15 best Michigan basketball NBA careers in Wolverines history
By Joey Loose
15. Loy Vaught
A 6’9 power forward originally from Kentwood, Michigan, Loy Vaught certainly secured his spot in Michigan lore. He arrived on campus back in 1986 and spent his final three seasons as one of the starting forwards for the Wolverines.
As a senior, he averaged 15.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, but it’s his junior year that really stands out, as he helped lead Michigan to their sole national championship. Vaught was a starter on that team and played a significant role, even leading the Big Ten in effective field goal percentage that season.
Vaught was taken by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 13th pick of the 1990 NBA Draft and would spent the next eight seasons with the franchise.
He started over 300 games at forward for the Clippers. Between 1994 and 1997, a 3-season span, he averaged 16.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, a stretch that spanned his three most productive professional seasons. He spent a few more seasons as a reserve for the Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks, and Washington Wizards, as injuries slowed down the back half of his career.
His career highlight may be his role in Michigan’s 1989 national championship, but Vaught was a legitimate player in the NBA for several seasons. He was an important piece for the Clippers, even if the franchise wasn’t exactly competing for titles at the time. He made more than 50% of his field goals during an 11-year NBA career; there’s no Wolverine with more than 500 career NBA games who spot better than him from the floor.