Best One-and-Done NBA Players of All Time

To basketball fans, the term “one and done” has become as much a part of the sport’s culture as terms like “jump shot” or “free throw” over the last two decades. It’s a term used for a player who plays one year of college basketball and then declares himself eligible for the NBA Draft. 

The very best one-and-done players to make it from college to the NBA have come through from 2005 on, which was the delineation point from when the NBA made it illegal for players to go right from high school to the pros. 

Since then, the pipeline of one-and-done players to the NBA is a who’s who of the very best players in the world. Here’s a look at the greatest one-and-done NBA players of all time — with some of the newest being none other than Tyler Herro and Anthony Edwards.

College: Cal

The final spot on this list was by far the hardest to pick, but we like Jaylen Brown here because he’s been such a steady, impactful presence on the Boston Celtics since he was picked No. 3 overall by the team in 2016.

Brown has just gotten better with age — he’s averaged over 20 points the last three seasons and helped lead the Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals, marking the franchise’s first appearance there since 2016.  

College: Michigan State

The oldest player to make this list is former NBA power forward Zach Randolph, who led Michigan State to the Final Four as a freshman in 2001 before the Portland Trail Blazers selected him No. 19 overall in the NBA Draft. 

Randolph played 19 seasons in the NBA and only made two All-Star teams — but he banked $195.5 million in career earnings. 

College: Florida

Bradley Beal was an All-SEC selection in his one season at the University of Florida and led the school to the Elite Eight before bouncing to the NBA, where the Washington Wizards made him the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. 

Over the last decade, the 6-foot-4 guard has established himself as one of the NBA’s best players while playing for one of its worst franchises. Beal averaged over 30 points per game in back-to-back seasons in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 and is also one of the league’s highest-paid players — he’s scheduled to make $36.4 million in the 2022-2023 season. 

College: Kentucky

Say what you will about Tyler Herro’s inability or unwillingness to play defense — as Miami Heat general manager Pat Riley was quick to point out following the 2021-2022 NBA season — dude can get buckets with the very best of them. 

Herro was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2021-2022, but it wasn’t his first time in the spotlight since the team made him the No. 13 overall pick out of Kentucky in 2019, as he helped lead the team to the NBA Finals as a rookie in 2020. 

Also, how many guys have a song named after them?