Smartest NBA players by GPA, degree: Western Conference

PACIFIC DIVISION

Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)

Curry held a 2.5 GPA in high school. Although he left for the NBA after his junior year at Davidson College, Curry returned 13 years later to receive his bachelor’s degree in sociology at Davidson (May of 2022). Fittingly, Curry wrote his final thesis on advancing gender equality in sports. 

Paul George (Los Angeles Clippers) 

George maintained a 3.5 GPA in high school. He was involved in several extracurricular activities outside of basketball – including the Black Student Union, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the National Honor Society. Fresno State never listed his major, but regardless, he wasn’t able to graduate with a degree because he spent just two years at the school before being drafted. 

LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) 

James had a 3.5 GPA as an underclassman, but his grade point average dipped to 2.8 as he rose in the ranks as the most sought-after high school basketball player in the country. He famously skipped college to go straight into the NBA, but he still has dreams about getting a higher education. 

“I’m signed up at the University of Akron for whenever I’m able to get a little bit of downtime,” James told the Akron Beacon Journal in 2016. “That’s always been a conversation that took place to take some college courses, take some classes. So right now I just do a lot of reading, book reading, and obviously, I’m around some really good people that I kind of take their knowledge and sort it into my mind… I love world history, just the history of how everything was put together. I love that part of things and people that founded the world made this world such a beautiful place. I’m pretty fond of that. I love when I go around, obviously every summer traveling places, and it’s kind of unique to see how we kind of built things. Who kind of ruled places at certain points of time. It’s pretty cool.”

James doesn’t have his college degree yet and there’s been no update on how far he’s come in the college courses that he’s mentioned. 

Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns) 

Booker, who was one of the best high school prospects in the nation, consistently carried between a 3.7 GPA to a perfect 4.0 in high school. Booker told Andscape in 2018 that he would have been a computer science major if he didn’t leave following one season at Kentucky. He also said that he wants to work towards a bachelor’s degree when he has the time. 

“[In school is] where I learned my discipline honestly,” Booker told Andscape. “Coming home with all straight A’s, most of my life – that was the expectation from my parents.” 

De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings)

Fox held a 3.5 GPA in high school. He made a vision board for his room that included basketball goals and his “target grade point average.” Kentucky never listed his major, but regardless, he didn’t graduate because he spent just one season at Kentucky before being drafted.

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