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In NBA history, there have been a total of 98 father-son duos to make their way into the league. NBA fathers with celebrated careers or even ones who had average careers have seen their sons make their way into the league just as they did years prior. Many of these fathers can take great pride in knowing they played a large role in seeing their sons achieve their dreams of becoming NBA players, while other fathers watched as their sons became far greater basketball players than they ever dreamed of being.
Of the 98 father-son duos that have played in the NBA, only five have ever hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy as NBA champions. However, championships are not the only way that we define success in the NBA. Even making one All-Star or one All-NBA Team can be considered successful, which are exactly the parameters we have set forth today for this list of successful NBA sons.
Below, 14 All-Star sons meet those conditions as successful NBA players, following their father’s footsteps into NBA greatness while re-writing the history books along the way. From NBA champions and MVPs to one or two-time All-Star selections, these NBA offspring carried on their family’s legacy on the basketball court in a manner in which they and their fathers can hold their heads high.
Now, it is time to see which NBA players have sons who have gone on to become All-Stars and have successful basketball careers.
NBA Sons Who Have Had Successful Basketball CareersDevin Booker
Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 3x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection
Father: Melvin Booker
There aren’t many people who know that Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker has a father, Melvin, who played in the NBA. That may be because Melvin played just 32 games over two seasons with the Rockets, Warriors, and Sixers in 1996 and 1997. Melvin would average just 5.2 points and 2.3 assists per game in his career then came Devin, who has surpassed Melvin as the greater Booker already.
Devin Booker was the 13th overall pick to the Phoenix Suns in 2015 where he has remained for the last nine seasons. Booker would earn his first All-Star appearance with Phoenix in 2020 averaging 26.6 points per game on 48.9% shooting. He would make two more All-Star teams in 2021 and 2022 as well.
In 2021, Booker would also help the Suns reach their first NBA Finals. Although they would fall to the Bucks in six games, it has become clear that Booker has Phoenix on the precipice of being the one that leads the Suns to their first NBA championship in franchise history. Over the last four seasons, Booker has averaged 26.6 points and 5.3 assists per game on 48/36/88 shooting splits with an All-NBA First Team selection to his name in 2022. It’s safe to say that the son has surpassed his father.
Kobe Bryant
Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 5x NBA Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 1x MVP, 18x All-Star, 4x All-Star Game MVP, 15x All-NBA Team Selection, 12x All-Defensive Team Selection
Father: Joe Bryant
Kobe Bryant is easily the greatest and most accomplished son of an NBA player on this list. Kobe’s dad, Joe Bryant, played eight seasons in the NBA from 1976 through 1983 for the 76ers, Clippers, and Rockets. Bryant was never named an All-Star and averaged 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in his career, contrary to what his son would eventually go on to accomplish.
At the time that Joe Bryant’s career in the NBA was dwindling, they had a son named Kobe who was just five when his parents decided to move to Italy so that dad could pursue his career overseas. Once returning to Philadelphia, Kobe became one of the best high school players in the country, so good in fact, he would forgo college and head straight to the NBA in 1996.
After a trade from the Hornets to the Lakers, Kobe Bryant spent the next 21 seasons in purple and gold carving out a legacy that will withstand the test of time. Bryant went on to become a five-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, and one-time MVP who scored the fourth-most points in NBA history and ranks toward the top in most career game-winning shots. Bryant showed the world that through hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, anyone can go on and achieve great things to be remembered for.
Stephen Curry
Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 4x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 2x MVP, 9x All-Star, 1x All-Star Game MVP, 9x All-NBA Team Selection
Father: Dell Curry
Dell Curry was a 16-year veteran of the NBA, most notably with the Hornets, where he played 10 seasons and became the 1994 Sixth Man of the Year. Oftentimes, Dell could be seen spending time and making memories with his two sons, Stephen and Seth on the court before games or at practice. Little did we all know that one of those sons was going to become one of the greatest point guards in NBA history.
Stephen Curry was an underdog coming out of college, undersized and seen as a risk due to lingering ankle injuries. By Year Five, those concerns would quickly deteriorate as Curry became a premier player in the NBA. In 2015, Curry would capture his first MVP award and lead the Warriors to their first MVP championship since 1975. In 2016, he would become the NBA’s first and only unanimous MVP averaging 30.1 points per game on 50/45/90 shooting splits, leading the Warriors to an NBA record 73 wins.
Over the next six seasons, he would solidify himself as the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history and as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history with four championships, two MVP awards, and a Finals MVP in 2022. Dell Curry’s other son, Seth, has also cracked the NBA ranks as an above-average role player and efficient shooter for 11 seasons but Stephen has stolen the spotlight as the best basketball player from the family by a longshot.
