15 Unheralded College Basketball Players Who Became NBA Stars

Sometimes superstars are taken at the top of the draft. But every now and then, they come from the most unexpected places…

THE ZION WILLIAMSON HYPE IS OFFICIALLY OUT OF CONTROL, and Zion may well be worth the hype, much like previous number one picks LeBron James and Tim Duncan. But not every NBA star is a former number one pick, and many stars were little more than a blip on the radar when they were drafted.

Never has that been clearer than in these 2019 NBA Finals, which feature five of the biggest recent NBA stars that were all quite unheralded coming out of college. Three more stars from the Conference Finals have far exceeded their college and draft expectations, and two others were a Game 7 away from taking their place. The NBA is still a superstar driven league, but stars are coming from more unexpected places than ever!

Let’s run down 15 of the biggest surprise NBA stars who blew away expectations and went on to far greater professional heights than anyone ever saw coming in college…

Pascal Siakam

2016, Round 1, Pick #27 2019 Most Improved Player candidate

Pascal Siakam may well be the 2019 Most Improved Player by the time you read this, and he’d certainly be deserving. A year ago at this time, most casual basketball fans had never even heard of Siakam after an off the radar career at New Mexico State. Siakam was a late first round pick but spent most of his rookie season in the G league, leading Raptors 905 to a championship while winning Finals MVP. Now here he is only two years later trying to repeat his accomplishments on basketball’s biggest stage.

Malcolm Brogdon

2016, Round 2, Pick #36 2017 Rookie of the Year

Malcolm Brogdon was a first team All American as a senior at Virginia, but few expected him to make much of a splash in the NBA. Brogdon slipped to the second round but exploded onto the scene as a rookie, becoming the first second round pick to win Rookie of the Year in over 50 years. This year Brogdon joined a hallowed club shooting at least 50% from the field, 40% from deep, and 90% from the line. The future is bright for The President.

C.J. McCollum

2013, Round 1, Pick #10 2016 Most Improved Player

You definitely watched C.J. McCollum in college, even if you don’t remember it. McCollum was the best player for Lehigh Mountain Hawks out of the Patriot League, and he put up 30 points to lead his 15 seed to a shocking upset over 2 seed Duke, the biggest Blue Devils upset in tournament history. Still, no one expected four consecutive 20 ppg seasons from McCollum, forming one of the league’s most devastating back courts with another small school stud, Damian Lillard from Weber State.

Draymond Green

2012, Round 2, Pick #35 3x champion, 2x All NBA, 3x All Star, 2017 Defensive Player of the Year, 5x All Defense

Perhaps you’ve heard of him? Draymond Green wasn’t exactly unheralded after leading Michigan State to two Final Fours, recording the seventh triple-double in NCAA tournament history. Still, no one expected much in the NBA from this undersized tweener, including then Warriors coach Mark Jackson who brought Draymond off the bench behind David Lee. Perhaps that’s why Jackson is calling the NBA Finals now while Steve Kerr leads Draymond and the Warriors in an attempt for their fourth title in five years.

Khris Middleton

2012, Round 2, Pick #39 1x All Star

Khris Middleton was a very ho hum dude that played for a nondescript Texas A&M Aggies team that won only one NCAA tournament game in Middleton’s three years there. That’s probably why Middleton slipped into the second round and never even seemed like much of a miss until the Bucks got Giannis Antetokounmpo too and saw Middleton blossom next to the Greek Freak. Now he’s an All Star and looks set to hit it big with a possible max contract payday this summer.

Klay Thompson

2011, Round 1, Pick #11 3x champion, 2x All NBA, 5x All Star, 1x All Defense

Klay Thompson is our second Warrior on the list, and he’s a different type of unheralded considering his father Mychal played for the Showtime Lakers and was the former number one pick. Like father, like son. Thompson has become the perfect modern shooting guard, with a shot to die for and terrific defense running off screens all game as one half of the Splash Brothers. He has become an absolutely vital cog in the Golden State Warriors machine.

Kawhi Leonard

2011, Round 1, Pick #15 1x champion, 1x Finals MVP, 3x All NBA, 3x All Star, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 5x All Defense

Kawhi Leonard was a top 50 recruit who chose his own path, heading to San Diego State in the MWC to ply his trade. Leonard was drafted in the middle of the first round, and few people batted an eye when the Pacers sent Leonard to San Antonio for veteran point guard George Hill. A few years later, Kawhi was guarding LeBron James in the NBA Finals, leading the Spurs dynasty to one last title and locking up both LeBron and a Finals MVP trophy. Now he’s back in the Finals for a third time, trying to do it again.

