There was a time when winning a National College Player of the Year award usually meant guaranteed stardom in the NBA. While some players who have recently won it still found some success in the league, other winners weren’t so lucky with their NBA careers so far. To put it into context, since 2000, only eight players who won it have been named as NBA all-stars.
Before we dig a much deeper hole, we’ll check what happened to the careers of the last 10 College National Player of the Year and where are they now?
What happened to the basketball careers of the last ten players who won College National Player of the Year?
Doug McDermott (Senior) – 2014
Not only did McDermott win the National College Player of the Year, he won every major award possible during his senior year at Creighton. He wasn’t just called ‘Dougie McBuckets’ for nothing as he led the entire nation in scoring during his last season in college, averaging an insane 26.7 ppg.
While everybody thought that the 6 foot 6 sweet-shooting guard/forward would have an easy transition in the NBA, life as a pro posed some challenges for the former college star. His college success did not translate well in the NBA, and he has since become a journeyman player, now playing for the Pacers in his second stint with the team.
Frank Kaminsky (Senior) – 2015
Kaminsky is arguably one of the best players to ever wear a Wisconsin Badgers jersey. During his senior year, he led the team to their first national championship game but eventually fell to Duke, 68-63.
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Selected as the 9th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by Charlotte, there was significant hype that followed the 7-foot big man in his journey as a pro. However, after initially finding some success with the Hornets, Kaminsky never fully found his niche in the league. He bounced around a few teams after his stint with Charlotte and was out of the league after the 2022-2023 season. He’s now plying his trade in Serbia and the Euroleague.
Buddy Hield (Senior) – 2016 *tied with Denzel Valentine
The Bahamian-born Buddy Hield torched opponents nightly while playing for the Oklahoma Sooners. He averaged 25 points per game and led the nation in three-point shots made. Winning the National College Player of the Year was simply warranted for Hield.
With the NBA transitioning into a three-point-friendly league, Hield was one of the top picks in the 2016 NBA Draft and was eventually selected by the Pelicans as the sixth overall pick. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard continued to shoot the lights out in the pros, averaging a .400 clip from downtown in his career. While he did not become a star in the NBA like he was in college, Hield’s skill set has made him a hot commodity among contenders. He now plays for the Sixers.
Denzel Valentine (Senior) – 2016 *tied with Buddy Hield
The 6 foot 4 Valentine became the first Michigan State player to win the College Basketball Player of the Year award. His rapid ascent did wonders for his draft stock ahead of the 2016 NBA Draft, as he rose from being projected as an undrafted player to a potential lottery pick during his senior year with the team.
Selected 14th overall by the Bulls in 2016, Valentine quickly went to work and steered the Bulls to the Las Vegas Summer League championship. Sadly, hitting the buzzer-beater shot as a member of the Bulls’ summer league teams was probably the best highlight he had during his entire career in the NBA. The former Spartans star never found his stroke in the league and was out of an NBA job after just six seasons. He’s now embarked on an international career and his latest pit stop is in Italy.
Frank Mason III (Senior) – 2017
Mason was a stud in college while playing for Kansas. He was the first player in Big 12 history to average 20 ppg and 5 apg. For his efforts, he was awarded the National College Player of the Year during his senior season as a member of the Jayhawks.
However, the NBA was a totally different story for the 5-foot-11 guard. Selected 34th overall by the Kings, Mason had a hard time adjusting to the league’s faster pace and was often assigned to the G-League to hone his skills. After a brief stint with the Magic in 2021, Mason embarked on an international career. He’s now playing in LNB Pro A in France.
Jalen Brunson (Junior) – 2018
After winning two national titles in three years as a member of the UConn Huskies, the 6 foot 2 Brunson decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility to enter the 2018 NBA Draft. There were initial concerns about how his relatively small stature and subpar athleticism would translate in the pros and as a result, his draft stock took a hit, landing with the Mavs as the 33rd overall pick in the second round.
