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Florida State basketball: 10 best NBA careers in Seminoles history

By Josh Yourish

Mar 22, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Scottie Barnes (4) passes the ball around Colorado Buffaloes guard Keeshawn Barthelemy (11) in the second half in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Scottie Barnes (4) passes the ball around Colorado Buffaloes guard Keeshawn Barthelemy (11) in the second half in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Florida State basketball doesn’t get all the attention of the school’s football program, but it has produced some incredible NBA talent.

Over the years, Florida State has been more known for its contributions to the NFL, but the school has also produced a lot of talent on the hardwood. That includes 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes.

In total, there have been 51 former Seminoles drafted into the NBA and 15 of those have been first-round picks. Since 2017, there have been four lottery picks to come out of Florida State. However, the program has never produced a No. 1 overall pick.

Since Leonard Hamilton took over as the head coach of FSU in 2002, there have been 19 draft picks and nine of the 15 first-round picks in school history. Hamilton’s tenure includes eight tournament appearances and plenty of impactful players currently in the NBA. A few who were involved in or notably not involved in big-time trades of NBA superstars.

Here are the 10 greatest NBA careers of former Florida State basketball players.

Apr 2, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA;Los Angeles Lakers guard Malik Beasley (5) shoots against Houston Rockets forward KJ Martin (6) during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 2, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA;Los Angeles Lakers guard Malik Beasley (5) shoots against Houston Rockets forward KJ Martin (6) during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 10 best Florida State basketball NBA career: Malik Beasley

Since coming into the league in 2016, Beasley has been a surprisingly reliable bench scorer for the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Jazz, and even the Lakers. Now, he is starting for the Milwaukee Bucks, providing spacing for Giannis Antetokoumpo and Damian Lillard.

After being drafted 19th overall by Denver in 2016, Beasley has settled into a 3-and-D role in the league with some size at 6-foot-4 and a career three-point shooting percentage of 37.8%. His production peaked in short stints with Minnesota in 2019-20, averaging 20.7 points per game in 14 games and 2020-21, averaging 19.6 points across 37 games.

Despite those hot scoring stretches, the peak of his career was likely the 2022 season, when he was acquired by Lebron’s Lakers in a trade that sent Russell Westbrook to Utah. To be valued by a team with championship aspirations and be acquired along with D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt from Minnesota for a future Hall-of-Famer like Westbrook is certainly a career achievement.

Beasley averaged 11.1 points in 26 games with the Lakers. During his one year at Florida State, he was named to the ACC All-Freshman team.

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