MAP: California, New York lead list of states that have produced most NBA champions

Every player on the list of more than 400 appeared in at least one game of the NBA Finals during the season their team won the title. Players were attached to states based on where they went to high school. 

Despite not having a champion this season, California leads the way with 72 NBA champions, including Kawhi Leonard, Tyson Chandler, Klay Thompson and 11-time winner Bill Russell.

Second on the leaderboard is New York with 45. The Empire State added Jose Alvarado this season. New York produced legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julius Erving but it started long before that duo. In the 1948 Finals, Connie Simmons from Flushing led the Baltimore Bullets in scoring.


Trevor Ariza, Westchester (Los Angeles)
Dennis Awtrey, Blackford (San Jose)
Jeff Ayres, Etiwanda
Greg Ballard, Garey (Pomona)
Matt Barnes, Del Campo (Fair Oaks)
Brent Barry, De La Salle (Concord)
Jordan Bell, Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
Bruce Bowen, Edison (Fresno)
Jud Buechler, Poway
Bill Calhoun, Lowell (San Francisco)
Elden Campbell, Morningside (Inglewood)
Bill Cartwright, Elk Grove
Tyson Chandler, Dominguez (Compton)
Michael Cooper, Pasadena
Howie Dallmar, Lowell
Jared Dudley, Horizon (San Diego)
Festus Ezeli, Jesuit (Carmichael)
Jordan Farmar, Taft (Woodland Hills)
Eric Fernsten, Skyline (Oakland)
Herm Fuetsch, Polytechnic (San Francisco)
John Gianelli, Edison (Stockton)
Gail Goodrich, Poly (Sun Valley)
Aaron Gordon, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose)
Dave Greenwood, Verbum Dei (Los Angeles)
Bob Gross, Mary Star of the Sea (San Pedro)
Justin Holiday, Campbell Hall (North Hollywood)
Jrue Holiday, Campbell Hall
Brad Holland, Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta)
Eddie House, Hayward
Charles Johnson, Sequoia (Redwood City)
Dennis Johnson, Dominguez
K.C. Jones, Commerce (San Francisco)
Jason Kapono, Artesia (Lakewood)
Jason Kidd, St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda)
Bill Laimbeer, Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates)
Kawhi Leonard, King (Riverside)
Cliff Levingston, Morse (San Diego)
Steve Kerr, Palisades (Pacific Palisades)
Jeremy Lin, Palo Alto
Brook Lopez, San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno)
Jim Loscutoff, Palo Alto
Mark Madsen, San Ramon Valley (Danville)
Glenn McDonald, Jefferson (Los Angeles)
Mark McNamara, Del Mar (San Jose)
Joe McNamee, St. Ignatius College Preparatory (San Francisco)
Willie Naulls, San Pedro
Gary Payton, Skyline
Paul Pierce, Inglewood
Jim Pollard, Oakland Tech (Oakland)
Leon Powe, Oakland Tech
Norman Powell, Lincoln (San Diego)
Tayshaun Prince, Dominguez
Kurt Rambis, Cupertino
Bill Russell, McClymonds (Oakland)
Byron Scott, Morningside (Inglewood)
Bill Sharman, Porterville
Brian Shaw, Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland)
Lonnie Shelton, Foothill (Bakersfield)
Paul Silas, McClymonds
Phil Smith, Washington (San Francisco)
DeShawn Stevenson, Washington Union (Fresno)
Klay Thompson, Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita)
Juan Toscano-Anderson, Castro Valley
Jacque Vaughn, Muir (Pasadena)
Bill Walton, Helix (La Mesa, Calif.)
Luke Walton, Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
Peyton Watson, Long Beach Poly
Paul Westphal, Aviation (Redondo Beach)
Jamaal Wilkes, Santa Barbara
Art Williams, San Diego
Scott Williams, Wilson (Hacienda Heights)
Nick Young, Cleveland (Reseda)

