Ohio has always been regarded as a state that produces excellent basketball players but who are the top players to have come out of Ohio in history?
The following are some of the best NBA stars of all time, and they’re all from the Buckeye state.
LeBron James
One of the most famous athletes from Ohio is obviously LeBron. Born in Akron, LeBron James went to St. Vincent–St. Mary High School and quickly became Ohio Mr. Basketball thanks to his outstanding performances. He also played wide receiver at high school, and it’s been suggested that he might have been good enough to play in the NFL if he’d carried on.
However, LeBron chose basketball and joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first pick in the 2003 draft. Within a couple of seasons, he was arguably the best player in the league and has continued to amass incredible scoring records, while also rejoining the Cavaliers to help them win their first NBA Finals.
John Havlicek
We need to go further back in time to find our next NBA star from Ohio. John Havlicek was born in Martins Ferry in 1940 and attended Bridgeport High School before Ohio State University. In 1962, he had to decide between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Browns, eventually deciding to join the NBA.
John was a small forward who spent his entire pro career with the Celtics, winning NBA championships in each of his first four seasons. By the time his NBA career ended following the 1977-78 season, he'd joined a small band of players with eight NBA titles. Now considered one of the greatest players of all time, he’s still the Celtic’s leading all-time points scorer.
Nate Thurmond
Another legendary NBA player from Akron, Nate Thurmond attended Central High School and then rejected Ohio State to play his college basketball at Bowling Green, where he set a rebound record in his last game. In the 1963 draft, Nate joined the San Francisco Warriors, who now go by the name of the Golden State Warriors.
His return to Ohio to join the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1975 led to a relatively low-key end to an incredible career. However, he still helped create the Miracle at Richfield, as the Cavaliers went to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Nate’s now fondly remembered as one of the sport’s best players, an expert on rebounds, and the first player to record a quadruple-double.
Stephen Curry
Akron has produced another of the greatest NBA players of all-time in the shape of Stephen Curry, who was born in the same hospital as LeBron James just a few years later. Arguably the best shooter in basketball history, he’s been credited with changing the sport by encouraging more three-point shots to be taken thanks to his success with these shots.
Stephen has won four NBA championships, having joined the Golden State Warriors in the 2009 draft and immediately setting the league alight. He’s been named as the NBA MVP on two occasions and was also the NBA Finals MVP against the Boston Celtics in 2022.
Charles Oakley
Cleveland was the birthplace of power forward Charles Oakley, who attended John Hay High School before going to college in Richmond. Virginia. He was actually picked by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1985 NBA draft, but his rights were traded to the Chicago Bulls.
A long career in pro basketball saw him play for several franchises, with most of the highlights coming during a decade at the New York Knicks, before he moved into coaching. Charles is regularly ranked as one of the best rebounders in the history of the NBA, with a total of 12,205 putting him high on the all-time list.
