NBA Impact: UCLA Bruins
The NBA Draft Lottery was held this week and one of the teams with a top-14 pick will most likely select a UCLA Bruin. Kevin Love will try to follow in the footsteps of Hall of Famers and continue his school's legacy in the pros, as will teammate Russell Westbrook. HOOPSWORLD takes a look at former Bruins who impacted the NBA.
Current NBA Players: This season 11 former Bruins suited up for an NBA team. Baron Davis is one of the most dangerous run-and-gun point guards in the league, a two-time All-Star who is hitting his prime. Jason Kapono is a two-time winner of the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout and the NBA's all-time leader in three-point percentage; Jordan Farmar is an emerging point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers who represented the sophomores in the this season's T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam; Aaron Afflalo and Trevor Ariza are other young UCLA alum while Matt Barnes and Earl Watson have spent five years and more in the league.
All-Time Greats: Before there was Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dominated the NBA. The Hall of Fame inductee is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ranks third all-time in blocks. Abdul-Jabbar won the MVP award six times while making 19 All-Star teams. His success wasn't contained to the regular season; he won six championships, two of which he was named MVP of the Finals … Like Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton is another Hall of Famer from UCLA. In addition to earning All-Star honors twice in his career, Walton is an NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, and two-time NBA champion … Walton and Abdul-Jabbar are joined in the Hall of Fame with Gail Goodrich, an NBA champion and five-time All-Star … Jason Kapono is following in the footsteps of another sharpshooting Bruin - Reggie Miller hit the most three-point shots in NBA history and ranks 12th all-time in scoring. The five-time All-Star is also an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist.
Future Prospects: Projected lottery pick Kevin Love headlines the list of Bruins in this year's NBA Draft. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Josh Shipp, and Russell Westbrook have also declared. That leaves UCLA's second-leading scorer, Darren Collison, to take the Bruins through the tournament in his senior year.
See how other collegiate powerhouses have impacted the NBA ...
NBA Impact: Duke University
NBA Impact: University of North Carolina
NBA Impact: Wake Forest University
About the Author: JESSICA CAMERATO
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Jessica Camerato is a member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and has covered the NBA for HOOPSWORLD for two years, powering HOOPSWORLD.COM and HOOPSWORLD Magazine.
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