Top 7 college basketball players with NBA fathers ft. Bronny James, Shaqir O'Neal and more
College basketball players sometimes benefit from a little family advantage, as with Bronny James and Shaqir O'Neal. Sure, being the son of LeBron James or Shaquille O'Neal doesn't carry any automatic bonus. In fact, Bronny and Shaqir sometimes struggle with big shoes to fill.
But good bloodlines run through these seven college basketball players with NBA dads.
Top 7 college basketball players with NBA fathers
#7, Shaqir O'Neal, Texas Southern
Shaqir is a 6-foot-7 forward who is averaging 2.1 points per game this year. His father, Shaquille, was an LSU legend before he became an NBA superstar. scoring 21.6 ppg in three years at Baton Rouge.
#6, DJ Rodman, Southern California
There's another USC player who gets more attention for his famous dad, but DJ Rodman's father, Hall of Famer Dennis, was also a star. DJ is a 6-6 forward who is in his fifth year of college basketball. His 7.8 ppg and 4.9 rebounds per game make him a solid veteran presence for the Trojans.
#5, Bronny James, Southern California
Despite being a highly-rated prospect, Bronny has struggled in college. He's averaging 5.5 ppg, after missing the beginning of the season due to a cardiac issue. Of course, LeBron James was a prep-to-pro guy who never played in college.
#4, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Georgia
Abdur-Rahim, a solid guard who has played at Virginia and now Georgia, is the son of NBA star Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Jabri (12.3 ppg) is a true guard, with a 3-point shot to match. His dad, Shareef, scored 21.1 ppg in a year at Cal before being taken third in the 1996 NBA draft.
#3, Andrej Stojakovic, Stanford
The son of NBA star Peja Stojakovic, Andrej is having a solid freshman year at Stanford. The 6-7 guard is averaging 8.2 ppg and is a 34.8% 3-point shooter. Peja was also a great shooter, scoring 17.0 ppg in 13 NBA seasons. Andrej is another of our solid college basketball players with a famous NBA dad.
#2, Jamal Mashburn, Jr., New Mexico
There's no mystery whose son Mashburn is. His father starred for Rick Pitino at Kentucky before putting in a solid, if injury-shortened NBA career. Junior has played at both Minnesota and New Mexico for Pitino's son, Richard Pitino. In three years at Kentucky, the elder Mashburn scored 1,843 points. The younger Mashburn, in his fourth season, has scored 1,780, with 14.8 ppg this year.
#1, Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
Kentucky freshman star Reed Sheppard (12.5 ppg) has a DNA advantage on both sides of his family. His parents each starred as basketball players at Kentucky. Father Jeff played briefly in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks in 1998-99 (2.2 ppg), but Reed is likely to be in the NBA much longer. Reed's mom, Stacey Reed, was a women's star before the WNBA.
Any college basketball players with famous NBA dads we forgot? Let us know who you'd like to see on the list. Join in our comments section below.