3 USC basketball alums make ESPN's NBA Top 100 players

ESPN just finished ranking their top 100 players in the NBA, and three USC basketball alums were on the list. That would be Chicago Bulls' Center Nikola Vucevic at No. 57, Cleveland Cavaliers' Center Evan Mobley at No. 36, and Chicago Bulls' Small Forward DeMar DeRozan at No. 28. All three were deserving of their rankings.

As for Vucevic, he may not have cracked the All-Star team this year, but was still a complete player and high-impact starter in the league. He averaged 17.6 points per game on 47.3% shooting from the field. He picked up 11 rebounds per game, and averaged a block and a steal per game as well.

A 49.4% field goal shooter and 34.8% three-point shooter over the course of his career, he's a trusted big who's been consistent in the league since being drafted out of USC in 2011. Mobley, too, is a trusted big man in the NBA already. He's already averaging 15 points per game, and 1.7 blocks per game despite being a rookie this past season.

Shooting 50.8% from the field, he's already a threat on offense, and was in many minds the true Rookie of the Year last season. He grabbed 8.3 boards a game for the Cavs, and has certainly lived up to being a top three NBA Draft pick in 2021. The best USC alum in the league right now, though, is even better.

DeMar DeRozan is of course the leader of the pack for current USC basketball alums in the league right now.

DeMar DeRozan has represented USC basketball perfectly since coming into the league in 2009. Since then, he's been a five-time NBA All-Star. He was an All-Star this year too, and was an All-NBA player for the third time. Two of those All-NBA teams he made were second-team, including the All-NBA roster he made this year.

DeRozan posted career-highs in points per game (27.9) and three-point percentage (35.2%) this year. He was absolutely remarkable, and also brought down 5.2 rebounds per game as well as 4.9 assists every contest.

Shooting over 50% at 50.4, there's a reason why the Bulls made the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-2017 season. DeRozan joining their squad last offseason meant everything to them.

All three definitely continue to live up to being first round picks, and set the standard for the current Trojan basketball team and the teams to come. USC Head Coach Andy Enfield just brought in the No. 7 recruiting class in the country for the 2022 cycle (247Sports). Perhaps there will be future Top 100 NBA players to come out of this program in the next several years. USC certainly has the chance to have that.