National Basketball Association

Ranking The 5 Best Ohio State Buckeyes In The NBA

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Mar 21, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard D’Angelo Russell (0) sits on the bench before the game against the Arizona Wildcats in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA is full of players from college, including five active Ohio State Buckeyes. Let’s rank the five best Buckeyes in the NBA.

Ohio State is in the Top 25 college basketball rankings year after year. Thad Matta has done a terrific job as head coach, leading the Buckeyes to two Final Fours, five Big Ten regular season championships and four Big Ten tournament championships.

He is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year winner, and for good reason. He knows how to recruit and develop talent. Five active players in the NBA played for Matta and the Buckeyes. In fact two of them received big paydays in July.

Mike Conley signed a five-year, $153 million contract to stay with the Memphis Grizzlies. He will join LeBron James as the only active players making $30 million per year.

Evan Turner agreed to a four-year, $70 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers. His contract makes him an expensive option on the wing for Portland, regardless of whether he comes off the bench or is in the starting lineup.

Where do the two players stack up against the other Buckeyes currently in the NBA? Let’s put Conley and Turner up against D’Angelo Russell, Kosta Koufos and Jared Sullinger.

With each player having a different role on their respective teams, some being a star and others being role players, it’s best to look at their per 100 possessions and advanced statistics to see how each stack up against one another.

Let’s get to the rankings.

5. D’Angelo Russell

D’Angelo Russell has only completed one NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers, so it’s hard to gauge the consistency he will bring. In a few years, he could be at the top of the list.

There’s no reason for the Lakers to be in the basement of the NBA for long. Russell has superstar potential and gives the Lakers a bright future. Especially when pairing him with forwards Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle.

In his rookie season, Russell scored 23.1 points, grabbed 6.1 rebounds, dished 5.9 assists and swiped 2.1 steals per 100 possessions. He did so while limiting his turnovers to 4.4 per 100 possessions, and had an impressive (for a rookie) turnover rate of 15.9.

While Russell had problems with former head coach Byron Scott, he seems to be on the same page as new hire Luke Walton. Gelling with a new coach will help Russell’s growth as a player, especially considering he should have a well-defined role in his second season.

He’s proven himself as a scorer with the ability to be streaky, but he must improve upon his 41.0 percent from the field. His true shooting percentage, which factors in three-point and free-throw shooting, was 50.7 percent and should improve with his efficiency.

Russell has the game to be a star and ascend on this list with a few more years under his belt. His game must grow in order to do so.

Nov 21, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Philadelphia 76ers small forward Evan Turner (12) dribbles against Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Alonzo Gee (33) in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

4. Evan Turner

Evan Turner is one of the great players to come through Ohio State during the Thad Matta era. He also will be receiving a nice paycheck after signing a new deal this summer.

Turner, 27, hasn’t had the smoothest of transitions to the NBA. He is a rather inefficient player on the offensive end and doesn’t always have the consistency.

He has only shot 30.5 percent from three-point range in his career, which is down from the 36.2 percent he shot in college. His inability to adapt to the NBA’s range has hurt his productivity levels.

He has a 48.9 percent career true shooting percentage in the NBA and hits at a 43.2 percent rate from inside the three-point line, so he finds other ways to score.

Turner’s struggled to impact the game with his passing. He only averages 6.7 assists per 100 possessions and turns it over 3.5 times per 100 possessions. His turnover rate has gone up with time.

His calling card has been his defensive impact. He has 15.8 defensive win shares for his career, compared to minus-1.1 offensive win shares.

Turner has been consistent over his NBA career, but is somewhat of a letdown after his star impact with the Buckeyes, but he has yet to hit the prime of his career and could find his niche with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jan 13, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics center Jared Sullinger (7) drives towards the basket while Indiana Pacers center Jordan Hill (27) defends during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

3. Jared Sullinger

Columbus-born and Buckeye-bred, Jared Sullinger has found himself having a good NBA career through four seasons with the Boston Celtics. However, now he moves on with the Toronto Raptors.

Efficiency hurts Sullinger when stacking him up against the best Buckeyes in the NBA. He only has a 49.5 true shooting percentage. Only hitting 47.7 percent on his two-pointers for his career doesn’t help either. While it’s a good rate, he could be more dominate by hitting half of his shots.

Regardless, Sullinger still averages 22.4 points per 100 possessions and pulls down 15.5 rebounds per 100 possessions. His scoring output is solid for a 6-foot-9 power forward.

As the NBA moves smaller, his value goes up. Expanding his offensive game by establishing a consistent three-point shot will only help him become a better player. He currently has a career three-point percentage of 27.6 percent, something he didn’t begin to develop until his second season in 2013-14.

At 24 years old, Sullinger is still in the opening stages of his career. He’ll be able to find his niche with the Toronto Raptors if he continues to develop his three-point shot, similarly to that of Luis Scola last season. Sullinger will be a pivotal part of threatening the Cavs in the Eastern Conference.

Feb 8, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Sacramento Kings center Kosta Koufos (41) rebounds in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

2. Kosta Koufos

Kosta Koufos is the epitome of Tristan Thompson‘s popular phrase, “Be a star in your role.” Koufos has come off the bench in 349 of his 502 career games, or 69.5 percent. Despite the limited playing time, the seven-footer is still one of the most efficient players in the NBA.

Koufos averages 18.0 points and 15.3 rebounds per 100 possessions over his eight-year career. On the surface, it looks worse than that of Sullinger, but Koufos is much more efficient.

He has a true shooting percentage of 54.4 percent and connects on 52.9 percent of his career shots. His game isn’t as expansive as Sullinger’s, but Koufos knows exactly what he needs to do to be effective.

Koufos is also a two-way player. He has shown the ability to protect the rim by averaging 2.6 blocks per 100 possessions and having a block rate of 4.1 percent.

He may only be a role player, but Koufos has plenty of value in the NBA. His ability to be a two-way player contributes to his team’s success. While some teams may be more interested in trading for DeMarcus Cousins, Koufos could be a better option for most teams.

The former Buckeye is the top frontcourt player from Ohio State that is currently in the NBA.

Oct 12, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) drives past Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) at the Schottenstein Center. Memphis won the game 91-81. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

1. Mike Conley

Mike Conley is hands-down the best Ohio State Buckeye currently in the NBA. It’s evident by the $30-plus million he will make during the 2018-19 season and beyond.

Conley knows how to impact a game on both ends of the court, though he’s slightly better on the offensive side. He has 32.0 career offensive win shares to his 20.8 career defensive win shares.