When people hear the word Harvard University, they naturally associate it with academics and studies. But Harvard is also famous for basketball and today we will discuss every Harvard NBA Players.
They have their own basketball team called Harvard Crimson. It is an intercollegiate men’s basketball team which have appeared in several NCAA tournaments.
Apart from that, many Harvard alums successfully made it to the NBA.
If you want to know more about Harvard NBA players, we can help you.
In this article, we will discuss the former as well as current Harvard NBA players.
Harvard NBA Players: About Harvard University
It is a private Ivy League university. Established in the year 1636, it is one of the oldest universities in the world and it is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
It is a prestigious institution that has produced 8 US Presidents and 188 billionaires. It is famous for research, teaching, and learning.
Students literally work hard throughout their high school life to get here.
It is the number one institution in the world.
Harvard Crimson Basketball Team
It is an intercollegiate basketball team. It is the name of the Harvard college men’s basketball team. They compete with other Ivy League colleges.
The nickname of the team is Crimson. Tommy Amaker is their basketball coach. They have appeared in 4 NCAA tournaments.
There are four notable players of this team who made it to the NBA. Jeremy Lin, Wyndol Gray, Saul Mariaschin, and Ed Smith.
They compete with other Ivy League teams like Brown Bears, Yale Bulldogs, Columbia Lions, Princeton Tigers, Cornell Big Red, Penn Quakers, and Dartmouth Big Green.
There haven’t been any new NBA player addition from Harvard since 2010 compared to other Ivy League colleges.
Harvard NBA Players
Here is a list of all the Harvard players who made it to the NBA. You might recognize some of these players.
Wyndol Gray (1946 to 1948)
Wyndol Woodrow Gray went to Bowling Green College before Harvard. While studying there, he enrolled in the Navy. It was the time of World War ll.
After the war came to an end, he went to Harvard to complete his education. He enrolled in the year 1945 and took the Crimsons to the first NCAA tournament in 1946. Wyndol Graymade history by leading the Harvard Crimson to the NCAA for the very first time. He became quite famous after that.
In the year 1946, he was selected by the Boston Celtics. He played an entire season with them. He played a total of 55 games. After that, he went to play with St. Louis Bombers in the year 1947. He played 11 games with them. In the year 1948, he was selected by Providence Steamrollers.
He played only season with them. He was chosen by Toledo Jeeps in the same year but did not play any match. Wyndol Gray NBA career ended in the year 1948.
His overall NBA stats were 5.4 PPG. His career ended shortly after playing 3 NBA seasons.
Saul Mariaschin (1947 to 1948)
Saul George Mariaschin went to Syracuse University in the beginning. During World War ll, he went to join the Navy. After the war came to an end, he entered Harvard University in the year 1945. He played two seasons in the Harvard Crimson College team.
After that, he was picked by the Washington Capitols in the 1947 BAA draft. Later it merged with the NBL to form the NBA. He never played with the team and instead signed to play with the Boston Celtics. He played one NBA season with them. In the season, he played all the 43 games.
However, his NBA career ended after one season. His NBA stats were 7.7 PPG (regular seasons) and 9.7 PPG (Playoffs).
Ed Smith (1953 to 1954)
Edward Smith, popularly known as Ed, was selected by New York Knicks in the 1951 NBA draft. This 6’6” player was picked 6th in the first round. Unfortunately, he played only one NBA season, i.e., 1953-54.
He played the center forward position for overall 11 games in the season. His NBA stats were 2.5 PPG and 2.4 RPG. He failed to make it to the next season as his performance was not that great.
Jeremy Lin (2010 to 2019)
Jeremy Shu-How Lin is the only former NBA player who made a difference. After playing the last NBA season in 2019, he went to play with the Beijing Ducks.
In the year 2006, he enrolled for Harvard University without any scholarship. He played for four years with the Harvard Crimson team. At that time, his stats were 16.4 PPG.
After completing his education, he was selected by Golden State Warriors in the year 2010. After playing one season with them, he went to play with New York Knicks in the year 2011. Like the first season, he played in the D-league during his rookie years.
Jeremy Lin led the Knicks to win seven games one after another and was awarded for the same. He helped the team enter the playoffs in the 2011-12 NBA season.
Jeremy Lin became quite well-known and famous after that winning streak. He became one of the most influential basketball players. He won the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year award in the same year.
In 2012, he started playing for the Houston Rockets. He played two seasons with them. In 2014, he went to play with the Los Angeles Lakers. Jeremy Lin played one season with them and was selected by Charlotte Hornets in the year 2015. He changed three teams after that. He played with Brooklyn Nets in for two seasons and switched to Atlanta Hawks and played his last season with the Toronto Raptors before retiring from the NBA.
His NBA stats are 11.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG. He is the only NBA player from Harvard who played 10 NBA seasons and made a name for himself.
Harvard NBA Players Who Were Selected In The NBA Draft But Never Played
Here is a list of few basketball players from Harvard who were picked in the NBA draft but never got to play any NBA match.
- George Hauptfuhrer: The Boston Celtics picked him in the 1948 draft.
- James Brown: The Atlanta Hawks picked him in 1973 draft.
- Joe Carrabino: The Denver Nuggets picked him in the 1985 draft.
- Bob Ferry Jr.: The Atlanta Hawks selected him in the 1985 draft.
- Keith Webster: The Utah Jazz picked him in the 1987 draft.
- Dale Dover: The Boston Celtics picked him in the 1971 draft.
- Floyd Lewis: The Cleveland Cavaliers picked him in the 1973 draft.
- Ernest Hardy: The Detroit Pistons selected him in the 1970 draft.
- Glen Fine: He was chosen by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1979 draft
This is all you need to know about the NBA players from Harvard University. As compared to other Ivy League Colleges, there are very few Harvard players who made it to the NBA.
