Michigan State is an annual basketball powerhouse. Under head coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans are in contention in the Big Ten just about every season, and Izzo is even more legendary in March. His Spartans have made it to seven Final Fours and 13 Sweet Sixteens. Michigan State basketball has a clear brand, rosters often populated with gritty, four year seniors that stick around and build a winning culture to help keep Sparty in contention.
Unfortunately all that winning culture has not always translated to the NBA. Indeed, outside of Magic Johnson, it’s hard to come up with a list of Michigan State greats in the NBA, and even the ones that rank near the top did it the Michigan State way, with a lot of hard work over many years in the league. With the early success of NBA rookies Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges, it looks like Michigan State could have more success stories soon, but the list of busts is long. Let’s count down the 15 biggest NBA busts in Michigan State history…