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The hard truth about college basketball is that the sport's best players have always left school early for the NBA, like Michael Jordan. Sure, His Airness went back to North Carolina and completed his degree. But he left ahead of his fourth season of college basketball. Jordan was hardly alone. Consider this list of seven NBA greats who left college early:
Top 7 college basketball players who left early for the NBA
7. Charles Barkley
A generational talent at Auburn, Barkley left college a year early to enter the NBA. Considering his status as, perhaps, the greatest undersized rebounder in the history of the sport, it's hard to argue with his decision.
Barkley scored 1,183 points and grabbed 806 rebounds at Auburn. Those numbers only hinted at the promise to come. But Barkley's oversized personality first appeared at Auburn, even though he did leave a year early for the 1984 NBA Draft.
6. Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem, or Akeem as he was then known, went from "Who's he?" to the top pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. In three seasons at Houston, he led the Cougars to a pair of national title game appearances and blocked a jaw-dropping 454 shots.
For his UH career, Olajuwon also totaled 1,332 points and 1,067 rebounds. He was, of course, so prized as an NBA pick in 1984, that he was chosen two spots ahead of Michael Jordan. While that might seem extreme, Olajuwon's own great NBA career is impressive.
5. Kevin Durant
In one season at Texas, Durant might have been the most-exciting freshman in college basketball history. He and Kentucky's Anthony Davis stand at the top of the one-and-done group, with Durant averaging 25.8 points per game in his season at Texas.
While Durant's Longhorns went out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, his greatness was obvious. Chosen second in the 2007 NBA Draft, Durant has been a brilliant pro.
4. Stephen Curry
How good was Stephen Curry? Good enough that he made the early jump from tiny Davidson College. In three years at Davidson, Steph hit 414 3-point shots and led Davidson to the Elite Eight.
For his college career, Curry totaled 2,635 points. Had he returned for his senior year, he might have broken Pete Maravich's all-time scoring record. As it is, he's certainly proven worthy of the seventh pick in the 2009 Draft, where the Warriors nabbed him.
3. Shaquille O'Neal
Shaq had three dominant seasons at LSU with coach Dale Brown. While the Tigers didn't achieve noteworthy NCAA Tournament success, it certainly wasn't O'Neal's fault. Despite shooting just 57.5% at the foul line, O'Neal dominated college basketball.
In three seasons, he totaled 1,941 points, 1,217 rebounds, and 412 blocked shots. An easy first pick for the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA Draft, Shaq had already gotten an education in physical play at LSU. He earned the equivalent of a doctorate degree in his NBA stardom.
2. Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson changed the point guard position, with his small man's agility and skills and big man's size. The 6-foot-9 legend basically accomplished everything to do be done in two years at Michigan State.
Johnson amassed 1,059 points, 491 assists, and 471 rebounds with the Spartans. He also led them to the 1979 NCAA title, defeating Larry Bird and Indiana State in the finals. Two years in, Magic had nothing left to prove. So he and Bird did battle in the NBA, after the Lakers picked Magic first in the 1979 NBA Draft.
1. Michael Jordan
Yes, the greatest of all time reluctantly left college early. Dean Smith almost had to beg Jordan to go. Already a national champion and a scorer of 1,788 points in three seasons, Jordan really wanted to return for another year of college.
He had already won an NCAA title in 1982 and was in the middle of leading the U.S. Olympic Team to a gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics. Jordan would later complete his UNC degree, but took his talents to the NBA in 1984, where the Chicago Bulls forever changed their franchise's direction by picking him third.
Who else was a great player who left college early? We'd enjoy your thoughts below in the comment section.
