There’s always a debate about which state produces the best athletes, so there was a list put together by the Bleacher Report that lists the 50 states ranked that have produced the best NBA talent. North Carolina made the list and is pretty high up. Can you guess where North Carolina falls for producing some of the best NBA talents? Check out the full list of 50 here if you want to see what other states fall. Some states are a given as far as the talent that has come from there but other states may shock you that have produced some pretty good NBA talent.

North Carolina is one athletic state and we produce athletes from all walks of life. But, NBA talent is pretty top-tier as well. Find out below where North Carolina falls on Bleacher Report’s top 10 list.

 Top 10 states that have produced NBA talent

• 1. California

  Cali has produced such talent as Ray Allen, Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Reggie Miller, James Harden, and Kevin Love just to name a few. California is also home to one of the most popular NBA teams that everyone knows, the Los Angeles Lakers.

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• 2. New York

  A lot of people view New York as the “mecca” of basketball and some will argue that it could be the #1 for producing talents like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Stephon Marbury, Bernard King, and Lamar Odom just to name a few. Of course, New York is also home to the NY Knicks which is another huge program.

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• 3. Illinois

  Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Isiah Thomas, Mo Cheeks, Juwan Howard, Jeff Hornacek, and Andre Iguodala all hail from the great state of Illinois. Some of your favorites came from Illinois or played in Illinois. We all know the moment in time when the Chicago Bulls were the epitome of basketball.

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• 4. Louisiana

  Louisiana is left out of a lot of basketball conversations but you can’t deny the talent that has come from the state. Clyde Drexler, Willis Reed, Elvin Hayes, Bill Russell, Robert Parish, and Karl Malone are only a few of the names that have come from the state.  All who are hall of famers, by the way. Looks like Louisiana produces some noticeable talent.

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• 5. Pennsylvania

  I never think of the state of Pennsylvania as far as producing NBA talent but this list definitely opened my eyes. Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Pete Maravich, Earl Monroe, Rasheed Wallace, and some of the notable names have come from the state.

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• 6. Texas

  Everyone knows the state of Texas is big when it comes to sports and the talent it produces.  Some of the notable names from the longhorn state are LaMarcus Aldridge, Grant Hill, Chris Bosh, Larry Johnson, and DeAndre Jordan.

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• 7. Maryland

  Some notable names that come from the state of Maryland include Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Michael Beasley, Sam Cassell Steve Francis, Ty Lawson, and Jeff Green.

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• 8. New Jersey

  Some of the most notable names that come out of the state of New Jersey include Rick Barry, Mike Bibby, Shaquille O’Neal, J.R. Smith, and David West. New Jersey is pretty close to New Jersey and brings in the same amount of talent to the league.

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• 9. Florida

  Vince Carter, David Robinson, Anthony Mason, Mitch Richmond, Vernon Maxwell, and Amar’e Stoudemire are some of the most recognized players coming out of the state of Florida.

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• 10. North Carolina

  Ayeee, it’s North Carolina! Coming in at No. 10 for all 50 states is pretty good. Chris Paul, Sleepy Floyd, Bob Mcadoo, John Wall, James Worthy, Josh Howard, Anthony Morrow, and Jerry Stackhouse are some of the most recognized players that have come out of the state.

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