With the addition of Kyle Kuzma on Thursday night, 43 players from the University of Utah have been selected since the draft began in 1947. Some of those players did big things in the league while others struggled to find a spot on the floor. While there have been a handful of guys who didn’t reach expectations associated with their high draft picks others have been All-Stars, All-Defensive team honorees and All-NBA players.
This list is the best-of-the-best of those players, the ones who had the most impactful careers during their time in the NBA/ABA.
15. Jeff Judkins
The No. 30 overall pick by the Boston Celtics, Judkins had a five-year career playing with the Celtics, Jazz, Detroit Pistons and the Portland Trail Blazers. His best season was as a rookie in Boston when he averaged 8.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 81 games.
14. Arnie Ferrin
Ferrin spent three years with the Minneapolis Lakers after he was selected in the 1948 BAA draft. During his three seasons, he averaged 5.8 points and 1.6 assists as a key piece to a pair of championship teams.
13. Vern Gardner
Like Ferrin, Gardner played for just three seasons after he was selected with the No. 5 pick by the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1949 draft. His best season was as a rookie in the ’49-50 season when he scored in double figures 45 times on his way to averaging 13.5 points a night — 18th best in the league. He was even better during the playoffs that season as he boosted his average up to 18 points a night even though the Warriors lost in the first round to the Syracuse Nationals.
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