Notable NBA players who were born in West Virginia

GHENT, WV (WVNS) — The National Basketball Association (NBA) has been of the most storied and successful sports leagues over the last century.

The success of such a league did not come without the proper amount of Mountain State representation. In fact, the NBA’s logo, which is arguably one of the most notable logos in the world, is a silhouette of one of the greatest Mountaineers of all-time.

The following list is comprised of some of the most notable people who were born in the Mountain State before they joined “The Association”.

Rodney “Hot Rod” Hundley

Rodney Hundley was born in the Charleston area on October 26, 1934. He attended Charleston High School where he would go on to break the West Virginia state scoring record in just three years. While he had offers to many universities across the nation, Hundley decided to stay home and play for the Mountaineers.

After his storied college career at WVU, Hundley would be drafted first overall by the Cincinnatti Royals in the 1957 NBA Draft. This made him one of two West Virginia-born players to ever be selected first overall into the NBA. His rights were then traded to the Minneapolis Lakers, where he would soon be joined by fellow Mountaineer, Jerry West. Hundley would eventually retire due to health, but that would not keep him from the game he loved, as he would be come a broadcaster for teams like the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Utah Jazz.

Jerry West

Jerry West , or ‘Zeke from Cabin Creek’ as some may know him, was born in Chelyan, West Virginia on May 28, 1936. West attended East Bank High School, where he would go on to be named to the All-State teams from 1953 to 1956. He would also be named to the 1956 High School All-American team. After high school he would end up in Morgantown playing for his home state team, West Virginia University. He would lead WVU to their only National Championship appearance in 1959, where the Mountaineers would lose by one to the Cal Golden Bears.

Jerry West was drafted second overall by the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1960 NBA Draft. Shortly after, the Lakers would be relocated to Los Angeles. During his time in L.A., West would play with legends like Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain, while also playing with a familiar face like Rod Hundley, who was also from West Virginia. West would help lead the Lakers to nine championship appearances throughout his 14 year career. While only winning one of those nine championships, he would become the only NBA player in history to be named Finals MVP while on the losing team . Many may also recognize West as the silhouette of the NBA’s historic red, white, and blue logo.

After his playing career, West would go on to coach the same team that drafted him until 1979, when he would then transition into an executive role with the team. He would be instrumental in the building of the dominant Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq) and Kobe Bryant-led Lakers of the early 2000’s. West would go on to hold similar roles with franchises like the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, and most recently the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2023, the NBA created the ‘Clutch Player of The Year ‘ award, where the winner receives the Jerry West Trophy , named after one of his many nicknames, “Mr. Clutch” .

West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.

Hal Greer

Harold ‘Hal’ Greer was born in Huntington , West Virginia, on June 26, 1936. He would attend Douglass High School before deciding to keep his talent within the Mountain State. Unlike other athletes who chose to attend WVU, Greer would stay in Huntington to play for the Thundering Herd of then Marshall College. This move made him the first African American player to play for a public college in West Virginia. Greer would help lead the Thundering Herd to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, and was named an All-American in 1958.

Greer was selected 15th overall by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1958 NBA Draft. Greer would play his entire 15-year career with this franchise, even after their relocation to Philadelphia to become the Philadelphia 76ers. This is where he would play alongside Wilt Chamberlain in route to the 1966-67 NBA Championship. Throughout his career, Greer would play in 10 NBA All-Star Games and was named to All-Star game MVP in 1968.

He was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 . According to the Hall of Fame’s website , at the time of his enshrinement, Greer was top ten in all-time in points scored, shot attempts, shots made, minutes played, and personal fouls.

Hal Greer passed away at the age of 81 on April 14, 2018 .

Rod Thorn

Rod Thorn was born in Princeton, West Virginia, on May 23, 1941. As a senior at Princeton High School, Thorn would gain notoriety among college coaches as he averaged 30 points per game for the Tigers. During his high school career, he would named to the All-State team three times, while also being named an All-American twice. When looking at his basketball career after high school, Thorn was looking at programs like Duke University. According to the West Virginia Encyclopedia, what maybe persuaded Thorn to play for his home state team, WVU, was when the West Virginia legislature passed a resolution stating Thorn as one of the state’s most prized natural resources. He would end up in Morgantown wearing the same number as Jerry West, 44.

Thorn would go on to be second overall in the 1963 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets. He would have playing stints with the Detroit Pistons, St. Louis Hawks, and the Seattle Supersonics. What he may be best known for during his career after retirement, was as an executive with the Chicago Bulls. He would be the General Manager who played an important part in getting Michael Jordon to wear the black and red. After countless high up executive roles, Thorn would become the NBA’s President of Basketball Operations from 2010 to 2013.

