Ben Wallace and Connie Hawkins Top List of Best Undrafted Players

Published on March 7th, 2022 2:31 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


In this day and age, it's pretty hard to sneak past NBA scouts if you are a talented player.

Whether you live in a small town in Arkansas or Los Angeles, it's a virtual certainty that you will be noticed by NBA scouts if you are a great player.

There have been a few occasions in history, however, where great players managed to go undrafted and leave a major imprint on the NBA.

Fred VanVleet, Bruce Bowen, John Starks and Udonis Haslem are examples of undrafted players that have gone on to have great NBA careers.

Two players, however, stand head and shoulders above the rest.

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2. Connie Hawkins.

This was a very unusual situation, as Hawks was wrongfully accused of being involved in a point-shaving scandal while playing at Iowa, and this prevented him from being drafted by the NBA.

Hawkins, who would end up entering the Hall of Fame, would eventually figure things out with the NBA, and he would finish his career as a multiple-time All-Star.

In fact, he won the MVP award in the ABA in 1968, and would average nearly 19 points and 9 rebounds over the course of his illustrious career.

1. Ben Wallace.

Ben Wallace is widely regarded as one of the premier defensive players in NBA history.

Wallace, who went undrafted because he was considered undersized for his position, would go on to win Defensive Player of the Year a staggering four times, in addition to winning the NBA title (2004) and finishing as a five-time member of the All-NBA team.

Ben Wallace is the first and only player since 1989 to go undrafted and make it into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

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There have been some very good undrafted NBA players, but Hawkins and Wallace are certainly in a tier of their own.