Go Joe Bruin takes a look at 10 of the best UCLA basketball players to where the blue and gold since the year 2000.
Since 2000, the UCLA basketball team has had some outstanding individuals play in blue and gold. Go Joe Bruin takes a look at who the 10 best were in the last two decades.
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Though UCLA has been up-and-down and gone through two coaching changes in that time, there were still many hard working Bruins dedicated to their team. Even in the worst of seasons, there have been players that have given their all for UCLA.
But on the upside, there has been some incredible talent that helped resurrect the Bruins back to national prominence. Here are the 10 best Bruins since the year 2000…
10. Norman Powell (2011-15)
Career Stats: 9.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.1 spg, FG% .461
Powell was one of the most dependable players this century. He is one of the few players that played all four years and still made the jump to the NBA.
At UCLA, he was on a bit of a roller coaster ride as he had to help bridge the gap between the Ben Howland and Steve Alford eras. Coming out of Lincoln High School in San Diego, Powell was one of the top shooting guards in California. When he got to UCLA, he was used very conservatively. It wasn’t until Alford got a hold of him after his sophomore year that we got to see him come out of his shell.
In his junior and senior year, we saw a Powell that was explosive and fierce. Under Howland, he was told be reserved. Under Alford, he broke out like a man on fire. Powell would attack the rim and leave no prisoners. Along with his defensive skills honed by Howland, he was the spark plug UCLA needed in his final two years.
His efforts got him recognition among NBA execs and during the 2015 NBA Draft was taken 26th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, though was immediately traded tot the Toronto Raptors where he has called home for the last three seasons.
9. Kyle Anderson (2012-14)
Career Stats: 12.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.8 spg, FG% .452
“Slowmo” was his name and slowmo was his game. The “point forward’ was an interesting type of player because not only was he tall point guard, but one that was able to pull down a ton of rebounds.
In addition to that, for as much as he did, his game was paced, hence the name “Slowmo”.
In his first season under Ben Howland, Anderson helped turn around a team that had fallen on hard times in the four seasons after UCLA’s Final Four runs. The Bruins had won the Pac-12 regular season championship, but started to come undone by the post-season. UCLA was back in the NCAA Tournament, but they lost in the first round, sealing Howland’s fate.
Under Alford, Anderson continued to help the Bruins win some hardware as they won the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament with an epic win over Arizona (unfortunately it is the only hardware Alford has won).
After the season, Anderson opted for the pros and was one of three Bruins taken in the 2014 NBA Draft. He was selected by the San Antonio Spurs. His still seemed to fit perfectly with the Spurs’ paced style of play.
8. Aaron Holiday (2015-18)
Career Stats: 14.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.2 spg, FG% .450
Holiday had a role all three years he was in Westwood, and he stuck to it. He was a starter his freshman year, but had to take a back seat to Lonzo Ball in his sophomore year. Though he might have hid his displeasure, he never let it affect his game as he was the spark UCLA needed off the bench in that 2016-17 season when the Bruins went 31-5.
Holiday was once again inserted into the starting lineup this past season and was a workhorse. For the majority of the season he put the squad on his back as he averaged 20.3 ppg, the most in the Pac-12. With all the youth UCLA had on the team (and the lack of depth due to the China shoplifting incident), the Bruins did not have a lot in their arsenal, but they had Holiday.
Whether it was on the offensive or defensive side of the court, Holiday was ready for ever challenge. Though the Bruins had an underwhelming 21-12 finish, Holiday was able to pull UCLA through several difficult wins which included Kentucky, a win at Arizona and a sweep of USC.
That production has helped him elevate his game to where he looks to be taken in the mid-to-late first round of the 2018 NBA Draft. Whoever gets him, is getting a good one.
7. Darren Collison (2005-09)
Career Stats: 11.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.6 spg, FG% .475
Collison was player that could have jumped to the NBA early, but his dedication to the Bruins was a higher priority for this recent legend.