New York — 45
Tiny Archibald, DeWitt Clinton (Bronx)
Ron Artest, LaSalle Academy (New York)
Steve Bracey, Midwood (Brooklyn)
Carl Braun, Garden City
Marty Byrnes, Pittsford
Speedy Claxton, Christ the King (Middle Village)
Bob Cousy, Jackson (Queens)
Billy Cunningham, Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn)
Franklin Edwards, Richman (New York)
Mario Elie, Power Memorial
Leroy Ellis, Jefferson (Brooklyn)
Julius Erving, Roosevelt
Jerry Fleishman, Erasmus Hall
Donnie Forman, Boys & Girls (Brooklyn)
Mal Graham, White Plains
Danny Green, St. Mary's (Manhasset)
Phil Hankinson, Great Neck North (Great Neck)
Tom Henderson, DeWitt Clinton
Red Holzman, Lane (New York City)
Marc Iavaroni, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK (Plainview)
Mike James, Amityville Memorial (Amityville)
Vinnie Johnson, Roosevelt (Brooklyn)
Ralph Kaplowitz, DeWitt Clinton
Billy Kenville, Newtown (Elmhurst)
Mitch Kupchak, Brentwood
Johnny McCarthy, Bishop Timon-St. Jude (Buffalo)
Rodney McCray, Mount Vernon
Jack McMahon, St. Michael's (Brooklyn)
Jim McMillian, Jefferson
Dean Meminger, Rice (New York)
Chick Reiser, Stuyvesant (New York)
Pat Riley, Schenectady
Mike Riordan, Holy Cross (Flushing)
John Salley, Canarsie (Brooklyn)
Satch Sanders, Seward Park (New York)
Dolph Schayes, DeWitt Clinton
Connie Simmons, Flushing
Kenny Smith, Archbishop Molloy (Queens)
Kevin Stacom, Holy Cross
Bobby Wanzer, Manhattan Center for Science & Math (New York)
John Warren, Far Rockaway
Bill Wennington, Long Island Lutheran (Brookville)
Gus Williams, Mount Vernon


Illinois — 44
Mark Aguirre, Westinghouse (Chicago)
Tony Allen, Crane Medical (Chicago)
Jim Ard, Thornton (Harvey)
Randy Brown, Collins (Chicago)
Shannon Brown, Proviso East (Maywood)
Em Bryant, DePaul (Chicago)
Quinn Buckner, Thornridge (Dolton)
Corky Calhoun, Waukegan
Brian Cardinal, Tolono Unity (Tolono)
Maurice Cheeks, DuSable (Chicago)
Anthony Davis, Perspectives Charter (Chicago)
Jack Dwan, Senn (Chicago)
Michael Finley, Proviso East
Craig Hodges, Rich East (Park Forest)
Kevin Garnett, Farragut (Chicago)
Joe Graboski, Clemente (Chicago)
Lew Hitch, Griggsville-Perry (Griggsville)
Juwan Howard, Chicago Vocational (Chicago)
Andre Iguodala, Lanphier (Springfield)
Johnny Jorgensen, Robeson (Chicago)
Whitey Kachan, Saint Philip (Chicago)
Red Kerr, Tilden (Chicago)
Steve Kuberski, Moline
Ronnie Lester, Dunbar (Chicago)
Shaun Livingston, Peoria
JaVale McGee, Hales Franciscan (Chicago)
George Mikan, Joliet Catholic (Joliet)
Nazr Mohammed, Kenwood (Chicago)
Don Nelson, Rock Island
Wally Osterkorn, Amundsen (Chicago)
Drew Peterson, Libertyville
Andy Phillip, Granite City
Gary Phillips, Quincy
Flynn Robinson, Elgin
Cazzie Russell, Carver (Chicago)
Iman Shumpert, Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park)
Jack Sikma, St. Anne
Isiah Thomas, St. Joseph (Westchester)
Fred VanVleet, Auburn
Dwyane Wade, Richards (Oak Lawn)
Antoine Walker, Mt. Carmel
Darrell Walker, Corliss (Chicago)

