5 Best UCLA Bruins Basketball Players, Ranked

If you were somehow able to wager on the UCLA Bruins college basketball odds during the 1960s, you would’ve done quite well. They won five national titles that decade, which carried over into 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1975. 

Today, you can bet on their basketball odds each game at the BetMGM online sportsbook.

Before doing so, check out my list of the five best Bruins. 

5 Best UCLA Bruins Basketball Players, Ranked

UCLA Bruins All-Time Greatest Basketball Players

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Abdul-Jabbar, who went by the name Lew Alcindor during his college days, played for the Bruins from 1966 to 1969. 

While there, he won three NCAA titles, was a three-time NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, three-time National College Player of the Year, and three-time consensus first-team All-American, and the team retired his No. 33. 

Abdul-Jabbar scored 2,325 points over those three seasons, which is second in program history. 

He scored 870 points in the 1966-67 season, which is the most in a single season. 

He also holds the top five single-game scoring records, including 61 points during the 1966-67 season against Washington State. 

Abdul-Jabbar also had 1,367 rebounds (second in program history). 

2. Bill Walton

Walton suited up for the Bruins from 1971 to 1974. He won two national titles, was the Final Four Most Outstanding Player twice, was a three-time National College Player of the Year, a three-time consensus first-team All-American, and a three-time first-team All-Pac-8. He also won the James E. Sullivan Award (given to the most outstanding college athlete), and the school retired his No. 32. 

He averaged 20.3 points and 15.7 rebounds per game. 

Walton posted 1,370 rebounds (first). He also holds the top two spots in single-season records with 506 during the 1972-73 season and 466 during the 1971-72 campaign. 

3. Sidney Wicks

Like Abdul-Jabbar and Walton, Wicks played three seasons with the Bruins from 1968 to 1971. 

He won three national titles, was the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, was the Sporting News Player of the Year, the USBWA Player of the Year, two-time Helms Foundation Player of the Year, a consensus first-team All-American, a consensus second-team All-American, two-time first-team All-Pac-8, and his No. 35 was retired. 

He averaged 15.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. 

4. Ed O’Bannon

O’Bannon was part of the Bruins’ 1995 national title team, which came in his final season after playing there from 1991 to 1995. 

Across the four seasons and 93 starts, he averaged 15.5 points, seven rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. 

He was the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, USBWA College Player of the Year, won the John R. Wooden Award (most outstanding college basketball player), Pac-10 co-Player of the Year, consensus first-team All-American, third-team All-American, and three-time first-team All-Pac-10, and the program retired his No. 31. 

Throughout his career, he scored 1,815 points (seventh) and had 95 blocks (10th). 

5. Gail Goodrich

Goodrich won two national titles while playing for UCLA from 1962 to 1965. He was the Helms Foundation Player of the Year, a consensus first-team All-American, and a two-time first-team All-AAWU. The team retired his No. 25. 

During the 1964-65 season, he scored 744 points, the third most in a single season in UCLA history. 

He averaged 19 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.