Like father, like son: Sons of former NBA stars in college basketball this season

Last season, Bronny James dominated headlines in the college basketball world as his father, LeBron James, was still dominating in the NBA.

The younger James’ time in the college ranks ended after one season, opting to declare for the 2024 NBA Draft following his freshman year at USC. However, there are several other sons of former NBA players who are either beginning or in the midst of their college basketball careers — which might make you feel a bit old. 

One of the top players in college basketball this season, Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper, is the son of former NBA standout Ron Harper. Meanwhile, Carlos Boozer’s twin sons, Cameron and Cayden Boozer, committed to Duke for the 2025-26 season, with the former being the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2025. 

But with the new college basketball season underway, let’s take a look at which players around the nation are sons of former NBA players. 

Dylan Harper and Ron Harper

Dylan Harper is the most prominent son of a former NBA player in the college game this season. Widely viewed as one of the top prospects for the 2025 NBA Draft, the younger Harper has scored 20 or more points in four of Rutgers’ five games this season. He is averaging 19.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game this season while shooting 54.3% from the floor.

The elder Harper starred at Miami (Ohio) in the 1980s, winning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year twice before enjoying a 15-year NBA career. He was also a second-team All-American as a senior in 1986, helping Miami reach the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years. He wound up becoming the eighth overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. While he began his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Harper’s most notable seasons were with the Chicago Bulls, where he won three titles, starting in the backcourt alongside Michael Jordan. 

Jase Richardson is five games into his college career at Michigan State, which is where his father played. The younger Richardson was ranked as a top-40 recruit in the Class of 2024 by 247 Sports. He scored 10 points over 22 minutes in his college debut, and then followed that up with a 12-point outing in a dominant 96-60 win over Niagara. The 6-foot-3 freshman guard is averaging 8.4 points per game and shooting 62.5% from the floor through five games.

Jason Richardson had two notable seasons at Michigan State. He came off the bench and helped lead the Spartans to a national title as a freshman in 2000. A year later, Richardson scored a team-high 14.7 points per game, which was good enough for him to be named a consensus All-American. He helped Michigan State reach the Final Four that year before being selected by the Golden State Warriors with the fifth overall pick in 2001. Richardson had a solid 14-year NBA career, going down as one of the best dunkers of all time after winning the Slam Dunk Competition twice.

The younger Stojaković has a similar pedigree to the younger Harper and Richardson. He was ranked as a top-20 recruit in the Class of 2023 by 247 Sports. He actually began his college career at Stanford, averaging 7.8 points per game as he was a rotational player for the Cardinal last season. He transferred to Cal in the offseason and has gotten off to an outstanding start, averaging a team-high 18.2 points and 5.5 rebounds through six games this season.

Peja Stojaković never played college hoops, playing professionally for Serbian and Greek teams before beginning his NBA career in 1998. The elder Stojaković, who was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 14th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, was one of the best 3-point shooters in the league over his 13-year career. He was named an All-Star three times and won the 3-Point Contest twice, playing a key role for the Kings teams that contended for a title in the early 2000s. He wound up winning a title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, playing a key role off the bench that year.

Stojaković isn’t the only son of a former NBA player playing at Cal this season. Stephon Marbury II also made his way to Berkley this offseason, joining the program as a preferred walk-on in June. 

Marbury’s father, Stephon, was one of the top point guards in the NBA in the early 2000s. The elder Marbury was also a star in his lone season at Georgia Tech, averaging 18.9 points per game while earning third-team All-American and ACC Rookie of the Year honors. After helping Georgia Tech reach the Sweet 16 in 1996, Marbury was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and was immediately traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was a two-time All-Star over his seasons with the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns before playing for his hometown New York Knicks.

Georgia Tech has another son of a former NBA star on its roster this season. Ryan Mutombo transferred to Tech after spending three seasons as a backup big man for Georgetown, where his father starred for three seasons under coach John Thompson. The elder Mutombo was named to the All-Big East team twice and won Big East Defensive Player of the Year twice during his four seasons with the Hoyas.

The younger Mutombo’s move to transfer to Georgia Tech brought him to the city where his father, Dikembe, became one of the best centers in the NBA. Mutombo earned four of his eight career All-Star nods over his eight NBA seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he helped them reach the NBA Finals in 2001. Mutombo also won four NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

Jamal Mashburn Jr. might have the best college career to this point out of any player on the list. The younger Mashburn earned a pair of All-Mountain West team nods during his three seasons with New Mexico after transferring from Minnesota, scoring nearly 20 points per game in two different seasons. He transferred again ahead of the 2024-25 season, moving on to Temple. He scored 26 points in his Temple debut and is averaging 23.3 points per game while shooting 47.5% from the field through six games.