Pennsylvania — 33
Paul Arizin, La Salle College (Wyndmoor)
Kobe Bryant, Lower Merion (Ardmore)
Wilt Chamberlain, Overbrook (Philadelphia)
Bob Davies, Harrisburg
Charles Dudley, Harrisburg
Collin Gillespie, Archbishop Wood (Warminster)
Tom Gola, La Salle College
Gene Guarilia, Duryea
Matt Guokas Jr., St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia)
Matt Guokas Sr., St. Joseph's Prep
Richard Hamilton, Coatesville
Buddy Jeannette, Valley (New Kensington)
Wali Jones, Overbrook
Red Klotz, South Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
Kyle Kuzma, Rise Academy (Philadelphia)
Kyle Lowry, Cardinal Dougherty (Philadelphia)
Maurice Lucas, Schenley (Pittsburgh)
Carl Meinhold, Hazleton Area (Hazleton)
Earl Monroe, John Bartram (Philadelphia)
Jackie Moore, Overbrook
Angelo Musi, Overbrook
John Richter, Frankford (Philadelphia)
Malik Rose, Overbrook
Petey Rosenberg, Brown Prep (Philadelphia)
Jerry Rullo, Bartram (Philadelphia)
George Senesky, Mahanoy Area (Mahanoy City)
Dave Twardzik, Middletown
Phil Walker, Central (Philadelphia)
Wally Walker, Penn Manor (Millersville)
Rasheed Wallace, Simon Gratz (Philadelphia)
Ohio — 24
Jim Cleamons, Linden-McKinley (Columbus)
Norris Cole, Dunbar (Dayton)
Dick Cunningham, Canton South (Canton)
Antonio Daniels, St. Francis DeSales (Columbus)
Derrek Dickey, Purcell Marian (Cincinnati)
Wayne Embry, Tecumseh (New Carlisle)
Kevin Grevey, Taft (Cincinnati)
Ron Harper, Kiser (Dayton)
Bob Harrison, Woodward (Toledo)
John Havlicek, Bridgeport
Jim Holstein, Hamilton Catholic (Hamilton)
Dennis Hopson, Bowsher (Toledo)
Bill Hosket, Belmont (Dayton)
LeBron James, St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron)
Neil Johnston, Chillicothe
John Paxson, Archbishop Alter (Kettering)
James Posey, R.B. Chamberlin (Twinsburg)
Dick Schnittker, Sandusky
Paul Seymour, Woodward
Chuck Share, Western Hills (Cincinnati)
Larry Siegfried, Shelby
Michigan — 21
B.J. Armstrong, Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills)
Shane Battier, Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills)
Earl Cureton, Finney (Detroit)
Johnny Davis, Murray-Wright (Detroit)
Dave DeBusschere, Austin Catholic Preparatory School (Detroit)
Terry Duerod, Highland Park
Bryn Forbes, Sexton (Lansing)
Draymond Green, Saginaw
Darvin Ham, Saginaw
Spencer Haywood, Pershing (Detroit)
Al Horford, Grand Ledge
Magic Johnson, Everett (Lansing)
John Long, Romulus
Glen Rice, Northwestern (Flint)
Steve Smith, Pershing
Xavier Tillman, Christian (Grand Rapids)
John Trapp, Highland Park
Trent Tucker, Northwestern
Sam Vincent, Eastern (Lansing)
Chet Walker, Benton Harbor

Indiana — 18
Dick Barnett, Roosevelt (Gary)
Larry Bird, Springs Valley (French Lick)
Ron Bonham, Muncie Central (Muncie)
Dick Farley, Winslow
Rick Fox, Warsaw
Earl Gardner, New Market
Paul Hoffman, Jasper
Clyde Lovellette, Terre Haute North Vigo (Terre Haute)
Jon McGlocklin, Franklin Community (Franklin)
Jordan Poole, La Lumiere (La Porte)
Oscar Robertson, Crispus Attucks (Indianapolis)
Glenn Robinson, Roosevelt
Herm Schaefer, Central (Fort Wayne)
Larry Steele, Bainbridge
Jeff Teague, Pike (Indianapolis)
Marv Winkler, Washington (Indianapolis)

North Carolina — 17
Chucky Brown, North Brunswick (Leland)
M.L. Carr, Wallace-Rose Hill (Teachey)
Steph Curry, Charlotte Christian (Charlotte)
Herm Gilliam, Atkins (Winston-Salem)
Happy Hairston, Atkins
Brandan Haywood, Dudley (Greensboro)
Dick Hemric, Jonesville
Bobby Jones, South Mecklenburg (Charlotte)
Sam Jones, Laurinburg Prep (Laurinburg)
Michael Jordan, Laney (Wilmington)
Cedric Maxwell, Kinston
Bob McAdoo, Ben L. Smith (Greensboro)
Charlie Scott, Laurinburg Institute (Laurinburg)
Ish Smith, Central Cabarrus (Concord)
Virginia — 14
Quinn Cook, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson)
Bob Dandridge, Maggie Walker (Richmond)
Gerald Henderson Sr., Huguenot (Richmond)
Stephen Jackson, Oak Hill Academy
Jerome Kersey, Bluestone (Skipwith)
Earl Lloyd, Parker-Gray (Alexandria)
Tony Massenburg, Sussex Central (Sussex)
Moses Malone, Petersburg
James Michael McAdoo, Norfolk Christian (Norfolk)
Alonzo Mourning, Indian River (Chesapeake)
David Robinson, Osbourn Park (Manassas)
Rajon Rondo, Oak Hill Academy
Marreese Speights, Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham)
David West, Hargrave Military Academy

Georgia — 13
Shandon Anderson, Crim (Atlanta)
Jaylen Brown, Wheeler (Marietta)
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Greenville
Walt Frazier, David T. Howard (Atlanta)
Horace Grant, Hancock Central (Sparta)
Dwight Howard, Southwest Atlanta Christian (Atlanta)
Reggie Johnson, Cedar Grove (Ellenwood)
Jordan McRae, Liberty County (Hinesville)
Jodie Meeks, Norcross
Lloyd Neal, Talbotton
Chuck Nevitt, Sprayberry (Marietta)
Norm Nixon, Southwest (Macon)
Josh Powell, Riverdale

