You might not think LSU’s basketball team is the most popular, but a glance at this list of its best players will show you that they’re anything but underrated. From college champions to NBA superstars, these LSU basketball players have had a lasting impact on the game and helped shape society. From amazing season records to unparalleled achievements, 40 of our favorite and most amazing LSU basketball players are here.
1. Pete Maravich
Peter Press Maravich was born in 1947 and died in 1988. His height is 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), and his weight is197 lb (89 kg). He was an American professional basketball player known by the nickname Pistol Pete. Maravich was a standout in college for the LSU Tigers. With 3,667 points and an average of 44.2 points per game, he is the all-time leading NCAA Division scorer. After a 10-year professional career, he was forced to retire due to injuries in 1980 after playing for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams.
2. Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal was born in1972 in New JerseyNew Jersey. Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal stands 7 feet 1 inch tall, weighs 325 pounds. He is an American former professional basketball player and entrepreneur who currently works as a sports analyst for the television show Inside the NBA. O’Neal playing for Brown at LSU, O’Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, a two-time NCAA Player of the Year, and the Adolph Rupp Trophy NCAA men’s basketball player of the year in 1991. He was also voted collegiate player by the Associated Press and the United Press International.
3. Bob Pettit
Bob Pettit was born in 1932 in Louisiana. He is an American former professional basketball player. His height is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his weight is 205 lb (93 kg). He was also a Delta Kappa Epsilon’s Zeta Zeta Chapter at LSU. In 1952, Pettit made his varsity debut at LSU. Pettit aided the Tigers in going undefeated throughout a 23-game regular-season schedule (to Tulsa). He retired from LSU in 1954. He was the first Tiger athlete to receive this honor in any sport. At the SEC Basketball Tournament in 1999, he was dubbed LSU’s Living Legend. He is a member of the University Hall of Fame for the Louisiana State University football team.
4. Ben Simmons
David Simmons was born in 1963. He played 13 seasons in the Australian National Basketball League and is a retired professional basketball player from the United States and Australia (NBL). His height is 205 cm (6 ft 9 in), and his weight is 112 kg (247 lb). He also spent two years as a coach with the Hunter Pirates. During Ben’s lone season at Louisiana State University (LSU), Patrick worked as an assistant coach.
5. Glen Davis
Ronald Glen “Big Baby” Davis is a former professional basketball player in the United States. He was born in 1986 in Louisiana. His height is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his weight is 289 lb (131 kg). The Tigers reached their first Final Four under Davis’ leadership as a sophomore in 2006 berth since 1986. Unfortunately, LSU fell to UCLA in the national semifinals, behind by a large margin in the first half and never recovering.
6. Brandon Bass
Brandon Samuel Bass was born in 1985 in Louisiana. He is a professional basketball player in the United States. His height is 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m), and his weight is 250 lb (113 kg). When he graduated in 2003, he was a member of the class of 2003. Connecticut, LSU, Mississippi State, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Miami (FL), and USC all expressed interest in joining their basketball programs. Bass earned offers from Connecticut, LSU, Mississippi State, and USC, finally electing LSU.
7. Garrett Temple
Garrett Bartholomew Temple was born in 1986 in Louisiana. His height is 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), and his weight is 195 lb (88 kg). He is a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association for the New Orleans Pelicans (NBA). From 2005 until 2009, he was an LSU Tigers basketball team member. Temple went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s LSU Laboratory School. He led University High to the 2004 Class 2A state championship with an average of 13.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists as a senior.
8. Tyrus Thomas
Tyrus Wayne Thomas was born in 1986 in Louisiana. His height is 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), and his weight is 225 lb (102 kg). He is a former professional basketball player from the United States. He attended Louisiana State University (LSU) before being selected fourth overall in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.
9. Marcus Thornton
Marcus Terrell Thornton was born in 1987 in Louisiana. His height is 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), and his weight is 205 lb (93 kg). He was a professional basketball player in the United States before retiring. Before being picked in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft by the Miami Heat, he played collegiate basketball for Kilgore College and LSU. He concluded his two seasons at LSU with 1,347 points, enough for 21st all-time, and a 20.4 scoring average, good for sixth all-time. With 168 three-pointers, he was eighth in school history.
10. Stromile Swift
Stromile Emanuel Swift was born in 1979 in Louisiana. He is a retired NBA basketball player from the United States. He was a power forward and center who stood 6’10” and weighed 220 pounds. Swift played collegiate basketball for Louisiana State University. He led the Tigers to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament his sophomore year when the LSU men’s basketball program was on probation and only had a few scholarships available.
11. Ricky Blanton
Ricky Wayne Blanton was born in 1966 in Florida. He is a retired American professional basketball player. Blanton a 6’7″ and 215 pounds. Blanton was a member of the LSU Tigers who reached the Final Four in 1986. Blanton was the head men’s basketball coach at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2004 after coaching stints at LSU and Utah State.