Collison spent all four years in Westwood, which means that he saw a lot of action, specifically the three Final Four runs under Ben Howland, the first time that has happened since John Wooden was in charge.
In his first season, he backed up Jordan Farmar who was doing a fine job of leading UCLA back to national prominence. in the next three years, it was all Collison’s. In his sophomore and junior season, he continued UCLA’s push for Final Fours, though the Bruins came up short of a national title both times. Still, what he did in his time in Westwood will be remembered by Bruin fans for season to come.
He was taken 21st overall by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2009 NBA Draft. Since then he has played with Dallas, the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento and ikon his second go-rounf with the Indiana Pacers, a place he currently calls home.
6. Russell Westbrook (2006-08)
Career Stats: 8.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.0 spg, FG% .464
This was a hard player to rank, simply because I did not want to include his good fortunes in the NBA to mix with what he did at UCLA. There is no doubt that he is one of the best players in the association right now, but at UCLA, he needed time to blossom and grow.
Surprisingly, he blossomed and grew during the jump from his freshman year to his sophomore. In 2006-07, he only had 3.4 ppg coming off the bench, but things shifted in his sophomore as he was forced into the starting lineup with Darren Collison getting injured that year.
Not only was it his coming out party, but he helped the Bruins make it to a third straight Final Four. That year his points jumped up to 12.7 per game (2nd on the team) and had 4.3 assists, more than Collison.
But it wasn’t just his contributions that made him stand out, but the way he played with a bang.
Currently, he is the highlight of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that drafted him 4th overall in 2008 (though they were still the Seattle Supersonics at that point). He has been a 7-time All-Star, a 2-time All-Star MVOPP and even took home the title of league MVOPP back in 2017. Yes, he certainly has blossomed alright.
5. Arron Afflalo (2004-07)
Career Stats: 14.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.6 spg, FG% .457
Afflalo is not just one of the best players of the last two decades, but quite possibly be in the running as the top fan favorite. If there was ever a player that exemplified what former UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland preached, it was him.
Afflalo was the best on-ball defender of his era, which in essence, makes him the best on-ball defender since 2000. He was always looking for the challenge of shutting down the opposing team’s best player and did a hell of job. Game after game, he would disrupt the offense and limit team’s offensive opportunities.
If you ever needed things to get done, get the ball in Afflalo’s hands.
The former shooting guard helped out with the first two Final Four runs, but opted for the NBA after his junior season. He has been a bit of a journeyman in the NBA, playing with Detroit, Denver, Orlando, Portland, the New York Knicks and Sacramento. He is currently back with the Magic.
4. Jordan Farmar (2004-06)
Career Stats: 13.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.2 spg, FG% .410
The Ben Howland era needed warriors and his first class was full of them. Lorenzo Mata, Josh Shipp, Arron Afflalo and the spark that lit the revolution… Jordan Farmar. Like Afflalo, Farmar was the perfect Howland player as he brought grit, defense and leadership.
Farmar had the attitude that gave UCLA their tough, hard-nosed demeanor. He was not afraid to get in the face of players, on defense or in a “conversation”. Yeah, he was a bit if a trash talker, but that is what helped him lead UCLA back to prominence.
He also had one of the most important steals in recent UCLA history.
In his freshman year, he brought an energy that the rest of the team (especially the veterans) had to catch up to. He was trusted bu Howland to get the job done and that is exactly what he did. In his sophomore (and final) year, he lead UCLA to their first and only championship game since the Wooden era. Though the Bruins fell short, it shined it a light on the team and Farmar.
During the 2006 NBA Draft, he was selected as the 26th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers. He was with L.A. for the back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010 as a backup to Derek Fisher. He left for the New Jersey Nets after that season and has been in and out of the NBA and the Israeli league ever since. His last stint was with Sacramento in 2016.
