Tennessee's Top Five NBA Alumni

With the NBA Draft now in the books, let's look back at some of the best Tennessee Volunteers who thrived in the NBA.

The NBA Draft concluded on June 22nd. Another Vol was selected, Julian Phillips, with the 36th overall pick in the NBA Draft. To remain in the spirit of the draft time, we have decided to look back at some of the Volunteers that turned out to have the best NBA careers. 

Chicago Bulls F Julian Phillips

5. Josh Richardson

With eight years of experience in the NBA on six different teams, Josh Richardson has made his mark around professional basketball. With a career average of 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists per game, he has become a reliable role player in the league. At 6 feet, 5 inches tall, and 200 pounds, he has become a big two-guard with a solid jump shot leading him to become a great role player. He also is a relatively underrated defender. He has averaged right around a steal a game, and his length allows him to be very hyperactive and disruptive on the defensive end of the floor. Richardson has become a nice veteran player in the league with a successful NBA career. 

4. Tobias Harris

Despite a slow rookie season in 2011-12, Tobias Harris has found his role with the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA. He has averaged double figures in points every season except his rookie campaign. He also has a career average of 6 rebounds a game and under 1.5 turnovers a game. Harris is also a highly efferent shooter in the league from multiple spots. He has career averages of 48% from the field, 38% from three, and 83% from the free throw line. Harris also averages a phenomenal 17.1 points, eight rebounds, and three assists per game in the postseason. Being a really good scorer and underrated rebounder, Harris has solidified his career in the NBA after 11 seasons so far. This makes him one of the best Vols ever in the NBA. 

3. Dale Ellis 

Dale Ellis was selected in the 1983 draft and played 17 seasons all the way up to the year 2000. He played for a handful of teams like the Mavericks, Supersonics, Spurs, etc. Ellis also has quite the collection of hardware on his mantel from the NBA. He was the NBA's most improved player of the year during the 1986-87 season and was All-NBA plus an all-star a year later. Ellis was a well-regarded shooter and scorer in the NBA. He had a career field goal percentage of 48% and averaged around 16 points a game. In 1997-98 with the Seattle Supersonics, he had a phenomenal three-point percentage of 46%. He shot nearly 50% in field goals that same season. Ellis' gorgeous touch while shooting the basketball and all-star ceiling made him one of the best Tennessee Vols to play in the NBA. 

2. Allan Houston 

Drafted in 1993, Tennessee's all-time leading scorer spent three seasons with the Detroit Pistons and the remaining nine with the New York Knicks. Houston was a two-time NBA all-star going to the game in back-to-back seasons from 1999-2001. During those seasons, he averaged 20 and 19 points per game, respectively. One of the most underrated qualities of Houston's game was his free-throw shooting. He was one of the players in the NBA you did not want to send to the line. He never shot below 80% in any season and shot at least 90% from the line in three seasons late in his career. Houston was also a 40% career shooter from three-point land. His scoring potency in Knoxville clearly translated to the NBA in a successful career. 

1. Bernard King

Part of the famous Rocky Top basketball duo of Bernie and Ernie, King was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in 1977. He would go on to have a hall-of-fame career in the NBA. Although there were some seasons where King did not play due to injuries, he was nothing short of spectacular when he did. He had a notoriously good dribble drive to the rim that led to good looks to score. He finished with a career field goal percentage of 52%. King's arguably best season was in 1984-85, when he averaged 33 points a game and won the scoring title. It is the best season points average a New York Knick has ever had. He was also on the 1977-78 all-rookie team and a four-time all-star and All-NBA player. King also has the best offensive plus/minus of any Knick in 1984-85 at 6.1. King's records and amount of accolades make him the former Tennessee Vol with the greatest NBA career. 

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