Darius Garland
Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 1x All-Star
Father: Winston Garland
From 1988 through 1995. Winston Garland was an NBA point guard with the Warriors, Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, and Timberwolves. He averaged 9.4 points and 4.7 assists per game in a seven-year career with three seasons as a full-time starting point guard, never earning an All-Star selection or All-NBA Team selection in that time, something his son, Darius, would accomplish in just his third season.
Darius Garland made his NBA debut in 2019-20 after the Cleveland Cavaliers made him their fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft. By 2022, Garland earned his first All-Star selection averaging 21.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. Two seasons later, Garland is now considered to be one of the best point guards in the Eastern Conference averaging 18.5 points, 6.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game for a Cavaliers team that has made the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
As dynamic as Winston was on the court, Darius has already surpassed him in terms of overall ability on both sides of the ball as well as accomplishments. At just 23 years old, there is much more of the story to be written and the sky’s the limit in terms of Garland’s potential.
Al Horford
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 5x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection, 1x All-Defensive Team Selection
Father: Tito Horford
Tito Horford played just 63 games in his NBA career spread out over three seasons between stints in Brazil, France, Venezuela, and Italy. Horford averaged just 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in those 63 games, most of which came with the Bucks in 1989 and 1990.
Nearly 22 years after Horford played his final game in the NBA, his son, Al, would make his NBA debut. For the last 17 seasons, Al Horford has been a consistently productive player on both ends of the floor and a valuable piece of every locker room he has been a part of. Four of his All-Star appearances would come in his first nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, where he would average 14.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game from 2008 through 2016.
In 2023-24, Al Horford is in his 17th season, sixth with the Boston Celtics, fulfilling his role to perfection off the bench. In four games, he is averaging 5.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game seeing 19.3 minutes per night. With such a long and celebrated career for his son Al, Tito Horford may be able to say he raised a Hall of Famer.
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 1x Defensive Player Of The Year, 1x All-Star, 2x All-Defensive Team Selection
Father: Jaren Jackson
At just 24 years old, Jaren Jackson Jr. is already one of the best forwards in the game today. After bursting onto the scene in 2020 with 17.4 points per game on 46.9% shooting, Jackson has become a solid two-way force over the last four seasons. In 2022 and 2023, Jackson Jr. would win back-to-back block titles while also averaging 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. In 2023, he was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the first time and earned his second All-Defensive Team selection.
Before Jaren Jackson Jr was swatting shots left and right for the Memphis Grizzlies, his father, Jaren Sr., played 13 seasons in the NBA for nine different teams. He enjoyed the best stretch of his career from 1998 through 2001 with the Spurs where he averaged 7.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game as their shooting guard off the bench. In 1999, Jackson Sr. would come off the bench for them during their first championship win averaging 8.2 points per game.
If Jackson can somehow uplift the Grizzlies past their recent issues, maybe he and his father could be the sixth father-son championship duo in NBA history.
Kevin Love
Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 1x NBA Champion, 1x Most Improved Player, 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Team Selection
Father: Stan Love
Stan Love’s basketball career was just four seasons long from 1972 through 1975, spending time in both the NBA and ABA. He would play 227 games in his NBA career with the Bullets and Lakers averaging 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. His ABA career lasted all of 12 games with the San Antonio Spurs in 1975 as he saw just 5.3 minutes of action. As underwhelming as Stan Love’s career was, his son Kevin was destined to put the family name on the map.
After a stellar college career at UCLA, Kevin Love was drafted fifth overall to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008 and quickly traded to Minnesota. He would make three All-Star appearances over the next six seasons with the team, becoming a 20.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game machine in the process.
In 2014, Love would be traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he became teammates with Kyrie Irving and LeBron James in their pursuit of an NBA championship. In 2016, Love would help the Cavaliers capture their first NBA championship in franchise history in one of the biggest upsets the NBA playoffs had ever seen. In nine years with the Cavaliers, Love averaged 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game with two All-Star appearances in 2017 and 2018.
Love would sign with the Miami Heat during the 2022-23 season after being let go by the Cavaliers after 41 games. Love would help the Heat reach the NBA Finals as a starter averaging 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Love is heading into his 16th season in 2023-24, remaining with the Heat in a starting role for the early going of the season.
Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 1x Sixth Man Of The Year Award, 2x All-Star
Father: Ed Manning
From 1968 through 1976, Ed Manning enjoyed playing nine seasons of professional basketball in the NBA and ABA. Manning played three seasons in the NBA with the Bullets, Bulls, and Trail Blazers before transferring to the ABA in 1971-72, where he played five seasons with Carolina, New York, and Indiana. Between the two leagues, Manning never earned an All-Star selection and averaged just 5.9 points per game but that was not the end of Mannings in the pros.
