The question of which state produces the best basketball players is as old as time itself. It switches up every so often, but that won’t stop us from answering it right now. The rankings will be based on two factors: which states produce the biggest current NBA stars, and which states produce the most current NBA players.
States that haven’t produced any current NBA players: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia
42. Nebraska
Players: Khyri Thomas
41. Wyoming
Players: James Johnson
40. Colorado
Players: Derrick White
39. Minnesota
Players: Amir Coffey, Tyus Jones, Mike Muscala
38. Delaware
Players: Donte DiVincenzo
37. Connecticut
Players: Kris Dunn, Tremont Waters
36. Maine
Players: Duncan Robinson
35. Kansas
Players: Willie Cauley-Stein, Semi Ojeleye, Dean Wade
34. New Mexico
Players: Andre Roberson
33. North Dakota
Players: Tyler Johnson, Doug McDermott
32. Iowa
Players: Harrison Barnes
31. Utah
Players: John Collins
30. Nevada
Players: Troy Brown Jr, Zach Collins
29. Mississippi
Players: Terence Davis, Drew Eubanks, Rodney Hood, Quinndary Weatherspoon
28. Wisconsin
Players: Deonte Burton, Tyler Herro, Kevon Looney, Jordan Poole
27. Alabama
Players: Eric Bledsoe, DeMarre Carroll, JaMychal Green, Donta Hall
26. Arizona
Players: Marvin Bagley III, Zylan Cheatham, Kevin Knox, Matisse Thybulle, Paul Watson
25. Massachusetts
Players: Darius Bazley, Bruce Brown, Michael Carter-Williams, Pat Connaughton, Jake Layman, Shabazz Napier, Georges Niang, Nerlens Noel, Noah Vonleh
24. Virginia
Players: Troy Daniels, Dorian Finney-Smith, Javonte Green, Devon Hall, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Lamb, Frank Mason, Josh Reaves, Mike Scott
23. Arkansas
Players: Mike Conley, Daniel Gafford, Malik Monk, Bobby Portis
22. Oregon
Stars: Domantas Sabonis
Other Players: Jerami Grant, Terrence Ross, Nigel Williams-Goss
21. Tennessee
Stars: Lou Williams
Other Players: Jordan Bone, Corey Brewer, Chris Chiozza, Antonius Cleveland, Jeremiah Martin, Garrison Mathews, Cameron Payne, JJ Redick, Jonathan Williams
20. Kentucky
Stars: D’Angelo Russell
Other Players: Kelan Martin, Darius Miller, Rajon Rondo, Ray Spalding, PJ Washington
19. Louisiana
Stars: Paul Millsap
Other Players: DJ Augustin, De’Aaron Fox, Melvin Frazier Jr, Langston Galloway, Josh Gray, Aaron Holiday, Damian Jones, Kelly Oubre Jr, Elfrid Payton, Garrett Temple, Robert Williams III, Thaddeus Young
18. Washington
Stars: Zach LaVine
Other Players: Avery Bradley, Jamal Crawford, Joe Harris, Jalen McDaniels, Dejounte Murray, Jaylen Nowell, Gary Payton II, Kevin Porter Jr, Marvin Williams
17. Oklahoma
Stars: Blake Griffin
Other Players: Terrance Ferguson, Jaxson Hayes, DaQuan Jeffries, Shake Milton, Josh Richardson
16. Maryland
Stars: Victor Oladipo
Other Players: Jaylen Adams, Will Barton, Michael Beasley, Reggie Bullock, Markelle Fultz, Rudy Gay, Treveon Graham, Jeff Green, Josh Hart, Damion Lee, Rodney McGruder, Malcolm Miller
15. Indiana
Stars: Gordon Hayward
Other Players: Yogi Farrell, Darius Garland, Eric Gordon, Kyle Guy, Gary Harris, George Hill, Romeo Langford, Courtney Lee, E’Twaun Moore, Mason Plumlee, Glenn Robinson III, Caleb Swanigan, Jeff Teague, Dylan Windler, Cody Zeller
14. Missouri
Stars: Bradley Beal
Other Players: Alec Burks, Tyler Cook, Shaquille Harrison, Patrick McCaw, Ben McLemore, Juwan Morgan, Michael Porter Jr, Otto Porter Jr, Jontay Porter, Landry Shamet, Anthony Tolliver
13. Florida
Stars: Vince Carter
Other Players: Grayson Allen, Trevor Ariza, Dwayne Bacon, Tony Bradley, Jordan Clarkson, Udonis Haslem, Dewan Hernandez, Justin James, Brandon Knight, Nassir Little, Mitchell Robinson, Anfernee Simons
12. Washington DC
Stars: Kevin Durant
Other Players: Quinn Cook, Ed Davis, Frank Jackson, Patrick Patterson
11. South Carolina
Stars: Khris Middleton, Ja Morant
