The Universities producing the highest earning NBA players – UCLA ranks third
- Duke University has produced the most high-earning NBA players, with thirteen of the top 150 biggest earners attending there.
- University of Kentucky places second, producing twelve of the highest-earning players, while UCLA follows in third, producing five.
- Latest NBA salary rankings were analyzed to discover the colleges attended by the highest-earning players currently in the league.
With NBA draft rumors swirling with the big day little over a month away, a new study has revealed that the UCLA, has produced some of the most high-earning NBA players in the league, with five of the 150 highest earning players having attended school here including Bulls star Zach LaVine.
| Rank | College | No. of top 150 earning NBA players that attended |
| 1 | Duke University | 13 |
| 2 | University of Kentucky | 12 |
| 3 | UCLA | 5 |
| Gonzaga University | ||
| 4 | University of Kansas | 4 |
| University of Arizona | ||
| University of Michigan | ||
| Villanova University | ||
| University of Southern California | ||
| 5 | University of Oklahoma | 3 |
| University of Florida | ||
| Michigan State University | ||
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | ||
| University of Texas at Austin | ||
| Texas A&M University | ||
| Washington University in St. Louis | ||
| University of Alabama | ||
| University of Georgia | ||
| Florida State University | ||
| Iowa State University |
NBA experts at Fadeaway World compiled a list of the top 150 highest-earning NBA players in the league and used the NBA’s official League Roster to discover where the highest-earning players most frequently attended college.
The college where the most top-earning NBA players have attended is Duke University, with an impressive thirteen basketball legends studying here. Kyrie Irving is one of the players whose salary as a Dallas Mavericks point and shooting guard is $37,037,037. New Orleans players Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram also studied at Duke, with current cap hits of $34,005,250 and $33,833,400, respectively. Interestingly, players in the top 150 earners who went to Duke University are paid, on average, $20,358,633.
The University of Kentucky ranks second, with twelve of the highest-paid NBA players studying here. This includes Anthony Davis, a center for the Los Angeles Lakers, with a staggering cap hit of $40,600,080. Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves both attended this college and are currently earning $36,016,200. Despite being second on the list, the players who went to Kentucky have the highest annual salaries out of all American colleges on average, at a mammoth $28,922,782.
The colleges in joint third place are the University of California (UCLA) and Gonzaga University, with each college producing five of the highest-earning currently active NBA players. Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine, whose cap hit is $40,064,220, attended UCLA, and Sacramento Kings power forward Domantas Sabonis, whose cap hit is $30,600,000, studied at Gonzaga University. The average cap hit of the top 150 players who attended UCLA is $24,922,111, while the average cap hit for past NBA students at Gonzaga University is $16,284,373.
Completing the list of the five universities that have produced the most top-earning NBA players is the University of Kansas, the University of Arizona, the University of Michigan, Villanova University and the University of Southern California, with four of the top-earning players attending each college. For the University of Kansas, this features Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who is currently earning a whopping $47,607,350 – the third-largest cap hit for 2023/24 and Golden State Warriors small forward Andrew Wiggins, whose salary is $24,330,357. For the top 150 players who attended the University of Kansas, the average earnings boast an incredible $25,288,497.
The University of Arizona’s NBA alumni includes the Portland Trail Blazers’ center, Deandre Ayton, whose cap hit is $32,459,438. For the University of Michigan, the Washington Wizards point and shooting guard Jordon Poole studied here, earning a salary of $27,455,357. The average earnings per year of the 150 highest-paid NBA players who attended the University of Arizona is an astounding $20,171,405, and for the University of Michigan, it’s $20,171,405.
Villanova University produced New York Knicks point and shooting guard, Jalen Brunson, who is currently earning $26,346,666, and the University of Southern California produced Chicago Bulls’ center, Nikola Vucevic, whose yearly cap hit is $18,518,519. The average salary of the top-earning NBA players who attended Villanova University is $17,976,667, and for the University of Southern California, the average cap hit falls just behind with $16,102,540.
There were eleven colleges that each produced three top earning players, including the University of Oklahoma, the University of Florida and Michigan State University.
Nemanja Vukasinovic, CEO of Fadeaway World, commented on the findings:
“As the 2023/24 NBA season is in full swing, it is interesting to delve into the pasts of the current highest-earning players in the league and discover where they once studied. Fans may feel even more connected to their favorite players if they learn they share their alma mater.
“These figures also shed light on the salaries of the top NBA players who are actively competing, with salaries near $50,000,000 for some of the most talented athletes.”
Credit to: https://fadeawayworld.net/
Source: Spotrac (https://www.spotrac.com/nba/rankings/) and NBA League Roster (https://www.nba.com/players)
Methodology: Data from Spotrac was used to discover the 2023/24 cap hits of the top 150 players, and then the official NBA League Roster was used to identify where these players attended college.