'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The NBA is not renowned for too many educated players because most decide to join the NBA draft immediately after high school or in their first year in college. However, the NBA has been graced by a few highly educated players over the years.
While that is not a prerequisite to play in the NBA, some players earned themselves degrees. These players have also been recognised as some of the most intelligent ones to have played the league.
There are a few NBA players who are not only renowned for their basketball skills but also for their academic excellence. On that note, let's have a look at the ten most highly educated players in NBA history.
Trending
#10 Tyler Zeller
Tyler Zeller is currently a free agent following his waiver by the San Antonio Spurs on December 19, 2020. The center has played in the NBA for eight seasons and averaged a field goal percentage of .508.
Zeller was surrounded by basketball players while growing up, as his uncle and two brothers also played in the NBA. However, he was interested in academics, graduating from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, with a 3.62 GPA in business administration.
#9 Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley had an illustrious ten-year NBA career, helping the New York Knicks win two NBA Finals (1970 and 1973). He was one of the most sought-after players because of his brilliance in both academics and basketball.
The former shooting guard was reportedly offered 75 college scholarships but decided to attend Princeton University. He helped the college program finish third in the NCAA tournament in 1965 and won the NCAA Player of the Year award.
Bradley went on to attend Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship before deciding to be drafted in the NBA. After that, he went on to serve as a US Senator from New Jersey.
#8 Rajon Rondo
Rajon Rondo is known to have one of the highest basketball IQs in the league. That could be largely attributed to his high level of education. Although he left the University of Kentucky two years after joining the NBA draft, that decision was partly because of the frustration coaches were experiencing in training Rondo.
It is reported that his favorite subject is math, with former teachers saying that special tests were designed to challenge him. To date, the veteran guard is known to teach math to children for fun during his free time.
Rondo has also found relative success as a basketball player, winning NBA championships with the Boston Celtics (2008) and the LA Lakers (2020).
#7 Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh was part of the Miami Heat power trio that dominated the East and won NBA championships in 2012 and 2013. He had spent only one year in college before opting to go for the NBA draft in 2003.
Although he did not finish his graphics design and management degree at Georgia Tech, the 2021 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee is interested in computer technology. He has had publications on the impact of computer technology on society.
#6 Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown is one of the Boston Celtics' sensations that has wreaked havoc in the 2020-21 NBA season. However, the guard has continually expressed interest in other areas outside basketball as well.
Brown spent only one year at the University of California and played for the Berkeley Golden Bears. Nevertheless, he was one of the smartest students, as he took a master-level chemistry course during his first semester in college.
Amazingly, he was one of the top players in Berkeley's chess team and was fluent in Spanish. Jaylen Brown is well-read and has expressed his desire to learn three more languages before he turns 25.
#5 Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook recently broke the record for most triple-doubles in NBA history (184). However, he is also one of the most brilliant basketball players in terms of academics.
Westbrook attended Luezinger High School and finished with a GPA of 3.9. Although that was good enough for Standford, which the point guard wanted, he was not offered a scholarship by the school. He ended up accepting coach Ben Howland's offer and went to the University of California, Los Angeles.
He forfeited his last two years of college and entered the NBA draft in 2008. It has proved to be a productive run, as the 32-year-old guard is having an incredible run in the league.
#4 Mason Plumlee
Mason Plumlee is a perfect example of an elite NBA player and an exceptional academic. He featured for the Detroit Pistons in the 2020-21 regular season and has a career field goal percentage of .614.
Plumlee attended Duke University after high school and dual-majored in psychology and cultural anthropology. He finished college and entered the NBA draft in 2013, where he was selected in the first round by the Brooklyn Nets.
#3 Jeremy Lin
Jeremy Lin is the first player of Chinese/ Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. His arrival in the league with the New York Knicks sparked a resurgence for the team in 2012.
Lin finished high school with a 4.2 GPA, which met Harvard's rigorous academic requirements. However, he ended up with a roster spot at Harvard, as the coaches expected Stanford to offer him a scholarship.
After four years at Harvard, Lin graduated with honors in Economics with a GPA of 3.1. Although Lin currently plays for the Santa Cruz Warriors outside the NBA, he won the 2019 NBA Finals with the Toronto Raptors.
#2 Chris Dudley
Chris Dudley was not renowned for his free-throw shooting and is known as one of the first NBA players with diabetes. His educational portfolio is outstanding, to say the least, though.
Dudley graduated from Yale University with two degrees, one in political science and the other in economics. After his stint in the NBA, he delved into the finance industry and then into politics.
#1 Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo arguably achieved more success in academics than in the NBA. The Congolese center made eight NBA All-Star appearances and featured in postseason action in 13 of his 19 seasons in the league.
Mutombo attended Georgetown University and graduated in 1991 with honors in linguistics and diplomacy. For someone that arrived in the US without a good command in English, he now speaks nine languages.
After his NBA stint, he went back to school and got a doctorate degree in 2010. He currently runs a charitable organization to help people from his hometown.