Kentucky — 13
Butch Beard, Breckinridge County (Harned)
Jack Coleman, Burgin
Dave Cowens, Newport Catholic (Newport)
Joe Fulks, Kuttawa
Cliff Hagan, Owensboro
Jeff Mullins, Lafayette (Lexington)
Paul Noel, Midway
Frank Ramsey, Madisonville
Arnie Risen, Williamstown
Greg Smith, Caldwell County (Princeton)
Tom Thacker, William Grant (Covington)
Jim Tucker, Paris Western (Paris)
Wes Unseld, Seneca (Louisville)


Florida — 11
J.J. Barea, Miami Christian (Miami)
Udonis Haslem, Miami
Clemon Johnson, Florida A&M (Tallahassee)
James Jones, American (Hialeah)
Vernon Maxwell, Buchholz (Gainesville)
Moses Moody, Montverde Academy (Montverde)
Will Perdue, Merritt Island
Mitch Richmond, Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes)
Jaden Springer, IMG Academy (Bradenton)
Mychal Thompson, Jackson (Miami)

Maryland — 9
Adrian Branch, DeMatha (Hyattsville)
Kevin Durant, Montrose Christian (Rockville)
Danny Ferry, DeMatha
Jeff Green, Northwestern (Hyattsville)
Johnny Jones, DeMatha
Patrick McCaw, Montrose Christian
Malcolm Miller, Gaithersburg
Dickey Simpkins, Friendly (Fort Washington)
Larry Spriggs, Northwestern

Wisconsin — 8
Fred Brown, Lincoln (Milwaukee)
Jim Chones, St. Catherine's (Racine)
Bud Grant, Superior
Sam Hauser, Stevens Point
John Johnson, Messmer (Milwaukee)
Kevon Looney, Milwaukee Hamilton (Milwaukee)
Dick Schulz, Racine Park (Racine)

Oregon — 7
Danny Ainge, North Eugene (Eugene)
Mel Counts, Marshfield (Coos Bay)
Michael Doleac, Central Catholic (Portland)
Dave Gambee, Corvallis
A.C. Green, Benson Tech (Portland)
Kevin Love, Lake Oswego

West Virginia — 7
Jerome Anderson, Mullens
Thomas Bryant, Huntington Prep (Huntington)
Hal Greer, Douglass (Huntington)
George King, Stonewall Jackson (Charleston)
Jerry West, East Bank
Andrew Wiggins, Huntington Prep
Connecticut — 5
Scott Burrell, Hamden
Damion Lee, St. Thomas More (Oakdale)
Rick Mahorn, Weaver (Hartford)
Wes Matthews Sr., Harding (Bridgeport)

Nevada — 5
Oshae Brissett, Findlay Prep (Henderson)
Bison Dele, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
Lionel Hollins, Rancho (Las Vegas)
Cory Joseph, Findlay Prep
Tristan Thompson, Findlay Prep

Colorado — 4
Chauncey Billups, George Washington (Denver)
Reggie Jackson, Palmer (Colorado Springs)
Scott Wedman, Mullen (Denver)
Derrick White, Legend (Parker)Iowa — 3
Harrison Barnes, Ames
Matt Bullard, Valley (West Des Moines)
Bob Hansen, Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines)
Massachusetts — 3
Rick Carlisle, Worcester Academy (Worcester)
Pat Connaughton, St. John's Prep (Danvers)

Mississippi — 3
Lindsey Hunter, Murrah (Jackson)
George Johnson, Gulledge (Tylertown)
Mo Williams, Murrah

South Carolina — 3
Ray Allen, Hillcrest (Simpsonville)
Khris Middleton, Porter-Gaud (Charleston)
Clifford Ray, Sims (Union)

Utah — 3
Arnie Ferrin, Ogden
Travis Knight, Alta (Sandy)
Sam Merrill, Bountiful

Nebraska — 2
Bob Boozer, Omaha Technical (Omaha)
Mike McGee, Omaha North (Omaha)

New Hampshire — 2
Matt Bonner, Concord
Elijah Bryant, New Hampton School (New Hampton)

Oklahoma — 2
Stacey King, Lawton
Vermont — 2
Bruce Brown, Vermont Academy (Saxtons River)
Jordan Nwora, Vermont Academy

Alaska — 1
Mario Chalmers, Bartlett (Anchorage)

Hawaii — 1
Red Rocha, Hilo

Maine — 1
Sam Cassell, Maine Central Institute (Pittsfield)

New Mexico — 1
Bill Bridges, Hobbs

North Dakota — 1
Phil Jackson, Williston

South Dakota — 1
Mike Miller, Mitchell