Ranking the Best College Basketball Players Since 2000

College basketball has seen some of American sports’ brightest stars come through its ranks over the last 24 years. Olympic gold medalists, champions, MVPs, and more. Here are the best college basketball players since 2000, ranked.

1- Anthony Davis, Kentucky – 2011-2012

Resume: NCAA All-Tournament Team, NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, AP Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, Wooden Award, Naismith Award, SEC Player of the Year, All-SEC, All-SEC Tournament, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Rookie of the Year, National Championship

Anthony Davis’ resume speaks for itself. While his scoring stats won’t blow you away (14.2 ppg), but he did everything else at an elite level and was the best defensive player I have ever seen play college basketball. Davis won just about every major college basketball award given out, both nationally and in-conference, and was a consensus All-American.

Davis shattered the SEC record for blocks in a season with 186 while leading Kentucky to its eighth national championship as a freshman. We may never see a freshman accomplish what AD was able to accomplish in college basketball again.

2- Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina – 2005-2009

Resume: NCAA All-Tournament Team, AP Player of the Year, 4x Consensus All-American, Wooden Award, Naismith Award, 2008 ACC Player of the Year, 4x All-ACC, 3x All-ACC Tournament, ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, National Championship (2009)

“Psycho T” is, in my estimation, the second-best player since 2000. The four-time All-American and the 2008 player of the year is one of the most decorated players in the storied history of North Carolina basketball.

Hansbrough came back to school after winning the player of the year award to lead UNC to the 2009 National Championship – Roy Williams’ second title in Chapel Hill.

3- Jay Williams, Duke – 1999-2002

Resume: NCAA All-Tournament Team, 2001-02 AP Player of the Year, 2x Consensus All-American, Wooden Award, Naismith Award, 3x All-ACC, ACC All-Freshman, ACC Tournament MVP, National Championship (2001)

Before he was on ESPN, Jay Williams was one of the best college basketball players in the last 25 years. His 2000-01 season was truly special as he averaged 21.6 ppg, over six assists, while shooting nearly 43% from beyond the arc and 52% inside the arc. He led Duke to their third national championship under Coach K.

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4- Zach Edey, Purdue – 2020-2024 

Resume: NCAA All-Tournament Team, 2x AP Player of the Year, 2x Consensus All-American, 2x Wooden Award, 2x Naismith Award, 2x Big Ten Player of the Year, 3x All-Big 10, 2x All-Big 10 Tournament Team, 2x Big 10 All-Defensive Team, Big 10 All-Freshman, Big 10 Tournament MVP

People may not like it, but Zach Edey belongs very high on this list. His resume is bizarre in modern college basketball. Only six players have ever won the AP Player of the Year award multiple times, and Edey is the first to do it since Ralph Sampson in the early 80s.

Edey was the most dominant college basketball player in recent history, and the only thing missing from his resume is a national championship as Purdue fell in the title game to last season’s UConn Huskies.

5- Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse – 2002-2003

Resume: NCAA All-Tournament Team, NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Consensus All-American, 2002-03 All-Big East, Big East All-Freshman, Big East Rookie of the Year, National Championship (2003)

Carmelo Anthony only spent one season in college, so his resume may be a little thin compared to others on this list. However, he was able to lead Syracuse to their one and only national title. He didn’t need multiple seasons to leave his mark on college basketball.

6- Stephen Curry, Davidson – 2006-2009 

Resume: 2x Consensus All-American, 2x Southern Player of the Year, 3x All-Southern, 3x All-Southern Tournament, Southern All-Freshman Team, Southern Rookie of the Year, 2x Southern Tournament MVP

While Curry doesn’t have the national player of the year awards under his belt and he didn’t win a national title at Davidson, he certainly gave it his best shot. His 2008 NCAA tournament run was one for the ages. Curry led 10-seeded Davidson to wins against 7-seed Gonzaga, 2-seed Georgetown, 3-seed Wisconsin, and they fell by just two points to the eventual national champions, Kansas, in the Elite Eight.

His final year in college he led the entire nation in scoring, but unfortunately, they were unable to make it back to the NCAA tournament as a mid-major program.

7- Kevin Durant, Texas – 2006-2007

Resume: AP Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, Wooden Award, Naismith Award, Big 12 Player of the Year, All-Big 12, All-Big 12 Tournament Team, Big 12 All-Defensive, Big 12 All-Freshman, Big 12 Rookie of the Year, Big 12 Tournament MVP

KD’s lone season in the Lone Star State was simply special as he averaged nearly 26 points and over 11 rebounds per game. He shot over 40% from three and was an elite defender at the college level as well.

The only reason KD isn’t higher on the list like fellow freshmen Anthony Davis and Carmelo Anthony is because he wasn’t able to finish the job and win a national title, or even have a real tournament run. His Longhorns were blown out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by USC. KD did his part, but Texas couldn’t get it done.

8- Doug McDermott, Creighton – 2010-2014

Resume: 2014 AP Player of the Year, 3x Consensus All-American, Wooden Award, Naismith Award, 2014 Big East Player of the Year, 2x MVC Player of the Year, 2014 All-Big East, 3x All-MVC, 2014 All-Big East Tournament Team, 2x All-MVC Tournament Team, MVC All-Freshman, 2011 MVC Rookie of the Year, 2x MVC Tournament MVP

Doug McDermott is one of the best bucket getters in modern college basketball, as his nickname suggests, and he was able to do it in both a lower level, and high-level conference. As Creighton moved into the Big East, McDermott averaged nearly 27 ppg on 45% from three.

Like others on this list, the one thing missing from his resume is the nation championship or a long tournament run as the Blue Jays were never able to make it beyond the second round of the NCAA tournament.

9- Zion Williamson, Duke – 2018-2019 

Resume: 2019 AP Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, Wooden Award, Naismith Award, ACC Player of the Year, All-ACC, All-ACC Tournament Team, ACC All-Defense, ACC All-Freshman, ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP

Zion was a superstar in college. His Duke team was absolutely loaded with future NBA talent, and they entered the NCAA tournament as the top overall seed. Williamson was the best player on this team as he averaged nearly 23 ppg and nearly nine rebounds.

However, Duke couldn’t finish the job as they lost in the Elite Eight to Michigan State. That doesn’t take away how special Zion Williamson’s freshman year was. It was special.

10- J.J. Redick, Duke – 2002-2006 

Resume: 2006 AP Player of the Year, 2x Consensus All-American, Wooden Award, Naismith Award, 2x ACC Player of the Year, 4x All-ACC, 3x All-ACC Tournament, ACC All-Freshman, 2x ACC Tournament MVP

J.J. Redick is one of the most divisive players in college basketball history. If you loved him, you really loved him and if he rubbed you the wrong way, he really rubbed you the wrong way. No matter how you feel, you cannot deny his on-court ability.

As Duke’s all-time leading scorer, Redick accomplished wonders in Durham. Again, the one thing missing from his resume is a national championship.

Honorable mentions: Dwyane Wade, Kemba Walker, Trae Young, Blake Griffin, Jalen Brunson