Jimmy Butler

2011, Round 1, Pick #30 2x All NBA, 4x All Star, 4x All Defense, 2015 Most Improved Player

Jimmy Butler was just a guy at Marquette, a hard worker who left everything on the court and worked his way into the last pick of the first round in 2011. Butler kept on working and became the NBA’s Most Improved Player a few years later, adding an impressive array of scoring and handling abilities to his already outstanding defense. Now Butler is one of the game’s leading players and a marquee free agent this summer.

Isaiah Thomas

2011, Round 2, Pick #60 1x All NBA, 2x All Star

It’s easy to forget about Isaiah Thomas, but it was just two seasons ago when IT put up 29 points a game for the Celtics and led them on an emotional playoff run. Thomas is just 5'9" and nearly went undrafted out of Washington, snagged with the final pick and bouncing around several NBA teams before exploding for the Celtics as the heart and soul of the team. He’s never been healthy again since that postseason run, but we’d be crazy to count a guy out the way he’s consistently proven his naysayers wrong.

Paul George

2010, Round 1, Pick #10 5x All NBA, 6x All Star, 4x All Defense, 2013 Most Improved Player

Are you noticing how many of these players ended up winning the Most Improved Player award? Paul George was not particularly well known out of Fresno State, but America got to know him in a hurry after repeated playoff runs with the Pacers against LeBron James and the Heat. Now PG is in Oklahoma City and has progressed even further, a finalist in this year’s MVP race and a worthy member of this year’s All Defense team. He’s now one of the league’s best two way players.

Rajon Rondo

2006, Round 1, Pick #21 1x champion, 1x All NBA, 4x All Star, 4x All Defense, 3x assists champ

Rajon Rondo is “that guy” now, the veteran bouncing from team to team and never really staying healthy, but we forget too easily just how great a player Playoff Rondo is. At one point, Rondo was just the odd fitting fifth starter for a loaded veteran Boston Celtics team, but Rondo more than proved he belonged with KG, Pierce, and Ray with his tenacious defense and outstanding passing. That’s all certainly far more than anyone ever saw from Rondo at Kentucky.

Kyle Lowry

2006, Round 1, Pick #24 1x All NBA, 5x All Star

Don’t look now, but yes, that’s a third Raptors starter on the list. Masai Ujiri has really built something special in Toronto. Lowry didn’t come with much pedigree out of Villanova, and he struggled to make a consistent impact for the Grizzlies and Rockets before finally landing in The North and turning into an All Star late in his 20s in a rare late breakout. Lowry is more than the numbers, constantly taking charges and grabbing 50–50 balls, doing the little things that make him one of the game’s great point guards.

Paul Millsap

2006, Round 2, Pick #47 4x All Star, 1x All Defense

You’d think we’d give a little extra attention to Louisiana Tech power forwards after what Karl Malone and P.J. Brown did in the NBA, but no one thought much of Paul Millsap despite his outstanding rebounding numbers. Millsap became one of the league’s most underrated players for the Jazz before moving on to the Hawks and then the Nuggets, a hard working defender that does a bit of everything to help his team win.

Danny Granger

2005, Round 1, Pick #17 1x All Star, 2009 Most Improved Player

If the Pacers draft a rangy wing in the middle of the first round, we really ought to start paying attention — see also Kawhi Leonard and Paul George above. Danny Granger was so unheralded he began his college career in Bradley before transferring to New Mexico, a rare four year college starter before heading pro. Granger went on to become an All Star and Most Improved Player for Indiana before injuries derailed his career.

Zach Randolph

2001, Round 1, Pick #19 1x All NBA, 2x All Star, 2004 Most Improved Player

The pride of Marion, Indiana, Zach Randolph was plenty heralded out of high school as the #1 player in the RSCI rankings, but not many expected much in the NBA from the misshapen dude with a seeming two inch vertical. Again, perhaps we should pay attention when Tom Izzo’s big men perform for Michigan State, no matter their shape or size. Z-Bo would go on to become a 20–10 machine in the NBA, dominating the boards providing plenty of grit ‘n’ grind for the Memphis Grizzlies. ■

Follow Brandon on Medium or @wheatonbrando for more sports, television, humor, and culture. Visit the rest of Brandon’s writing archives here. Originally published as a freelance opportunity at TheSportsDrop.com.