As we all know, Brunson blossomed from a role player to a starter with the Mavs in his first four seasons in the league. He now plays for the Knicks, where he is widely perceived as the franchise player and the face of the team.
Zion Williamson (Freshman) – 2019
Williamson is arguably one of the most hyped prospects ever to play college basketball. As a freshman at Duke, Zion captured the imagination of the entire nation with his above-the-rim play and brute strength. He was the first freshman to win the College Player of the Year award since Anthony Davis in 2012.
To no one’s surprise, the Pelicans selected Williamson as the number one overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. However, Zion has been battling a ton of injury woes since his career started in the association. He has missed significant time with the Pelicans, and as a result, the team hasn’t found much success on the court, except for a couple of playoff appearances in recent years. But when he’s healthy, there’s no doubt that he is capable of bringing the Pelicans to newer heights in the playoffs.
Obi Toppin (Sophomore) – 2020 *tied with Luka Garza
Dayton’s Obi Toppin was a walking human highlight film in college. As a sophomore, he averaged 20 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 1.2 bpg and was widely considered one of the best players in the nation and as a result, he was named National College Player of the Year along with Iowa’s Luka Garza . After dominating essentially everybody at the college level, Toppin decided to forgo his final two seasons of eligibility to enter the 2020 NBA Draft.
There was certainly a buzz within the Knicks community when the team selected the versatile forward as the 8th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. However, the 6 foot 9’s stint in New York was full of ups and downs, and he was dealt to the Pacers after three seasons with the team. Toppin now plays for the Pacers where he has since thrived in Rick Carlisle’s free-flowing offense.
Luka Garza (Junior/Senior) – 2020 *tied with Obi Toppin / 2021
It’s generally safe to say that Luka Garza put the Iowa Hawkeyes on the map during his four-year stay with the team. He averaged 23.9 ppg as a junior and 24.1 ppg as a senior. He originally declared for the NBA Draft in 2020 but withdrew his name and opted to play his final season in college for the Hawkeyes in 2021.
Even though Garza improved facets of his game during his senior year en route to winning another College Player of the Year award in 2021, scouts generally felt that his game was much better suited at the college level compared to the NBA. As a result, the 6 foot 10 big man was selected late in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft as the 52nd overall pick by the Pistons. While there are some flashes of potential for the American-Bosnian big man, he never really found his footing at the NBA level and is now serving as the end-of-the-bench guy for the Timberwolves.
Oscar Tshiebwe (Junior) – 2022
It’s baffling to think that the Congolese big man never played basketball until 2014. Fast forward eight years later, Tshiebwe was named National College Player of the Year as a member of the Kentucky Wildcats. The undersized center was a double-double monster in college and averaged 17.4 ppg and 15.2 rpg in the 2021-2022 NCAA season.
Tshiebwe eventually returned to Kentucky for his senior year in a bid to improve his draft stock in the 2023 NBA Draft. However, as fate would have it, the big man went undrafted in 2023 due to his limited offensive repertoire. He basically doesn’t have a jump shot beyond 10 feet, which is a huge no-no in today’s game. Tshiebwe is now signed by the Pacers on a two-way contract.
Zach Edey (Junior/Senior) – 2023, 2024
You’d be hard-pressed to find another college star like Zach Edey. The Canadian-born center is a behemoth on the court, standing at 7 foot 4 inches. He steered Purdue to a couple of successful seasons, mainly in his junior and senior years, and essentially carried the team to the national game in 2024, where they lost against UConn.
Despite having another year of college eligibility left, Edey has decided to enter his name in the 2024 NBA Draft. Due to his strong showing in the NCAA tournament, some scouts projected him to be a mid-first-rounder pick. Others were not so generous as they projected him to be either a late second-rounder or go entirely undrafted in the draft. Does a back-to-the-basket big man like him still have a place in the NBA? What do you think?
