15 best Michigan basketball NBA careers in Wolverines history

14. Phil Hubbard

Phil Hubbard crossed the border from Ohio to Michigan and joined the Wolverines way back in 1975, spending the next four seasons as one of their most vital frontcourt weapons. He averaged 15.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game as a freshman and helped lead the Wolverines to the national title game. He had an even more productive sophomore season and was a Second Team All-American, but was forced to miss his entire junior year after sustaining a knee injury.

After bouncing back as a senior, he moved to the professional level and was selected by the Detroit Pistons with pick 15 of the 1979 NBA Draft. His first three pro seasons were with those Pistons, and he became an important piece early in his career, averaging 14.5 points a game in his second year.

He was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1982, in the trade that sent Bill Laimbeer to the Pistons and played another seven and a half seasons. He averaged a career-high 15.8 points a game in 1985, eventually ending his career in 1989.

Hubbard spent more than a decade as an NBA assistant and later had his number 35 retired by the Wolverines. His career at Michigan could have been markedly more legendary had he not had that knee injury, but it didn’t stop him from a productive NBA career. He was an efficient forward for nearly his entire decade in the NBA and also won a Gold Medal in the 1976 Olympics when he was still in college.