How many Duke players have won NBA championships? Blue Devils' history and achievements explored

The Duke Blue Devils basketball program is one of the blue bloods of college basketball, and over the years, they have produced many talented student-athletes who have gone on to have successful NBA careers.

It is only in the past two decades that the program has ramped up its national championship-winning capacity with three Nattys since 2001. It has also seen a correlated rise in the number of talents it has exported to the professional game.

But how many Blue Devils players have won an NBA championship ring over the years?

How many Duke players have won an NBA championship?

Despite the Duke Blue Devils being a storied basketball program, they have had only seven of their prospects win an NBA championship ring over the years.

The latest alum to win a ring was Jack White with the Denver Nuggets when they beat the Miami Heat in 2023.

The others include:

• Jeff Mullins, with the Golden State Warriors in 1975
• Danny Ferry, with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003
• Shane Battier, with the Heat in 2012 and 2013
• Kyrie Irving, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016
• Dahntay Jones, with the Cavaliers in 2016
• Quinn Cook, with the Warriors in 2018 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020

Some of the players on the list, including most recently Kyrie Irving, have had exceptional NBA careers, with the point guard hitting the fadeaway shot against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors that won the Cleveland Cavaliers the series in 2016.

The Blue Devils still lag way behind some elite programs that have produced players with at least one NBA championship ring, with teams like the UCLA Bruins (23) and the Kentucky Wildcats (19) way out in front.

Duke ranks No. 16 with its seven players who have an NBA ring and No. 11 with 26 former Blue Devils players making the NBA playoffs.

Duke leads the ACC in terms of NBA playoffs win share with 63.4% over programs like Clemson and Notre Dame.

Zion Williamson was hyped up as the most talented college basketball player since LeBron James, but his time in the NBA has been anything but smooth. Paolo Banchero provides hope that the Blue Devils might get another NBA championship winner in the future with his scintillating displays in the league.

Although the Blue Devils are an elite basketball program, it is clear that it will take years before they can boast of the same number of NBA rings as some of their contemporaries.