12. Tremont Waters
Tremont Waters was born in 1998 in Connecticut. He is a professional basketball player in the NBA G League for the Wisconsin Herd. His height is 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), and his weight is 175 lb (79 kg). He played for the LSU Tigers basketball team in college. Waters led LSU against the 6th seeded Maryland Terrapins in the NCAA tournament in 2019.
13. Naz Reid
Nazareno Hilton Reid was born in1999 in New Jersey. His height is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his weight is 264 lb (120 kg). He is a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association for the Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA). He is a member of the LSU Tigers basketball team in college. Reid has committed to playing basketball for LSU in college.
14. Magnum Rolle
Magnum Rolle was born in 1986 in the Bahamas. He is tall, 6 ft 11 in, and weighs 235 lb. He is a former professional basketball player from the Bahamas who most recently played for the Thailand Basketball League’s Nakhon Pathom Mad Goat. He was a five-star talent out of Laurinburg and had already committed to Louisiana State University (LSU). Arizona, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, and North Carolina offered him scholarships.
15. Ronald Dupree
Ronald Edmund Dupree, Jr. was born in 1981 in Mississippi. Mississippi. He is a former professional basketball player in the United States who spent six seasons in the NBA (NBA). Dupree was hired as a scout for the Milwaukee Bucks after working, the director of student development at LSU and as an assistant coach at the University of Nevada Reno. He concluded his LSU career as the team’s eighth-best scorer and sixth-best rebounder.
16. Johnny O’Bryant III
Johnny Lee O’Bryant III was born in 1993 in Mississippi. His height is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his weight is 257 lb (117 kg). He is an American professional basketball player. O’Bryant was one of only 14 players at LSU to score 1,000 points and grab 700 rebounds throughout his three-year college career.
17. Stanley Roberts
Stanley Corvette Roberts was born in 1970 in South Carolina. He is a retired USA professional basketball player who played center. His height is 7 ft 0 in, and his weight is 285 lb. Roberts was forced to sit out his rookie year at LSU owing to academic ineligibility, and he only lasted one season at the school before leaving to pursue a career in the NFL.
18. Chris Jackson
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Wayne Jackson) was born in 1969 in Mississippi. He is 6 ft 1 in, weighs 162 lb. He is a former NBA basketball player from the United States. He was a consensus first-team All-American while playing collegiate basketball for the LSU Tigers from 1988 to 1990. He played in various leagues across the world after his NBA career.
19. Andre Stringer
Andre Stringer was born in 1991 in Georgia. He was a basketball player for LSU in college. His height is 5 ft 10 in, and his weight is 190 lb. He was in the top three in 3-pointers, top ten in assists, and top 20 in steals at LSU.
20. Brandon Sampson
Brandon Sampson was born in 1997 in Louisiana. His height is 6 ft 5 in, and his weight is 184 lb. He is a basketball player for the NBA G League’s Iowa Wolves. He was a basketball player for Louisiana State University in college (LSU). Sampson was a member of LSU coach Johnny Jones’s lauded recruiting class.
21. Rudy Macklin
Durand “Rudy” Macklin was born in 1958 in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a USA former professional basketball player. His height is 6 ft 7 in, and his weight is 205 lb. He was voted Southeastern Conference Player of the Year as a senior, and he guided LSU to the NCAA Final Four. He concluded his career at LSU as the all-time top rebounder (1,276) and second all-time scorer (2,080).
22. Skylar Mays
Skylar Justin Mays was born in 1997 in Louisiana. He is a USA professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks. His height is 6 ft 4 in; his weight is 205 lb. Mays was named In college basketball, heHe spent eleven seasons with nine different teams in Jerry West and Naismith Player of the Year watchlists and the preseason first-team All-SEC. In addition, CBS Sports ranked him as the 45th best collegiate basketball player heading into 2019–20.
23. Antonio Blakeney
Antonio Davon Blakeney was born in 1996 in New York. He is an NBA basketball player from the United States. He is tall, 6 ft 4 in, weighs 192 lb. He is a member of the LSU Tigers basketball team in college. He became LSU’s highest scorer in the 2016–17 season, averaging 17.2 points per game while also grabbing 4.8 rebounds and dishing out 1.7 assists per game. Blakeney was named to the All-SEC Second Team that year.
24. Randy Livingston
Randy Livingston was born in1975 in Louisiana. He is tall, 6 ft 4 in, weighs 209 lb. He is a former professional basketball player and current basketball coach in the United States. He spent eleven seasons with nine different teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Livingston was named the national high school LSU player of the year in 1993, but his college and professional careers were marred by a series of ailments that limited his ability to play.
25. Naz Reid
Nazareno Hilton Reid was born in 1999 in New Jersey. His height is 6 ft 9 in. His weight is 264 lb. He is a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association for the Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA). He is a member of the LSU Tigers basketball team in college. Reid committed to play collegiate basketball at LSU in 2017.
