r/nba•
alex8762

Is Michigan State currently the college with the most influence in the NBA?

Its practically confirmed that Michigan state has a lot of alumni connections and influence in 2 NBA teams: the Suns and the Magic.

Its practically confirmed that Suns coach Jordan Ott got his NBA job partly because of being in Michigan State. Miles Bridges and Matt Ishbia being both Michigan State alumni was big factor in the Suns even going out to trade for Bridges.

As for the Magic, picking Jett Howard in the 2023 draft that high was seen as a massive reach with little performance or potential based justification. There were rumors that Jett Howard was drafted as a favor towards then Michigan State coach Juwan Howard who had also played for the magic in the 2010s.

Similarly, the magic selected Jase Richardson in the 2025 draft and coincidentally his father, Jason Richardson was both a Michigan State alumni and played a few years for the Magic in the early 2010s. Jase Richardson hasn't been a reach so far, but it remains to be seen if there were better players under him.

Is there currently any other college that has as much coincidental NBA employments, trades and drafting actions connected to it that indicate a possible quasi-nepotistic employment/drafting pipeline and alumni network with multiple NBA teams the way Michigan State does?

Posted Jul 25, 2026, 7:50 PM UTC

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