The University of Kansas men’s basketball team has been one of the more successful college basketball programs in the nation for many decades. It has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 54 times, including each of the last 36 tournaments, and has won four NCAA Division I championships. Along the way, the school produced memorable NBA players such as Jo Jo White, Paul Pierce and Wilt Chamberlain.
Today, the NBA has numerous notable active players who are University of Kansas products, such as Christian Braun, Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andrew Wiggins and incoming rookie Darryn Peterson. Here is a look at the five University of Kansas players the Lakers have taken in the NBA draft.
Clyde Lovellette — center
Lovellette averaged 24.5 points and 10.2 rebounds a game in three years with the Jayhawks and won an NCAA title with them in 1952. That year, the Lakers took him with the No. 10 pick in the draft.
He made his NBA debut in the 1953-54 season and won the NBA championship with the Lakers during that campaign. He then bookended his career with two more world titles as a member of the Boston Celtics in 1963 and 1964, giving him the rare feat of winning it all with both storied franchises.
Over 11 NBA seasons, Lovellette averaged 17 points and 9.5 rebounds a game.
George Unseld — forward
Unseld put up 17.8 points and 7.7 rebounds a game in his two years at the University of Kansas. The Lakers took him in the eighth round of the 1965 draft, but he never played in the NBA.
Roger Brown — center
Brown was a Jayhawk for four years and registered 7.9 points and 8.1 rebounds a game with the program. The Lakers took him in the fourth round of the 1971 NBA Draft, and he played one game with them during the 1972-73 season before jumping to the rival American Basketball Association.
He returned to the NBA in 1975 for three more seasons there, and across both leagues, he had career averages of 2.4 points and 3.5 rebounds in 11.2 minutes a game.
Rick Suttle — forward
In three years with the University of Kansas, Suttle averaged 13.9 points and 6.9 boards a game. The Lakers selected him in the seventh round of the 1975 draft, but he never played in the NBA.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk — forward
Mykhailiuk only averaged 8.7 points a game in his four years with the Jayhawks, but the Lakers saw enough in him to take him in the second round of the 2018 draft. He appeared in 39 games with the Lakers as a rookie and put up 3.3 points in 10.8 minutes a game before he was traded at midseason to the Detroit Pistons.
He is currently a member of the Utah Jazz, and in eight seasons so far, he has averaged 6.9 points in 17.2 minutes a game.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Every University of Kansas player drafted by the Lakers
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
