By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
In October 2025, The Baylor Lariat published a sports take titled “Top 5 Baylor MBB players from the 2000s.” This list compiled what the author viewed as the best players to come through the Waco program in the 2000s. While the article was a valiant effort, the rankings were unfortunately very wrong.
After much pleading and nagging, I am proud to finish my Lariat sports writing career with a correction of this misdirected ranking of those to wear the green and gold. It is with great pleasure that I present the true top five Baylor men’s basketball players of the 2000s.
5. LaceDarius Dunn
Any list ranking the greatest Bears that excludes the program’s all-time leading scorer is an interesting choice to say the least.
Dunn, a dynamic shooting guard, helped define head coach Scott Drew’s reputation for developing outside shooting. The guard averaged 17.1 points across his four-year tenure, totaling 2,285 points in his time in the green and gold.
The former All-American helped lead the Bears to their first tournament appearance under Drew in his freshman season. Dunn was also the leading scorer on the 2010 Elite Eight team, marking the deepest run the Bears had made in the NCAA Tournament since 1950.
Dunn more than has the stats to back his holding on the Bears Mount Rushmore, but if you still need convincing, that high-rise 3-ball is too sweet to exclude.
4. Isaiah Austin
There surely is always a spot on the list of Baylor’s best for the program’s highest-rated recruit of all time.
Austin, a two-way center, had the potential to be Baylor’s own Kevin Durant at the highest level before being forced to medically retire ahead of the 2014 NBA Draft. Austin averaged 13 points and eight rebounds in his freshman year in Waco.
The center’s return for his sophomore year saw Austin develop from a raw yet highly regarded recruit to a defensive threat in the paint that put fear in the hearts of Big 12 opponents.
Austin’s stats alone earned him a spot on this list, but his influence on winning is what set his name in stone. If you need further proof, I implore you to look into his 17-point performance in the Round of 32 against Creighton in 2014. In one of the most iconic Baylor wins of all time, Austin led the Bears to an 85-55 domination of a Bluejays team led by National Player of the Year Doug McDermott.
3. Johnathan Motley
Johnathan Motley’s third and final year in Waco was one of the most impressionable moments I was blessed to witness in my childhood.
Baylor has yet to see a stretch forward as electric as the 6-foot-9 Motley. In a season where he averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game, Motley propelled the Bears to 27 wins, marking the most of Drew’s career up to that point.
Motley finished 2017 as Baylor’s first consensus All-American and took the program to its second Sweet Sixteen appearance in four years.
While his professional career did not pan out quite the same as his collegiate dominance, no Baylor fan will ever forget the immense aura Motley donned every time that neon green Nike headband graced his forehead.
2. Tweety Carter
Baylor’s first McDonald’s All-American is often seen as the marker of change in Waco. When Drew took over at Baylor, his first handful of years were filled with losing, to say the least.
Carter’s commitment to Baylor noted that Drew had something different brewing. The arrival of Louisiana high school basketball’s all-time leading scorer was immediately felt. Carter defined what would become the “Guard U” that we now know so well.
The shifty point guard averaged 11 points and nearly four assists per game in his tenure. Carter also captained Drew’s first Elite Eight appearance in 2008, averaging 15 points and six assists on the year. His 2008 performance propelled the now-Baylor assistant coach to become the program’s first All-American since Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson in 1979.
1. Jared Butler
Obviously, the school’s only Final Four MVP must hold the top spot on any list debating Baylor’s greatest.
Butler cemented himself as the Bears’ all-time GOAT through not just his on-court performances, but also through his investment in the Waco community. Butler averaged 14 points across three years, was an active voice on campus and led a Bible study at Highland Baptist Church.
While Butler is a phenomenal basketball player, hence his First Team All-America nod in 2021, he defined himself as the Baylor GOAT through his character.
When the 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19, Butler led the charge in getting a talented pair of teammates, Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague, to return for one more year. That one more year ended up being the crowning jewel of Baylor as a program, as Butler led the Bears to bring home their first and only national championship.
Besides, how can you not be the best if you’ve been all the way to the mountaintop?