Other Players: Jarrell Brantley, Nicolas Claxton, Torrey Craig, PJ Dozier, Sindarius Thornwell
10. Pennsylvania
Stars: Kyle Lowry
Other Players: Ryan Arcidiacono, Mikal Bridges, Wayne Ellington, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, De’Andre Hunter, Alize Johnson, BJ Johnson, Cameron Johnson, Derrick Jones Jr, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, TJ McConnell, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Cam Reddish, Dion Waiters, Lonnie Walker IV, Brad Wannamaker
9. New Jersey
Stars: Bam Adebayo, Jaren Jackson Jr, Karl-Anthony Towns
Other Players: Kyle Anderson, Jalen Brunson, Louis King, Naz Reid, JR Smith
8. Georgia
Stars: Malcom Brogdon, Jaylen Brown, Dwight Howard
Other Players: Al-Farouq Aminu, Malik Beasley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wendell Carter Jr, Jae Crowder, Derrick Favors, Brandon Goodwin, Jared Harper, Jordan McRae, Justin Patton, Collin Sexton, Kobi Simmons
7. Michigan
Stars: Devin Booker, Draymond Green
Other Players: Brian Bowen II, Miles Bridges, Wilson Chandler, Bryn Forbes, Kyle Kuzma, Javale McGee
6. North Carolina
Stars: Brandon Ingram, Chris Paul, John Wall, Zion Williamson
Other Players: Kent Bazemore, DeAndre’ Bembry, Ky Bowman, Gary Clark, Chris Clemons, Seth Curry, Jacob Evans, Harry Giles III, Devonte’ Graham, Montrezl Harrell, John Henson, Caleb Martin, Cody Martin, Theo Pinson, Jerome Robinson, Dennis Smith Jr, Ish Smith, PJ Tucker, Rayjon Tucker, TJ Warren, Coby White, Hassan Whiteside
5. Texas
Stars: Lamarcus Aldridge, Jimmy Butler, DeAndre Jordan, Trae Young
Other Players: Jarrett Allen, Alex Caruso, Jarrett Culver, Damyean Dotson, Carsen Edwards, Kevin Hervey, Danuel House Jr, Wes Iwundu, Justin Jackson, Luke Kornet, Wesley Mathews, Johnathan Motley, Royce O’Neale, Taurean Prince, Julius Randle, Cameron Reynolds, Marcus Smart, Zhaire Smith, Myles Turner, Jarred Vanderbilt, Grant Williams, Kenrich Williams, Justise Winslow
4. Illinois
Stars: Anthony Davis, Andre Iguodala, Derrick Rose, Fred VanVleet
Other Players: Keita Bates-Diop, Patrick Beverley, Sterling Brown, Devontae Cacok, Jevon Carter, Robert Covington, Richaun Holmes, Talen Horton-Tucker, Frank Kaminsky, John Konchar, Vic Law, Meyers Leonard, Alfonzo McKinnie, Matt Mooney, Kendrick Nunn, Jahlil Okafor, Jabari Parker, Isaiah Roby, Max Strus, Matt Thomas, Evan Turner
3. Ohio
Stars: Steph Curry, Lebron James, CJ McCollum
Other Players: Trey Burke, Luke Kennard, Caris LeVert, Larry Nance Jr, Terry Rozier, JaKarr Sampson, Omari Spellman, Gary Trent Jr
2. New York
Stars: Carmelo Anthony, Andre Drummond, Tobias Harris, Donovan Mitchell, Kemba Walker
Other Players: Mo Bamba, Moses Brown, Thomas Bryant, Hamidou Diallo, Michael Frazier, Taj Gibson, Danny Green, Maurice Harkless, Kevin Huerter, Jonathan Isaac, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, Terance Mann, Joakim Noah, Kyle O’Quinn, Tariq Owens, Eric Paschall, Justin Wright-Foreman
1. California
Stars: DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, Aaron Gordon, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Kevin Love, Klay Thompson, Russell Westbrook
Other Players: Lonzo Ball, Jordan Bell, Tyson Chandler, Marquese Chriss, Dewayne Dedmon, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jared Dudley, James Ennis III, Tim Hardaway Jr, Solomon Hill, Justin Holiday, Chandler Hutchison, Josh Jackson, Stanley Johnson, Kyle Korver, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Jordan McLaughlin, De’Anthony Melton, Chimezie Metu, David Nwaba, KZ Okpala, Miye Oni, Norman Powell, Austin Rivers, Tony Snell, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Gabe Vincent, DJ Wilson, Christian Wood, Kenny Wooten, Delon Wright, Tyler Zeller
Zion is from South Carolina bro
He was born in Salisbury, North Carolina