Basketball Players Who Also Played Major League Baseball
A small group of professional basketball players also reached Major
League Baseball. Their careers include players from the NBA and its
historical predecessors, as well as the ABA.
| Player |
Basketball Teams |
MLB Teams |
| Danny Ainge |
Boston Celtics (1981-89)
Sacramento Kings (1989-90)
Portland Trail Blazers (1990-92)
Phoenix Suns (1992-95)
|
Toronto Blue Jays (1979-81)
|
| Frank Baumholtz |
Cleveland Rebels (1946-47)
|
Cincinnati Reds (1947-49)
Chicago Cubs (1949-55)
Philadelphia Phillies (1956-57)
|
| Gene Conley |
Boston Celtics (1952-61)
New York Knicks (1962-64)
|
Boston Braves (1952)
Milwaukee Braves (1954-58)
Philadelphia Phillies (1959-60)
Boston Red Sox (1961-63)
|
| Chuck Connors |
Boston Celtics (1946-48)
|
Brooklyn Dodgers (1949)
Chicago Cubs (1951)
|
| Dave DeBusschere |
Detroit Pistons (1962-68)
New York Knicks (1968-74)
|
Chicago White Sox (1962-63)
|
| Johnny Gee |
Syracuse Nationals (1946-47)
|
Pittsburgh Pirates (1939-44)
New York Giants (1944-46)
|
| Dick Groat |
Fort Wayne Pistons (1952-53)
|
Pittsburgh Pirates (1952-62)
St. Louis Cardinals (1963-65)
Philadelphia Phillies (1966-67)
San Francisco Giants (1967)
|
| Steve Hamilton |
Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (1958-60)
|
Cleveland Indians (1961)
Washington Senators (1962-63)
New York Yankees (1963-70)
Chicago White Sox (1970)
San Francisco Giants (1971)
Chicago Cubs (1972)
|
| Mark Hendrickson |
Philadelphia 76ers (1996-97)
Sacramento Kings (1997-98)
New Jersey Nets (1998-2000)
Cleveland Cavaliers (1999-2000)
|
Toronto Blue Jays (2002-03)
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2004-06)
Los Angeles Dodgers (2006-07)
Florida Marlins (2008)
Baltimore Orioles (2009-11)
|
| Cotton Nash |
Los Angeles Lakers (1964)
San Francisco Warriors (1965)
Kentucky Colonels (1967-68)
|
Chicago White Sox (1967)
Minnesota Twins (1969-70)
|
| Ron Reed |
Detroit Pistons (1965-67)
|
Atlanta Braves (1966-75)
St. Louis Cardinals (1975)
Philadelphia Phillies (1976-83)
Chicago White Sox (1984)
|
| Dick Ricketts |
St. Louis Hawks (1955)
Rochester/Cincinnati Royals (1955-58)
|
St. Louis Cardinals (1959)
|
| Howie Schultz |
Anderson Packers (1949)
Fort Wayne Pistons (1950)
Minneapolis Lakers (1951-53)
|
Brooklyn Dodgers (1943-47)
Philadelphia Phillies (1947-48)
Cincinnati Reds (1948)
|
Gene Conley note: Conley's basketball career with
Boston was interrupted by his baseball career, and his later career
with the New York Knicks was not continuous.
Basketball Players Who Also Played Professional Football
| Player |
Basketball Team |
Football Team |
| Otto Graham |
Rochester Royals (1945-46)
|
Cleveland Browns (1946-55)
|
| Bud Grant |
Minneapolis Lakers (1949-51)
|
Philadelphia Eagles (1951-52)
|
Otto Graham's Rochester season came in the National Basketball League
(NBL), before the Royals became part of the NBA. Graham later became
one of professional football's greatest quarterbacks.
Bud Grant played two seasons with the Minneapolis Lakers before
moving to professional football. He later became one of the most
famous coaches in Minnesota Vikings history.
Players Who Almost Made It in Another Major Sport
| Player |
Sport |
Notes |
| Michael Jordan |
MLB |
Left the NBA to pursue professional baseball. Jordan played in the
Chicago White Sox minor-league system but did not reach Major League
Baseball.
|
| John Havlicek |
NFL |
Spent time with the Cleveland Browns before beginning his Hall of
Fame career with the Boston Celtics.
|
| Jim Thorpe |
NBA |
Had his own professional basketball team and played professional
basketball, but never played in the NBA.
|
Drafted But Never Played
| Player |
Draft History |
Professional Career |
| Tony Gwynn |
Drafted by the San Diego Clippers in the 1981 NBA Draft.
|
Never played in the NBA. Gwynn instead played Major League Baseball
for the San Diego Padres.
|
| Randy Matson |
Drafted by teams in professional basketball, football and baseball.
|
Did not play professionally in any of the three major team sports.
|
| Dave Winfield |
Drafted by the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, Utah Stars of the ABA,
Minnesota Vikings of the NFL and San Diego Padres of MLB.
|
Chose baseball and became a Major League Baseball Hall of Famer.
|
Multi-Sport Notes
Gene Conley is one of the most accomplished
basketball-baseball crossover athletes. He won a World Series with
the Milwaukee Braves and three NBA championships with the Boston
Celtics.
Danny Ainge played Major League Baseball for the
Toronto Blue Jays before beginning his long NBA career.
Dave DeBusschere pitched for the Chicago White Sox
while also establishing himself as an NBA player. He later became a
two-time NBA champion with the New York Knicks.
Mark Hendrickson played in the NBA from 1996 through
2000 before beginning an MLB career that lasted from 2002 through
2011.
Dave Winfield was drafted by four professional teams
across three sports and two basketball leagues: MLB's San Diego
Padres, the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, the ABA's Utah Stars and the NFL's
Minnesota Vikings.
