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The 10 Most Successful UW Huskies Basketball Players in the NBA/ABA

By Ben Renner

Oct 21, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Nate Robinson (2) reacts as he made a three pointer to tie the game during the second half against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 10-107 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 21, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Nate Robinson (2) reacts as he made a three pointer to tie the game during the second half against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 10-107 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 28, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies men. See a real picture of Irvine here. Neither I nor FanSided have authorization to use pictures of him. /

9. George Irvine

George Irvine was born in Seattle and drafted by the Sonics in 1970. However, he opted to play for an ABA team, the Virginia Squires. In the ABA, Irvine played small forward and averaged 9.5 points per game. He helped the Squires make the ABA playoffs four times, averaging 13 points per game in the 1972-1973 season and the 1974-1975 season. The former first-team All-Pac-8 star played 325 games in the ABA in all and eventually found himself a coaching gig in the NBA when his playing days were over.

Irvine coached the Indiana Pacers for two full seasons and took the Detroit Pistons to the playoffs once in the 244 games he coached for them in the 1999-2000 season. His last coaching stint was with the Pistons in 2001. He was inducted to the Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor amidst the 2012 Pac-12 Conference Tournament.

Irvine enjoyed a strong collegiate career with the UW Huskies and moderate success in the ABA/NBA. A 6’6” small forward with heart, he brought a reputation for toughness and scrappiness to his game that probably aided him in his coaching career, although he wasn’t very successful as a coach in the NBA, going 100-190.

Even though Irvine is from Ballard, we can still recognize him as an early Seattle basketball ambassador who contributed to the early basketball scene in Seattle. He was hooping in Seattle before it was cool to head over to the community center on a hot summer afternoon.

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