In 1988, the Los Angeles Clippers made Ed’s son, Danny Manning the first overall pick in the NBA Draft. Immediately, Danny was a force at power forward for L.A., averaging 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game as a rookie. By 1993, he had earned his first All-Star appearance which he followed up in 1994 with another. In 1998, Manning, now with the Suns, became the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year averaging 13.5 points and 5.6 rebounds off the bench.
Danny Manning would enjoy a 15-year NBA career overall with the Clippers, Hawks, Suns, Bucks, Jazz, Mavericks, and Pistons.
Pete Maravich
Credit: Fadeaway World
Achievements: 5x All-Star, 4x All-NBA Team Selection
Father: Press Maravich
“Pistol” Pete Maravich is still a legend in basketball lore as a wizard on the court with electrifying handles and robust scoring ability. Very little is ever spoken of Pete’s father Press, his first coach and a former NBA player dating back to their days known as the BAA. Press Maravich played just 51 games for the Pittsburgh Ironmen in 1947 averaging 4.6 points per game but never played again after his son Pete was born that same year.
A little over 20 years later, Pete Maravich would break the NCAA’s all-time scoring record while attending LSU and went on to become the Hawks’ third overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft. With his ridiculous display of dribbling, passing, and scoring, Maravich became an All-Star in his third season with 26.1 points and 6.9 assists per game.
After his fourth season and second All-Star appearance, Maravich was traded to the New Orleans Jazz where he would go on to become a three-time All-Star and a 31.1 points per game scoring champion in 1977. Maravich would retire following the 1980 season after a small stint with the Boston Celtics. In 1988, just eight seasons after retirement, Maravich passed away while playing a game of pickup basketball in Pasadena, California.
Domantas Sabonis
Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 3x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection
Father: Arvydas Sabonis
Despite being drafted in both the 1985 and 1987 NBA Drafts, Arvydas Sabonis elected to pursue the start of his professional basketball career in his native Lithuania as well as six years in Spain. With his incredible size at 7’3’’, and his Passing, rebounding, and scoring ability, he would go on to become one of the greatest international players ever. In 1995, he finally made his NBA debut with the Portland Trail Blazers. He was clearly one of the premier playmaking big men at the time and would go on to average 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds for the next eight seasons in Portland.
Contrary to his father’s path to the NBA, Domantas Sabonis would head straight into the NBA after being taken 11th overall in 2016. After a few seasons of getting acclimated to the NBA and making the move from the Thunder to the Pacers, Sabonis became an All-Star for the first time in 2020 averaging 18.5 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Sabonis would earn another All-Star selection in 2021 with the Pacers as well before being traded to the Kings in 2022.
In 2022-23, Domantas Sabonis would earn his third All-Star selection averaging 19.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game. More important than his individual stats, however, was the fact that he helped the Sacramento Kings advance to the NBA playoffs for the first time in 17 years. Now, he and fellow All-Star teammate De’Aaron Fox have the chance to continue to build and work toward something special with the Kings, an NBA championship that would give Domantas the ultimate bragging rights over Arvydas.
Wally Szczerbiak
Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 1x All-Star
Father: Walt Szczerbiak
The Szczerbiak father-son NBA duo is relatively unknown thanks to the son’s career far exceeding the father’s to the point that not many know Walt Szczerbiak played professional basketball. That is likely because Walt played just one season in the ABA with the Pittsburgh Condors averaging 6.3 points per game.
Wally Szczerbiak played a total of 10 seasons in the NBA from 200 through 2009, most notably with the Timberwolves for seven seasons. Szczerbiak was an extremely efficient three-point shooter who could light up the scoreboard in most situations. In 2002 with Minnesota, Wally earned the only All-Star selection of his career averaging 18.7 points per game on 50.8% shooting. Szczerbiak would finish his career in 2009 after back-to-back seasons in Cleveland with the Cavaliers as a teammate of LeBron James.
Klay Thompson
Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 4x NBA Champion, 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, 1x All-Defensive Team Selection
Father: Mychal Thompson
As far as father-son duos in the NBA, none have accomplished what the duo of Mychal and Klay Thompson have combined. Mychal played 13 seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers from 1979 through 1991. Despite never earning an All-Star appearance, Mychal would average 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his career with championships in both 1987 and 1988 with the Lakers.
As far as athletic sons go, Mychal Thompson hit the motherload with Klay as well as his brothers Mychel and Trayce. Klay has become the most accomplished of all of them with four NBA championships while becoming one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history. Since 2015, Thompson has been a five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA Team selection averaging over 20.0 points per game consistently. His clutch performances and red-hot shooting displays have helped yield one of the greatest dynasties ever in Golden State.