3. Jason Kapono (1999-2003)
Career Stats: 16.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 0.9 spg, FG% .469
Kapono was an unstoppable machine when he was at UCLA. In his four years, he received several accolades for his contribution to the team. Not only was he the first UCLA basketball player to make the All-Pac-12 first team all four years, but he lead his teams in scoring every year, another first for a Bruin.
Whenever the ball was in his hands, you knew that he was going to do something special. He had a fanatic shot which was hard to defend. If he was out in three-point line and he had the look, you could almost guarantee that it was going in.
Unfortunately, his talents could only get the team so far. In his first three seasons, the Steve Lavin-coached Bruins made it to the Sweet 16, but was unable to move past that in each year. It got worse when he was a senior as Lavin lost a bit of control and UCLA went 10-19 and missed the NCAA Tournament completely.
Still, it did not deter him from the NBA as he was selected in the 2003 NBA Draft by Cleveland. He played for five different NBA teams before finishing up his career in Greece in 2013.
2. Lonzo Ball (2016-17)
Career Stats: 14.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 7.6 apg, 1.8 spg, FG% .551
The term “generational player” was thrown around a lot, but it was the best description for this Magic Johnson-esque specimen from Chino Hills. There was a lot of hype around Ball when he came to UCLA, mostly from his father, but it was all true.
Ball had the skills and the team to bring Steve Alford’s UCLA Bruins back to national prominence. He had an awkward shot, but he made it count as he was one of the top scorers on the team. But that was not his best feature. The freshman phenom was an incredible passer as he led, not just the team in assists, but the nation with 7.6 per game.
Though he was unable to win any type of hardware for the Bruins, he did led them to an astounding 31-5 record, quite the turn around from 15-17 the season before.
But his stay in Westwood was short-lived as he was bound for the NBA, which fans assumed from the beginning of the season. He was drafted second overall by the Lakers and this past season made the All-NBA Rookie Team.
1. Kevin Love (2007-08)
Career Stats: 17.5 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.7 spg, FG% .559
The rumor is that when Kevin Love said he was committing to the UCLA basketball team, Ben Howland started to cry. UCLA had been on Love for a while and though it was believed he was going to in-state Oregon, the Bruins were the ones to win his services.
This was a huge get for the Bruins, literally. Love was a slightly bigger player than the trimmed down athlete we now see at Cleveland. Video of him ripping down rims Shaq-style made Howland salivate.
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UCLA had gone to two Final Fours in the previous two seasons without any hardware to show for it. With Howland landing this five-star prospect, that looked like it was going to change. In the previous two seasons, UCLA had made it to the Final Four with lesser talent. Howland was trying to shift that paradigm and grab a few top-tier players. Well this was the start of that.
Love was an all-around basketball machine. His big body made him hard to stop under the rim, whether he was making baskets or pulling down rebounds, but he also possessed a unique quality, an art form that had not been seen for a long time in Westwood. With his keen vision and strong arms, he was able to make court-length outlet passes which sparked UCLA’s transition game.
The Bruins already had the talent to turn defense into offense, but with Love, points came in droves. In his only season in Westwood, Love averaged 17.5 points per game, 10.6 rebounds and had a .559 field goal percentage. To say he was unstoppable was an understatement. He also had that killer instinct. In UCLA’s only game at Oregon that year, the local fans that felt spurned by his decision let him have it (some with a little too much vulgarity). Love responded with 26 points and 18 rebounds in an 80-75 UCLA victory.
Love made quite the difference as UCLA won the Pac-12, went 35-4 and returned to the Final Four for an unprecedented third time in a row, the first time that has happened at UCLA since John Wooden was in charge. Unfortunately, that is where it ended. The Bruins could not win a championship with Love, but they accomplished a lot in that time.
Go Joe Bruin takes a look at 10 of the best UCLA basketball players to where the blue and gold since the year 2000.
Love was selected 5th overall during the 2008 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He would spend six years there until he found a new home with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014. With the help of LeBron James, Love won his first NBA title in 2016.