26. Javonte Smart
Javonte Dedrick Smart was born in 1999 in Louisiana. His height is 6 ft 4 in. His weight is 205 lb. He is a USA professional basketball player; He currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League on a two-way deal. He is a member of the LSU Tigers basketball team in college. LSU beat out Kentucky and UCLA for Smart’s commitment.
27. Jarell Martin
Jarell Martin was born in 1994 in Louisiana. He is tall, 6 ft 10 in, and weighs 239 lb. He plays for the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL), attended LSU, and was a member of the LSU basketball team. Martin was named a McDonald’s All-American as one of the top prospects in the country, marking the first for LSU head coach Johnny Jones.
29. Jordan Mickey
Jordan Grayson Mickey was born in 1994 in Texas. He is tall, 6 ft 8 in, and weighs 236 lb. He is a professional basketball player in the VTB United League and the EuroLeague for Zenit Saint Petersburg. Before being taken by the Celtics with the 33rd overall choice in the 2015 NBA draft, he played college basketball for Louisiana State University. Mickey had an immediate impact during his freshman year at LSU in 2013–14, registering double-doubles in each of his first three games.
30. Darrel Mitchell
Darrel Joseph Mitchell Jr. was born in 1984 in Louisiana. His height is 5 ft 11 in, and his weight is 178 lb. He was a professional basketball player in the United States who retired after a career in the NBA. In 2002, he committed to LSU over the University of Houston. He went on to play college basketball with the LSU Tigers, where he stayed for four years and helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament Final Four in 2006.
31. Tasmin Mitchell
Tasmin Olajuwon Mitchell was born in 1986 in Louisiana. He is tall, 6 ft 7 in, and weighs 245 lb. He is an assistant coach for the LSU Tigers and a former professional basketball player in the United States. He committed to play for LSU and spent five years with the Tigers, missing one season due to injury and reaching the NCAA Tournament Final Four in 2006.
32. Dale Morey
Dale E. Morey was born in 1918 and died in 2002. He was a professional basketball player in the United States. Between 1939 and 1942, Morey was a basketball player at Louisiana State University (LSU). After graduating in 1942, Morey took over as head coach of the squad since then-head coach Harry Rabenhorst was called into military service during WWII. He had a 28–19 overall record in his two seasons as LSU coach.
33. Don Newman
Lyle Joseph Mouton was born in 1969 in Louisiana. He is 6 ft 3 in. He is a former Major League basketball outfielder who played from 1995 to 2001. He also spent part of 1998 with the Yakult Swallows in Japan. Lyle began his college career as a guard at LSU on a basketball scholarship. However, he concentrated completely on baseball after two seasons, playing outfield for the LSU Tigers from 1989 to 1991.
34. Duop Reath
Duop Thomas Reath was born in 1996 in South Sudan. He is tall, 6 ft 11 in, and weighs 245 lb. He is an Australian professional basketball player who plays for the National Basketball League’s Illawarra Hawks (NBL). He was a member of the LSU Tigers basketball team in college.
35. Anthony Randolph
Anthony Erwin Randolph Jr. was born in 1989 in West Germany. His height is 6 ft 11 in, and his weight is 230 lb. He is a professional basketball player from the United States. During his lone season at LSU, Randolph was named Honorable Mention All-SEC and First Team All-Freshman Team. Randolph was the first LSU Tiger to start all thirty-one games in his freshman season.
36. Ed Palubinskas
Edward Sebastian Palubinskas was born in 1950. He is an ex-professional basketball player and coach from Australia. Palubinskas led LSU in scoring with 18.6 points per game in 1972–73, earning him a spot on the All-SEC. Palubinskas made 87.5 percent (258-of-295) of his free throws at LSU.
37. Xavier Pinson
Xavier Pinson was born in 2000 in Illinois. He is 6 ft 2 in and weighs 154 lb. He is a basketball player for the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference in the United States (SEC). Previously, he was a member of the Missouri Tigers. Pinson averaged 13.6 points and 2.9 assists per game as a junior. He transferred to LSU for his senior year.
38. Elton Reid
After J. Reid III was born in 2002. He is 6 ft 11 in and weighs 238 lb. He is a Southeastern Conference college basketball player for the LSU Tigers (SEC). He chose LSU over Florida State, Ohio State, and Pittsburgh as his college basketball team in 2021.
39. Tim Quarterman
Tim Quarterman was born in 1994 in Georgia. His height is6 ft 6 in, and his weight is 190 lb. He is an NBA G League basketball player who most recently played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He was a basketball player for Louisiana State University in college (LSU). Quarterman began his career at LSU in 2013. As a sophomore and junior, he started 98 games for the Tigers.
40. Brandon Rachal
Brandon Tyree Rachal was born in 1999 in Louisiana. His height is 6 ft 6 in, and his weight is 215 lb. He is an NBA G League basketball player who plays for the Long Island Nets. In college basketball, he is a member of the LSU Tigers, the Pearl River CC Wildcats, and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