At 33 years old, Klay Thompson’s story is not over yet. However, it is unclear if he will remain with the Warriors through the end of his career or if a stall in extension talks this summer will lead to free agency for the star in 2024.
Kiki Vandeweghe
Credit: Fadeaway World
Achievements: 2x All-Star
Father: Ernie Vandeweghe
The Ernie and Kiki Vandeweghe is not an incredibly famous NBA father-son duo but they were both accomplished in their own right. Ernie Vandeweghe was a shooting guard and small forward for the Knicks from 1950 through 1956, even taking a season off in 1956 to attend medical school and become a doctor. Vandeweghe averaged 9.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Knicks in his career although he would never reach the heights that his son did as a player.
Kiki Vandeweghe is an accomplished player in NBA history. As a player, he played 13 seasons from 1981 through 1993 with the Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Knicks, and Clippers. His best seasons came during the 80s when he earned back-to-back All-Star selections playing for the most potent offense in the NBA. He averaged 28.0 points per game over those two seasons on 55.3% shooting.
Kiki Vandeweghe would even go on to serve as a head coach in 2010 with the New Jersey Nets although he would like to forget it if he could. The Nets finished 12-52 under Vandeweghe who was dismissed before he could coach one full season.
Andrew Wiggins
Credit: Kevin Jaira-USA TODAY Sports
Achievements: 1x NBA Champion, 1x Rookie Of The Year, 1x All-Star
Father: Mitchell Wiggins
Mitchell Wiggins had his struggles during his NBA career but his talent was undeniable. Making his NBA debut in 1984 with the Bulls, Wiggins averaged 12.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as a rookie. That summer, he would be traded to the Rockets for Caldwell Jones. Over the next six seasons, Wiggins would average 10.3 points per game with the Rockets but battle suspensions for substance abuse along the way that ultimately led to retirement at just 31 years old.
A little over 32 years later, Mitchell’s son Andrew would be named the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Andrew would be traded to the Timberwolves a short while later where he went on to become Rookie of the Year in 2015 averaging 16.9 points per game on 43.7% shooting. Five and a half seasons later, Wiggins would be traded to the Golden State Warriors where he has remained ever since.
Andrew Wiggins would have his best season in 2022 when he averaged 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game. Wiggins would be named an All-Star starter that season but his best was yet to come. Wiggins; outstanding two-way play during that season’s playoffs would result in an NBA championship for the Warriors, the fourth of them in eight seasons and the first in the Wiggins family circle.
What About Sons Of Some Of The Greatest Players In NBA History?
Now that we have seen the sons of former NBA players who have gone on to accomplish incredible things in the NBA, let’s take a look at the children of some of the greatest players in NBA history:
Michael Jordan – His sons Marcus and Jeffrey were never drafted into the NBA after playing at UCF and Illinois in college.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – His sons never played in the NBA.
Magic Johnson – His sons never played in the NBA.
Shaquille O’Neal – His son, Shareef, has played with Lakers Summer League teams and had some G-League experience but has yet to make an NBA team.
Julius Erving – His sons never played in the NBA.
Dwyane Wade – His son Zaire, last played in 2023 with the Cape Town Tigers of the BAL after two seasons with the Salt Lake Stars of the G-League.
John Stockton – His son, David, did two separate stints in the NBA with the Kings and Jazz. He played six career games in the NBA while also playing overseas in Croatia and New Zealand.
Scottie Pippen – His son, Scotty Jr., played six games for the Lakers in 2022-23 and is now a free agent.
Patrick Ewing – His son, Patrick Ewing Jr., played seven games for the Hornets in 2011.
Gary Payton – His son, Gary Payton II, has been in the NBA since 2016-17 and won an NBA championship with the Warriors in 2022.
Bill Walton – His son, Luke, played 10 seasons in the NBA with the Lakers and Cavaliers winning championships in 2009 and 2010 with L.A. Luke also had stints as Head Coach of the Lakers and Kings from 2017 through 2021.
As you can see, following in the footsteps of an NBA father is never going to be an easy path which makes the players above special in their own right. The future generation of NBA sons is soon to find that out as the next wave of second-generation stars is set to hit the league.
LeBron James’ son Bronny is entering his freshman year at USC and is projected to be a lottery pick in 2024 or 2025. Carlos Boozer’s son Cameron is one of the top high school players in the country and is likely headed toward the NBA. Other former NBA players such as Eddie House, Juwan Howard, Larry Hughes, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim all have sons who are on the path to becoming NBA players just like their dads. Only time will tell if they are going to join this All-Star list above.