While the younger Mashburn played for Richard Pitino for four seasons, Jamal Mashburn played for Rick Pitino at Kentucky. Mashburn was one of Pitino’s first stars during his successful stint in Lexington, winning SEC Player of the Year and being named an All-American in 1993 as he helped the Wildcats reach the Elite Eight. Mashburn was selected by the Mavericks with the fourth overall pick in the NBA Draft a few months later. He had a solid 12-year career, being named an All-Star once.

Scottie Pippen has another son in the college ranks this season. Justin Pippen began his college career at Michigan, joining the Wolverines as the 70th-ranked recruit in the 2024 class. His brother, Scottie Jr., starred at Vanderbilt for three seasons (2019-22).

Pippen’s sons played college hoops at much more prestigious programs than he did. Before becoming one of the best two-way players in NBA history with the Bulls, Scottie Pippen played four seasons at Central Arkansas, an NAIA school at that time.

Even though Michigan fired Juwan Howard as its head coach following the 2023-24 season, his son, Jace, opted to remain in Ann Arbor for a fifth season. The younger Howard has mostly been an end-of-the-rotation player during his time at Michigan.

Of course, the elder Howard was a star at Michigan decades before his five-year stint as its head coach. He was a member of the iconic “Fab Five,” which helped Michigan play in two national title games in the early 1990s. Howard was also a third-team All-American for the Wolverines in 1993 before he was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Washington Wizards in 1994. Howard was named an All-Star once over his 19 seasons and was a part of the Miami Heat‘s back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.

Unlike his father, Mason Miller is a lefty, but he’s also a strong 3-point shooter. Miller has shot 41.3% from deep over his time at Creighton, becoming a full-time starter at forward for the Bluejays as a sophomore last season.

Mike Miller, meanwhile, used his 3-point shooting ability to lift Florida to a national championship game appearance in 2000, and was selected with the fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft later that same year. He won Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year during his time in the NBA. He also helped the Heat win back-to-back titles alongside LeBron James.

Shaquille O’Neal currently has a couple of kids playing college hoops in the 2024-25 season. His daughter, Me’arah O’Neal, just began playing women’s college basketball for Florida this week after being a four-star recruit. Shaqir, meanwhile, transferred to Florida A&M after two seasons at Texas Southern, where he mostly played off the bench.

Shaquille O’Neal arguably had the best playing career out of any father on this list. The Hall of Famer was dominant over his three seasons at LSU, winning AP Player of the Year in one of his seasons. He continued that dominance throughout his NBA career after the Orlando Magic selected him with the first overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft. He was a 15-time All-Star, an MVP winner and a four-time champion over his NBA career.

The younger Abdur-Rahim has bounced between a few schools over his college career, playing for Virginia and Georgia before transferring to Providence ahead of the 2024-25 season. After being relegated to a bench role in his first few college seasons, Abdur-Rahim finally became a regular starter for Georgia last season, averaging 12.2 points per game. But he began the 2024-25 season coming off Providence’s bench.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, meanwhile, was one-and-done in college, winning Pac-10 Player of the Year with Cal in the 1995-96 season before being a top-three pick in the NBA Draft. Abdur-Rahim was one of the league’s top volume scorers in the late 1990s and early 2000s, being named an All-Star in 2002 before his career ended in 2008.

Penny Hardaway had both of his sons on his Memphis team last season. He doesn’t have either of them on the roster this year, as Jayden Hardaway graduated and Ashton Hardaway transferred to St. Mary’s. Ashton, a sophomore forward, was a bench player for Memphis last season and began the 2024-25 season as a bench player for St. Mary’s.

The eldest Hardaway made a name for himself at Memphis, being named a consensus first-team All American in 1993. The Magic selected Hardaway with the third overall pick in the NBA Draft shortly after, as he began his memorable professional career. Hardaway earned four All-Star nods and three All-NBA honors, helping the Magic reach the NBA Finals in 1995. Unfortunately, injuries derailed Hardaway’s career before the end of the decade, and he never regained his star form after the Magic traded him to the Suns in 1999.

The younger Hughes also followed in his father’s footsteps, committing to Saint Louis ahead of the 2022-23 season. He started 27 games last season, averaging 7.4 points, and is coming off the bench this season, averaging 7.0 points in the team’s first three games.

Twenty-five years before the younger Hughes arrived at Saint Louis, Larry Hughes had a strong freshman season at the school. He averaged 20.9 points per game, helping him win USBWA National Freshman of the Year. Hughes was one-and-done, getting selected by the 76ers with the eighth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft. He had a solid 14-year career, helping the Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals in 2007.

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