It’s a rare distinction for a basketball player to win a championship at three levels of the competition: college, professional league and Olympics (if he gets a chance to represent his country). Only seven players have been able to achieve this milestone in the history and there names are:

Clyde Lovellette

Clyde Lovellette was the first player in the history to win championships in three levels: NCAA, NBA and Olympics. In 1952, he won NCAA title as the member of the Kansas team and got an Olympics’ gold medal as well in the same year. He also won three championships in NBA (1954, 1963, and 1964) with Minneapolis Lakers and Boston Celtics.

Bill Russell

Bill Russell won two consecutive championships for the University of San Francisco in 1955 and 1956, won a gold medal in 1956 Olympics as the captain of U.S basketball team and got 11 NBA titles over his thirteen-year professional career, all with Boston Celtics.

K. C. Jones

K. C. Jones and Bill Russell played together at the San Francisco basketball team. Along with Bill Russell, he guided the team to win two consecutive championships in 1955 and 1956. He was also the part of the U.S basketball team that won the gold medal in 1956 Melbourne Olympics. At the pro level, K. C Jones played throughout with Boston Celtics and won eight championships with them.

Jerry Lucas

Jerry Lucas played college basketball for the Ohio State University and won an NCAA championship in 1960. He was also selected for the 1960 Olympics U.S basketball team where he played a key role in the success of the team and helped them in getting a gold medal. He spent 12 seasons in NBA and won a championship with New York Knicks in 1973.

Quinn Buckner

Quinn Buckner played college basketball for Indiana University Hoosiers. In 1976, his team won an NCAA championship without losing a single game in the competition. He also won a gold medal in 1976 Montreal Olympics. In 1976, he entered the NBA and won the sole NBA championship of his career in 1984 with Boston Celtics.

Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson is one of only three players in history to have won titles at every level: high school, college, the NBA, and the Olympics (the other players are Jerry Lucas and Quinn Buckner). He won NCAA championship in 1979 and also achieved 5 titles in NBA. He was also the member of the U.S “Dream Team” that won the gold medal in 1992 Olympics.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan played college basketball for three years with University of North Carolina and won 1982 NCAA championship with them. He participated in two Olympics in his career (1984 and 1992 ) once as a college basketball player and later on as a high profile professional player. On both occasions, his team won the competition. In his NBA career, he played mostly for Chicago Bulls and won six championships with them.

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