Data: The Ringer, Axios Research; Chart: Axios Visuals
Surprisingly few players have reached the highest levels of both college and professional basketball.
By the numbers: Just two of the top 50 NBA players won a championship in college, and just 6 played in a Final Four.
We used The Ringer's player rankings to identify the top 50 players. (There are other lists, but there are not big disagreements among them as to who's in the top 50.)
Many of the NBA's best players didn't go to college at all. Even more played a year or two but lost early in the NCAA tournament.
Details: Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks are the only top NBA players who led their schools to an NCAA championship.
Davis played college basketball at Kentucky. A disproportionate share of the players who excelled in both college and the NBA played for Kentucky.
Four of the six top NBA players who made a college Final Four, for example, went to Kentucky.
What we're watching: UConn's Stephon Castle could be the next player to make it into this rarefied group. He'll be playing in Monday's NCAA title game, and is projected as a top pick in the upcoming NBA draft.