When discussing the greatest player to ever come through the UCLA program, the player at the top spot is almost unanimously agreed upon by both college and professional basketball fans.
In our countdown of the top 20 players in UCLA history, we have finally arrived at the No. 1 spot. With a college and professional resume that is essentially impossible to match, the player in the top spot is none other than Lew Alcindor.
UCLA Basketball Top 20 Players of All Time: No. 1 Lew Alcindor
Lew Alcindor, who later became known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, has by far the greatest resume of any former Bruin, both in college and in the NBA. The combination of individual success and team success he produced during his three seasons in Westwood is hard to match.
In his first of three seasons at UCLA, he averaged 29.0 points and 15.5 rebounds per game, immediately establishing himself as one of the nation’s best players, if not the best. He also led the Bruins to a perfect 30-0 season, winning the National Championship behind his dominant production.
Milwaukee S Lew Alcindor Historical May 1 1971 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The next season wasn’t much different. He averaged 26.2 points and 16.5 rebounds per game, and UCLA won the National Championship again with a 29-1 record. He wasn’t done there, however, as he followed it up with a nearly identical season. Again, UCLA went 29-1 with another National Championship victory, behind Alcindor’s 24.0 points and 14.7 rebounds per game averages.
While at UCLA, he earned numerous awards, including two AP Player of the Year awards, three-time All-American honors, and three NCAA Tournament MOP’s.
An 88-2 record in his three college basketball seasons is just insane and makes it easy to see why he’s in the number one position on this list.
One of the Greatest NBA Players Ever
Abdul-Jabbar played 20 seasons in the NBA and ended his run as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a title he held until he was recently dethroned by LeBron James.
He was a 19-time All-Star, six-time NBA champion, 11-time All-Defensive selection, six-time MVP, and one of the greatest players to ever grace the NBA. As impressive as his college resume was, his NBA one is far greater.
It’s very simple to see why he was chosen as the best UCLA Bruin of all time. When you combine the success he had as a Bruin with the legacy he left behind, there was no other player who could have realistically been in the conversation.
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