Hoosiers in the NBA — The All-Time Leaders

Now that the 2018 NBA Draft has passed, it is time to take a look at which former Indiana basketball stars have thrived in the league once they arrived.  Below we summarize the top three former IU stars in several NBA statistical categories.  The lists are dominated by a few names from IU’s past.

Walt Bellamy played at Indiana from 1958 to 1961.  As a senior at IU he averaged a school record 17.8 rebounds per game.  He is in the basketball Hall of Fame and was a member of the Indiana All-Century team.  He would become the first Hoosier to be taken as the number one overall NBA draft pick, and he would play in the NBA for 14 seasons.

George McGinnis only played one-season at IU after sitting out his freshman season as was required at the time.  McGinnis became the first sophomore to lead the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding. He averaged 29.9 points per game in his lone season in Bloomington, earning All-American Honors in 1971.  He played 11 seasons combined between the ABA and NBA.

Identical twins Tom and Dick Van Arsdale played together at IU from 1962 to 1965, and they were both on the NBA All-Rookie team in 1966.  They both played 12 years in the league, and were both three-time NBA All-Stars.

Of course Isiah Thomas needs little introduction to Hoosier fans.  The legendary point guard led Indiana to the 1981 national championship and went on to win two NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons.  He was a 12-time NBA All-Star in 13 seasons in the league, and the 1990 Finals MVP.

(Stats shown are for the player’s NBA & ABA career)

GAMES

1. Walt Bellamy – 1,043
2. Isiah Thomas – 979
3. Tom Van Arsdale – 929

MINUTES

1. Walt Bellamy – 38,940
2. Isiah Thomas – 35,516
3. Dick Van Arsdale – 31,771

MINUTES PER GAME

1. Walt Bellamy – 37.3
2. Isiah Thomas – 36.3
3. Dick Van Arsdale – 34.5

POINTS

1. Walt Bellamy – 20,941
2. Isiah Thomas – 18,822
3. George McGinnis – 17,009

POINTS PER GAME

1. George McGinnis – 20.2
2. Walt Bellamy – 20.1
3. Isiah Thomas – 19.2

REBOUNDS

1. Walt Bellamy – 14,241
2. George McGinnis – 9,233
3. Tom Van Arsdale – 3,942

REBOUNDS PER GAME

1. Walt Bellamy – 13.7
2. George McGinnis – 11.0
3. Kent Benson – 5.7

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS

1. George McGinnis – 3,143
2. Alan Henderson – 1,426
3. Kent Benson – 1,216

(Note:  Offensive rebounds were not an official NBA statistic until the 1973-74 season)

ASSISTS

1. Isiah Thomas – 9,061
2. Quinn Buckner – 3,114
3. George McGinnis – 3,089

ASSISTS PER GAME

1. Isiah Thomas – 9.3
2. Quinn Buckner – 4.3
3. Victor Oladipo – 3.8

STEALS

1. Isiah Thomas – 1,861
2. George McGinnis – 1,448
3. Quinn Buckner – 1,337

BLOCKS

1. Kent Benson – 586
2. Dean Garrett – 372
3. George McGinnis – 332

(Note:  the NBA did not recognize blocked shots as an official stat until the 1973-74 season)

FIELD GOALS

1. Walt Bellamy – 7,914
2. Isiah Thomas – 7,194
3. George McGinnis – 6,381

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE (MINIMUM 100 GAMES)

1. Walt Bellamy – 51.6%
2. D.J. White – 50.7%
3. Cody Zeller – 50.4%

THREE POINT FIELD GOALS

1. Eric Gordon – 1,241
2. Victor Oladipo – 544
3. Isiah Thomas – 398

THREE POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE (MINIMUM 100 GAMES and 100 ATTEMPTS)

1. Yogi Ferrell – 37.8%
2. Eric Gordon – 37.6%
3. Victor Oladipo – 35.3%

FREE THROWS

1. Walt Bellamy – 5,113
2. Dick Van Arsdale – 4,253
3. George McGinnis – 4,164

FREE THROW PERCENTAGE (MINIMUM 100 GAMES and 100 ATTEMPTS)

1. Steve Alford – 87%
2. Jon McGlocklin – 84.5%
3. Herm Schaefer – 82.8%

(All stats via www.basketball-reference.com)

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