Top 5 NBA Players from Iowa
As of 2021, approximately 3,000,000 people live in Iowa. That puts Iowa as the 32nd most populated state in the United States. 3,000,000 sounds like a lot, but throughout the NBAs 75 year history, there have only been 23 NBA players from Iowa.
The first NBA player from Iowa was Murray Wier in the 1948 NBA Draft by the Fort Wayne Pistons. Wier would only play 56 NBA games before calling it quits. He averaged 7.7 points and 1.9 assists. Obviously, he was no All-Star, but at least Wier was an at-most decent starter. In addition, he had some cool nicknames: Rampaging Redhead and Wizard Wier.
We wouldn't see another NBA player from Iowa until 1972, 22 YEARS LATER! However, instead of going over all 23 NBA Players from Iowa, we're going to go over who I think are the Top 5 NBA Players from Iowa. The only requirement for the players on this list is that they must have played more than five seasons in the NBA.
Also, to be upfront, I was initially going to do a Top 10, but I didn't know 60% of the players, so instead, I ended up doing a Top 5.
Even then, the only two players I know a good amount about are Harrison Barnes and Nick Collison, and I still don't know who Kevin Kunnert is. Guess I'll find out while I'm writing this (and maybe you as well while you're reading this)!
Top 5 NBA Players from Iowa:
Harrison Barnes (Ames, Iowa)
Instead of starting from 5 to 1, I've decided to immeadietly start with who I think the best NBA player from Iowa is, Harrison Barnes. I'm also starting with Barnes because he's the player on this list I know the most about.
If Barnes is the best NBA player from Iowa, that just shows the state's lackluster NBA talent.
Golden State Warriors:
Although I just shit-talked Harrison Barnes, and although I think he is absurdly overpaid (4 year/$95,000,000), Barnes is an above-average NBA player. He was drafted seventh in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. In his first four seasons with the Warriors, Barnes averaged:
10.1 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists, 0.7 Steals, and 0.2 Blocks