY 12: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats watches from the sidelines during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at McKale Center on January 12, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

There have been 71 Arizona basketball players to play in the NBA, let’s take a look at the Top 5 NBA careers of them all.

The Arizona basketball team is one of the première college basketball teams ever. There have been 72 Wildcats who have made it to the next level. From the very first one, Morris Udall all the way back in 1948, to most recently Lauri Markannen and Kadeem Allen this year.

Here are the top five players from Arizona to make it to the NBA, based on their NBA Career.

Steve Kerr (1983-1988)

Once upon a time, Steve Kerr was the epitome of Arizona basketball. Oh, how times have changed. He is currently the main force behind the Golden State Warriors most recent title runs, coaching the team to 2 titles in the past three years.

When people think of Steve Kerr, they think of 2 things. Winning all the rings with the Chicago Bulls, and his ability to shoot the three-ball. What many don’t realize is that Kerr actually spent the first four seasons of his career with three different teams; Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic.

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After four years of moving around constantly, Kerr signed with the Chicago Bulls following the 92-93 season. He would go on to win four championships with the Bulls from 96-99, he also won a ring with the San Antonio Spurs during the 2003 season, which coincidentally would be his last in the Association.

Kerr never was the go-to player on any team he ever played for, after all, the highest point total he ever averaged was 8.6 during his first season with the Chicago Bulls. He is widely known in NBA lore as one of the best 3-point shooters to ever play the game. In 910 games played, he made 726 three’s at a 45% clip. Remember, this was before the 3-point shot became popular. So those numbers may look minuscule compared to modern NBA, but those numbers are otherworldly.

Sean Elliott (1985-1989)

If this were a list of best college careers of players who have played at Arizona, Elliott would more than likely be 1st. However, this is not that. Sean Elliott was a very good pro basketball player, but he wasn’t as good as the previous three mentioned players.

During Elliott’s time at Arizona, he won many awards, most notably the John R Wooden Award for the best college basketball player, the Adolph Rupp Trophy and given the AP Player of the Year Award all for 1989. During that stellar senior season, he averaged 22 PPG 7 RPG and five APG. The team would only reach the Sweet Sixteen that season.

When he was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs, he was expected to be the main factors on the team with David Robinson, who the team had drafted two years before but he could not play due to military requirements.

A two-time all-star, Elliott never reached the level of stardom that he had achieved during his time in college, but he was still an above-average NBA player. By anybody’s standards. The modern generation would simply not understand why Sean was considered a great player if they were to just look at his stats, one must watch the video to fully grasp the notion that he was a stud.

Mandatory Credit: Todd Warshaw /GETTY images

Mike Bibby (1996-1998)

Bibby was born to play basketball. He just has it in his blood. After all, his dad is a former professional basketball player who played nine seasons in the NBA. His dad is one of four players to have ever won three National Championships in college. The Bibbys’ just know how to win.

During the young Bibby’s time here at Arizona, he amazed crowds with his flashy passes. In the two years he played, he averaged 15 PPG and five APG.

Bibby was selected 2nd overall by the now defunct Vancouver Grizzlies, and he earned All-Rookie honors in his first season that was shortened because of a labor dispute. In his 3rd season, Bibby was traded to the Kings. In Sacramento he formed a dynamic duo with future HOF Chris Webber, they eventually lost out to the Lakers in the WCF.

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Bibby and Webber very well could have a ring to their names if it weren’t for the refs inexcusably throwing the game in favor of the Lakers. It was revealed years later by the infamous ref, Tim Donaghy that the NBA told him and his crew to fix game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

Later in his career, Bibby became more a backup journeyman to younger point guards. That’s not a bad role for someone who was simply getting older and couldn’t produce the same numbers he once had when he was younger.

You can currently check out Mike Bibby in the newly formed Big 3 League, a league that was created by former rapper Ice Cube. In an effort to re-associate the stars of the past with the newer generation, he came up with the idea of a 3-on-3 league for retired players that are well past their prime.

Richard Jefferson (1998-2001)

Gilbert Arenas and Richard Jefferson could not be any more opposite of players. Unlike Arenas, Richard Jefferson has always been a well-liked teammate among, along with being like by the entire NBA community.

During RJ’s time at Arizona, he was a role player on a team that reached the national title game in 2001. The most he ever averaged in a season was 11 points, that isn’t exactly earth shattering. Yet he turned being a role player for college championship contender, into a nearly 15 year, and still playing career. Very well done RJ.

In his first seven seasons in the NBA, Jefferson was one of the key cogs that ran the Brooklyn Nets. They reached back to back NBA Finals with Richard, Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin at the helm. We are far off the days that Jefferson would ever be considered a key contributor for a team now, but he is still making a decent dent in the Cleveland Cavaliers rotation.

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Throughout his career, Jefferson made it known that he was willing to play for whoever, as long as the opportunity was right for the moment. As of the 2016 season, he had played for seven teams over 15 years. Usually, an NBA Journeyman is a player who is not good enough to stick around, that is simply not the case with Jefferson, as he routinely decided to take less money for a chance to win a ring.

That situation finally worked out. In the 2015-2016 season, he finally won a ring with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After years of hard work and dedication, Jefferson finally reached his ultimate goal of winning a title.

Here’s to you and yours, Richard Jefferson:

25 Mar 2001: Arizona Wildcats guard Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas (1999-2001)

During Arenas’ short time at Arizona, he only played here for two years. He amazed everyone that sat in the seats of the McKale Center. In his short time at Zona, he averaged 16 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Those may not be eye-popping numbers, but for a team that reached the title game in his sophomore season, the numbers are very good.

After his sophomore season, Arenas decided to enter the NBA draft. Despite a stellar tournament run, his stock fell. He ended up falling all the way down to the 31st selection, being drafted by the Golden State Warriors. There are not many solid players from the 2001 NBA draft, and the fact he fell to 31 shows how many teams passed on a very solid young player.

Despite becoming a locker room enigma in his later years, Arenas had an amazing career. Over a 12 year career, he averaged over 20 points a game. Throw in four rebounds and five assists, and you get a player who was known for his ability to score when the team needed.

At the peak of his career, Arenas’ may have been the NBA’s best pure scorer, outside of Kobe Bryant. In a 3-year span from 2004-2006, he averaged over 26 points per game, almost reaching 30 in the 2005 season. When it came to shooting, Gilbert never was considered a ‘lights out shooter,’ but 42% from the field and 35% made 3-pointers is respectable, especially in the era before the 3-point shot took over.

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2010 was the year that things had begun to unravel for the once dynamic player. On New Year’s day, reports began to circulate that, he and teammate Javaris Crittenton began to argue in the locker room earlier that day, then proceeded to flash each other guns that they had stored in their lockers. Arenas ended up pleading guilty to the situation after an investigation to carrying an unlicensed pistol. Five days after the original event, the NBA stepped in and made a major statement by suspending him for the rest of the season after he pretended to shoot his teammates with “gun fingers” during a huddle.

During the next season, Arenas was traded to the Orlando Magic. He was then waved after a disappointing season., The Memphis Grizzlies decided to take a chance, but he blew the chance, and it never worked out. After the season he signed to play one season in China after that, Arenas’ professional career as a basketball player was over.

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Despite having one of the most controversial careers of anybody to ever play in the NBA, nobody can deny the fact that Gilbert Arenas is the best Wildcat to ever play in the NBA in my opinion. There was once a point that one could he was a top five player during a few years in the middle of his career.

Eric Brown