He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Jason Williams

Jason “White Chocolate” Williams was born on November 18, 1975, in Belle, West Virginia. Williams would attend DuPont High School where he would become a standout football and basketball player alongside childhood friend and future NFL Hall of Famer Randy Moss. During his high school career, he became the only player in DuPont history to eclipse 1,000m career points while also gathering more than 500 assists. He was named the 1994 West Virginia Player of The Year.

Williams would end up at Marshall University for his initial college stop after he decided to decommit from Providence due to their coach leaving for another program. He would play two seasons at Marshall for then head coach Billy Donavan. Donavan would end up taking a new job as the coach at the University of Florida, where Williams would follow him.

Williams would go on to be drafted 7th overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 1998 NBA Draft. He would join the up and coming Kings team with other pieces like Chris Webber and Vlade Divac. His Kings teams would make multiple runs in the playoffs to be most famously defeated by the Shaq and Kobe led Los Angeles Lakers, who were built by fellow West Virginian, Jerry West.

Williams would go on to to spend time as a point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic, before retiring in 2011 as a member of the Grizzlies. He would win his one and only championship with the Dwayne Wade and Shaq-led Miami Heat

Deron Williams

Deron Williams was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, on June 26, 1984. While he was born in the Mountain State, Williams would attend The Colony High School in Texas. In college, he would go on to play basketball at the University of Illinois. Here is where Williams became a true, well-rounded point guard who would lead the Fighting Illini into the 2005 National Championship games against the North Carolina Tar Heels. While Williams and the Illini would lose this game, this would set the stage for the rest of Williams’ career.

After the championship loss, Williams would be drafted by the Utah Jazz with the third overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft. Williams would spend time with multiple franchises throughout his 12-year career, with one season being played overseas due to the 2011 NBA Lockout season. Williams would finish his career in 2017 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While he is considered more of a journeyman when it comes to his NBA career, he may best be known for his role as a member of the 2008 USA Olympic Basketball team. This team, known as the ‘Redeem Team’, would go undefeated throughout the entirety of the games in route to the gold medal.

Honorable Mention

Mark Workman: Workman was born in Logan, West Virginia on March 10, 1930. In high school he would help lead the Charleston Mountain Lions to the West Virginia State Championship in 1947. The following season, Workman reportedly scored 63 points in a single playoff game. He would go on to play college basketball at WVU, where he would be named an All-American in 1952. Workman would become one of the only two West Virginia-born players (Rod Hundley) to be drafted first overall in the NBA when he was taken first by the Milwaukee Hawks in the 1952 NBA Draft. Even though he only spent two seasons in the NBA, he played with the Philadelphia Warriors and Baltimore Bullets. He was inducted into the WV Sports Writers Hall of Fame in 1974. Workman passed away in Florida in 1983.

Freddie Lewis: Lewis was born on July 1, 1943, in Huntington, West Virginia. He would attend high school in Pennsylvania before going to college at Eastern Arizona and Arizona State University. He was selected 10th overall by the Cincinnati Royals in the 1966 NBA Draft. However, during the 1967 NBA Expansion Draft, he was selected by the new franchise. He would decline this offer and instead sign with the American Basketball Association’s (ABA) Indiana Pacers. Lewis would help lead the Pacers to three ABA championship titles. After jumping around multiple teams, Lewis would become the only player to start his career in the NBA, play all nine season of the ABA’s existence, then return to the NBA to finish his career.

Mike D’Antoni: D’Antoni was born in the Mullens are of Wyoming County on May 8, 1951. He played high school basketball for Mullens High School before playing for the Thundering Herd of Marshall University. After his college career, he was picked in the second round of the 1975 NBA Draft by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. While he did play in the NBA, his success between the lines came overseas in Italy. He would play for Italian club Olimpia Milano, where he would become the team’s all-time leading scorer. However, D’Antoni may best be known for his role as a coach across the NBA. His longest coaching stint came as the leader of the Phoenix Suns where he won his first of two Coach of The Year awards in 2002. He also saw time as the leader of the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets.

O.J. Mayo: Ovinton J’Anthony Mayo was born in Huntington, West Virginia on November 5, 1987. Mayo was highly recruited in high school as he made his way across some of the best high school programs in the country before ending up at Huntington Prep Academy in his hometown. After leading Huntington Prep to their third straight state championship, he was named the WV Boy’s Basketball Player of The Year in 2007. Many slated Mayo to make the jump to the NBA straight from high school, but due to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, players were forced to attend one year of college before becoming NBA eligible. He would spend one season at the University of Southern California before being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies with the third overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. His professional career would not quite amount to his career prior, as he would also make stops with the Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks before taking his talents overseas. Mayo remains playing overseas, most recently with the Al-Fateh basketball club of the Saudi Premier League.

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